“The Scarlet Ibis” features subtle religious symbolism. Aunt Nicey identifies the caul (or amniotic membrane) in which Doodle is born as a holy symbol, since cauls are made from “Jesus’s nightgown.” As Doodle grows, his character takes on some of the qualities of a Christ figure. He displays a compassion for living things and a oneness with nature. On his first visit to Old Woman Swamp, his eyes light with wonder and he begins to cry, moved and delighted by the beauty of the place where he and his brother weave wire grass into crowns. He tells fantastic stories of colorful wings and a paradisiacal world, and despite his brother’s cruelty, Doodle always treats the narrator with love and affection. Like Jesus, Doodle is a model of tolerance, a visionary with compelling ideas about a better world, and an advocate for the weak (as illustrated by his compassionate burial of the scarlet ibis). The bird is clearly linked with Doodle in the narrator’s mind, and thus its symbolic death, perhaps echoing Jesus’s death on the cross (with the “bleeding” tree and the scarlet and white colors traditionally associated with the Passion of Christ), foreshadows Doodle’s demise. Finally, Doodle is a transformative force in his brother’s life. As the narrator weeps over his brother’s body, he seems to recognize his error: Doodle has died for his sins. Just as Jesus died to redeem mankind, Doodle dies and redeems his brother.