Previous Next

The narrator, known simply as “Brother,” is the story’s protagonist. His actions lead directly to the death of his little brother, Doodle. Looking back, he regrets the cruelty of his youth, but he also explains how that cruelty was “borne by the stream of love” he had for Doodle. Though this complicated love compels him to teach his younger brother to walk, his personal pride is also a strong driving force. He wants a brother who is like all the other boys, and in teaching Doodle how to walk, he is one step closer to this egocentric goal.
 
Though he is regretful in retelling the tragic story of Doodle’s death, and ashamed that the good he did for his brother was done out of his own selfish desires, the narrator also gives reasons why he pushed Doodle so harshly to run and swim like the other boys. Doodle was the one thing he was proud of at the time. Doodle learning to walk leads Brother to think he is infallible, and it also casts Doodle as his personal project. He sees Doodle’s successes as his own. But when Doodle fails to complete the rigorous training schedule Brother sets for him, Brother feels ashamed. He feels as though he has failed alongside Doodle. This shame pushes him to act cruelly, leaving his brother behind in the storm. Brother pushes Doodle too far out of personal pride and shame, to a tragic end.

Previous section Character List Next section Doodle

Take a Study Break