What does the bleeding tree symbolize in The Scarlet Ibis?
Trees are sometimes referred to as "bleeding trees" when they lose sap. The tree that is mentioned several times in the story has likely been injured or is suffering from a bacterial or insect infestation that is slowly killing it. In the dying process, the tree oozes sap, which is also known as "bleeding."
The opening sentence refers to this dying tree:
It was in the clove of seasons, summer was dead but autumn had not yet been born, that the ibis lit in the bleeding tree.
Immediately, the tree is linked to the death of summer and preceding the season of autumn, a time when nature begins to slowly die, albeit in the most beautiful way. The bleeding tree stands in the midst of death and is the resting place for a bird that will also die:
At that moment the bird began to flutter, but the wings were...
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uncoordinated, and amid much flapping and a spray of flying feathers, it tumbled down, bumping through the limbs of the bleeding tree and landing at our feet with a thud. Its long, graceful neck jerked twice into an S, then straightened out, and the bird was still.
Doodle is particularly affected by the death of this bird, which had sought out a dying tree as its final place of refuge. Though his family secretly laughs at his efforts, Doodle insists on burying the bird himself and sings a hymn as he painstakingly digs the hole. Doodle himself is slowly dying, a process that is being hastened through the efforts of his older brother to transform him into a brother he can be proud of.
Sap is critical to a tree, transporting water and nutrients throughout its branches and stems. It is comparatively the blood of a tree, which makes the connection to Doodle all the more powerful. As a young child, Doodle was diagnosed with a weak and failing heart. Doctors told his parents that he should not exert himself, lest his heart fail. In the end, Doodle's brother pushes him beyond his physical limits and then abandons him in a storm, effectively destroying his brother's fragile heart.
The tree thus symbolizes Doodle himself. Both are slowly dying, their bodies physically unable to meet the demands of life.
References
Why was Doodle bleeding from the mouth in The Scarlet Ibis?
As James Hurst's story "The Scarlet Ibis" draws to a close, the narrator finds his brother, Doodle, dead beside the road. Doodle has been bleeding from his mouth, which suggests damage to his lungs. The boy's heart was weak, and most likely, his lungs were, too, and the overexertion he experienced in his haste to escape the storm likely caused his heart and lungs to simply give out. The bleeding (at least within the context of the story) suggests that his little body nearly exploded with his efforts.
Doodle's bleeding, however, is also symbolic. The narrator has pushed his brother for a long time, made him work so hard to be normal, and almost tormented the little boy in his desire to "help" him be just like everyone else. Doodle, in turn, has wanted to please his brother. He has poured himself out, used all his strength, and given himself over to whatever his brother wanted in his desire to earn his brother's praise. Now, in death, Doodle continues to pour himself out, this time with his own blood. The blood becomes a symbol of Doodle's continual, almost ridiculous efforts to make his brother proud of him—efforts that have now cost him his life.
Further, Doodle's blood ties in with other images in the story. There is a bleeding tree in the family's yard—a tree that is oozing sap, reminiscent of blood. Like the tree, Doodle is bleeding at the end when Brother finds him dead.
Also, Doodle's blood recalls the scarlet ibis. The big red bird lands in the bleeding tree, but it is sick and weak and tired (just like Doodle) and tumbles down out of the tree and lands below, dead. The bird is a brilliant red, and it doesn't even belong in the area where the family lives. Yet it dies there. Doodle, too, ends up covered in a brilliant red, and we're invited to wonder if Doodle himself truly belongs in another place and if he found it through death when he finally gained release from the trials of his life.
What does Doodle find in the bleeding tree in "The Scarlet Ibis"?
Doodle discovers a scarlet ibis in the bleeding tree.
Mama, Daddy, Doodle, and Brother are sitting down for dinner when Daddy says he anticipates there will be a storm later in the afternoon. Mama then mentions that she has not yet heard a "rain frog," meaning she does not believe there is a storm on the way. As the conversation continues, the family hears a strange croaking noise coming from the yard. Doodle excuses himself from the dinner table and goes out into the yard to investigate the croaking noise. Brother follows Doodle into the backyard and notes,
[Doodle] was looking up into the bleeding tree. "It's a great big red bird!" he called.
Daddy looks up the large red bird in his bird book and determines it is a scarlet ibis.
"It's a scarlet ibis," he said, pointing to the picture. "It lives in the tropics-South America to Florida. A storm must have brought it here."
The scarlet ibis is a long way from its natural habitat, and it is sick and tired from the storm. The scarlet ibis is meant to stand as a symbol for Doodle. Toward the end of the story, Doodle and Brother are escaping a storm when Doodle becomes tired and dies from exhaustion and overexertion. Doodle's long-standing health problems have made him vulnerable to death. Just as the scarlet ibis dies trying to survive the storm, Doodle dies attempting to escape the storm while pushing his body past its physical limitations.
What happens to the Scarlet Ibis in the bleeding tree?
Doodle spots the ibis first and when Brother goes out to investigate, he notes that the bird is perched "precariously" (unbalanced) and that its wings were hanging loosely. The ibis is on the highest branch. As a feather drifts down from the bird, Mama notes that it looks scared and Daddy adds that it might be sick. Then the ibis begins to flutter, moving its wings awkwardly until it plummets to the ground, landing with a loud thud. The ibis makes one more desperate motion and then dies on the ground:
Its long, graceful neck jerked twice into an S, then straightened out, and the bird was still. A white veil came over the eyes and the long white beak unhinged. Its legs were crossed and its clawlike feet were delicately curved at rest.
Using the bird book as a reference, Daddy determines that it is an ibis and that a storm must have blown the ibis off course. Following the ordeal with the storm and faced with this new, foreign environment, the ibis is too weak to fly and the fall finally is too much.
The ibis is a parallel character to Doodle. Both Doodle and the ibis do not quite fit in their respective environments. They struggle and suffer. Both will endure hardships and a storm. The color "red" (scarlet) of the ibis and the "bleeding" tree are symbolic and foreshadowing elements of what will become of Doodle.