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Foreshadowing plays an integral role in the structure of “The Scarlet Ibis.” The tragic end of the story is foreshadowed in many ways throughout the narrative. In the barn loft, when Brother forces young Doodle to touch the tiny coffin that was made for him, a screech owl flies from the coffin, covering the brothers in rat poison. This ominous incident points to Doodle’s coming death—it demonstrates that he fears being left behind, and it echoes the last words he’ll ever say to Brother at the story’s conclusion.

The most notable instance of foreshadowing comes with the arrival and death of the scarlet ibis, which also signals Doodle’s coming death. The death of the bird causes Brother to reflect on how far the bird has come only to die in their yard. This reflection mirrors Doodle’s own long journey to becoming self-sufficient, which ends in his death after being left behind by his brother. Aunt Nicey claims that dead birds are “bad luck,” especially red dead birds. But Doodle’s reaction to the death of the bird is perhaps the most telling of all. Doodle appears terrified at the first sound of the bird, before it is even seen. Through the scene, Doodle is disturbed, and he even grasps at his own throat when the bird’s throat appears in an S shape on the ground. Doodle then buries the bird carefully, singing a religious song while he does so. It is almost as if Doodle knows something the other characters do not: his own death is imminent.

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