"make honeysuckle wreaths." And, when Doodle does walk, doing so only because the narrator is ashamed of having a crippled brother, the lack of harmony between the hearts of the two boys presents itself again.

Doodle is filled with a love of nature beyond the swamp, while the brother seems more worried about making Doodle normal. Doodle is fascinated with the scarlet ibis that, like him, has wandered beyond his limits. And, while the family members finish lunch, he buries the poor bird in the flower garden and sings "Shall We Gather at the River." Finally, Doodle cannot keep up with his brother when the rainstorm sends them running home. As the rain "fell straight down in parallel paths like ropes hanging from the sky" Brother turns back to find Doodle. Holding his own scarlet ibis in his arms, Brother cries and screams for a long time "against the heresy of the rain" that has sent him running and led him to cause his brother's death.

Atmosphere in this case probably means the environment, or setting. For the storyline of The Scarlet Ibis, the atmosphere feels like the passage of time. Natural seasons coming and going are described through the vegetation of a home near a swamp. This gives the feel that the story takes place somewhere close to the south. Also, the atmosphere feels as if there is a problem that won't be solved. I say this because there are so many references and allusions to death or the color red.

If you specifically are looking for the atmosphere of the bird, the scarlet ibis, then we only encournter this at the end of the story. When the bird is encountered it is described this way:

We shaded our eyes with our hands against the hazy glare of the sun and peered up through the still leaves. On the topmost branch a bird the size of a chicken, with scarlet feathers and long legs, was perched precariously.

During the experience of the bird, the atmosphere was found to be hazy, yet sunny. Being perched precariously this must have been a curious sight to see. the bird then falls out of the tree and the family researches its origin, but does not really respond to the dying bird.

Whenever we think about the atmosphere of a given piece of literature, it can often be helpful to consider the description and, in particular, the words that are used to describe the setting. If we have a look at the beginning of this excellent story, it is clear that the words used and the objects that the author chooses to include in this opening description play an important part in building up the kind of atmosphere that dominates the story and also foreshadows what is to come. Let us consider the opening paragraph:

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. The flower garden was stained 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. The last graveyard flowers were blooming, and their smell drifted across the cotton field and through every room of our house, speaking softly the names of our dead.

What is notable about this description is the way that the phrases and diction suggest an atmosphere of death and decay. Note the way that summer is described as being "dead," the ibis lands in a "bleeding tree" and the flowers are variously described as "rotting" and "rank." Interestingly, the flowers that are doing well are the "graveyard flowers," whose scent seems to "speak softly" the names of lost loved ones. Such an opening creates an atmosphere that immediately makes us think of death and the cycles of nature, which of course foreshadows the way that this story will concern the death of one of the central characters.