How does the narrator's state of mind change in "The Scarlet Ibis" by James Hurst?

The narrator’s state of mind changes throughout “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst.

Readers make judgments or evaluations based on a character’s emotions, actions, or words. The author gives the reader information and he/she is able to make inferences. In “The Scarlet Ibis” the reader is able to infer a number of details about the narrator’s frame of mind.

One characteristic the reader can infer about Brother is that he carries an inherent meanness in him. He shows his disappointment with both cruel thoughts and actions.  "I began to make plans to kill him by smothering him with a pillow" when he was just a baby. Brother’s dreams for a companion who would play and explore with him are dashed when his little brother is born with many disabilities. Brother’s intrinsic unkindness is reaffirmed later in the story when he forces Doodle to touch the coffin Father had made for him. And, again we witness Brother as he leaves Doodle alone and afraid during the storm, which leads to the child’s death. Based on these actions, his state of mind does not seem to be that of a concerned, loving brother.

Brother is a tenacious individual as witnessed in his attempts, against all odds, to teach Doodle to stand and walk. But, this tenacity is born out of selfishness because Brother does not want to be embarrassed by Doodle’s disabilities. Brother gets caught up in the excitement of Doodle’s physical progress so much that the boys keep their escapades from the family until Doodle is proficient enough to walk on his own. This happens after Brother pushes him past his limitations over and over. Again, one can question Brother’s state of mind. Is he concerned more about himself than his brother’s well-being?

From the beginning of the story to its end, the reader can infer that Brother carries guilt with him. In the exposition, he describes the setting with melancholy tones, and tells the reader how he remembers his brother.

But sometimes (like right now), as I sit in the cool, green-draped parlor, the grindstone begins to turn, and time with all its changes is ground away-and I remember Doodle.

And, at the story’s conclusion he describes how he found Doodle unresponsive and bleeding. Knowing he ran ahead and left his brother in a bad situation, he shakes Doodle before realizing that the unthinkable has happened.  Only after succumbing to his selfishness and meanness does he live with the guilt of knowing that he was partially responsible for his brother’s death.

I began to weep, and the tear-blurred vision in red before me looked very familiar. "Doodle!" I screamed above the pounding storm and threw my body to the earth above his. For a long time, it seemed forever, I lay there crying, sheltering my fallen scarlet ibis from the heresy of rain.

What is the narrator's attitude at the start of "The Scarlet Ibis"?

The speaker in "The Scarlet Ibis" begins his story with a reminiscence of the "clove of the seasons," many years earlier, when a scarlet ibis landed on the bleeding tree in his childhood garden. His attitude is pensive, reflective; he remarks that it is "strange" that he still remembers all of this so clearly, now that he has returned to this house and found that so much has change. There is, very much, a sense of nostalgia, a longing for the past which has now disappeared, as the narrator allows himself to sit in the old house and remember Doodle, his brother.

At this juncture, the story shifts away from the present and the narrator begins to explain how Doodle came into the world and how the brother treated him. It is evident that he feels regret for the "cruel" treatment he sometimes meted out to Doodle, all because he felt embarrassed about being associated with a brother who could not walk at the age of five and whom everybody felt sure was going to die.

Clearly, the brother now has a perspective on Doodle, and his death, which he did not have at the time. He describes the death of the Ibis in such a way that it foreshadows Doodle's own death. The brother has drawn a connection in his mind between the titular ibis and his brother: both belong to a past which was, at times, idyllic, despite struggles, and to which the narrator sometimes wishes he could return.

The narrator, Brother, has returned to his childhood home to reminisce and take responsibility for Doodle’s death.  His attitude is reflective and sentimental as he recounts the circumstances surrounding how Doodle died.  Brother is older now and has had time to understand and come to a conclusion as to how his pride affected his relationship with Doodle.  Brother wanted a “normal” brother, and Doodle was physically handicapped.  Brother sets out to make Doodle normal by pushing him to walk, run, and play with him like an ordinary person.  He was embarrassed by Doodle and could not accept Doodle for who he really was.  The unrealistic expectations Brother had for Doodle eventually led to Doodle’s death. 

Brother feels guilty for what happened, and as his recollections travel to the time of the story, he slowly starts to reconcile his guilt over Doodle’s death.  He understands that it was his pride that led to the tragic outcome of the story.

What can you infer about the narrator in "The Scarlet Ibis"?

This question is fairly open ended, so the answer will be slightly different for different readers. Different readers will read into the narrator a bit differently. As long as you can explain why you listed the two or three things that you listed, you should be good to go.

Two things which I infer about the narrator is that he likes nature and he notices small details. When reading the first paragraph, it is striking to me, all of the beautiful little descriptions the brother is able to give about a simple nature scene:

The flower garden was strained with rotting brown magnolia petals and ironweeds grew rank amid the purple phlox. The five o'clocks by the chimney still marked time, but the oriole nest in the elm was untenanted and rocked back and forth like an empty cradle.

That passage is full of color and analogy. It really paints a picture in a reader's mind. Keep in mind that the narrator is a male. It's not that men can't talk like that or notice things like that; it's just that a person doesn't hear it very often.

I also can infer that the narrator is much older now than he was during the events of the story he is narrating. The second paragraph alerts readers to this fact:

It's strange that all this is still so clear to me, now that summer has long since fled and time has had its way.

Lastly, based on the first two paragraphs, a reader can infer that the story the brother is going to tell is not going to be a happy one. The first paragraph talks about "graveyard flowers" and "names of our dead." The second paragraph mentions a "bleeding tree." For a narrator that notices such small details about nature, it's foreboding that he is choosing to focus on items dealing with death and pain.

In "The Scarlet Ibis," what is the narrator's overall attitude toward life?

Above all, the narrator's attitude to life seems to be shaped by his own health and well-being, which of course, heightens the contrast between himself and his younger brother, Doodle, who is defined by his inability to do all the things that his brother can and wants him to do. Perhaps what most clearly reveals the kind of attitude that the narrator, the elder brother of Doodle, has concerning life is in his hopes for a younger brother. Note what the narrator reveals to us:

I thought myself pretty smart at many things, like holding my breath, running, jumping, or climbing vines in Old Woman Swamp, and I wanted more than anything else someone to race to Horsehead Landing, someone to box with, and someone to perch with in the top fork of the great pine behind the barn, where across the fields and swamps you could see the sea. I wanted a brother.

Therefore the narrator defines himself as a typical young boy who delights in physical activity and enjoying life outdoors, playing in nature and getting up to the kind of mischief that boys of his age normally do. Of course, having a younger brother like Doodle, who is unable to do all the things that the narrator enjoys doing, seriously embarrasses the narrator, leading him to try to change his younger brother and to teach him how to do all the things that he wants Doodle to be able to share with him.