the creature, buries it. Afterwards, the boys go to the nearby Horsehead Landing to continue Doodle's "training". On their way back to the house, Brother has Doodle practice rowing. A sudden rainstorm comes, and when they reach the riverbank, Doodle is tired and frightened. Brother, angry and frustrated that Doodle could not finish his training before school starts, runs ahead of Doodle, leaving the frightened boy behind. When Brother does not see Doodle, he returns for him, his anger dissipated. To his horror, he finds Doodle, lifeless, lying on the ground with blood flowing out of his mouth, staining his throat and shirt a brilliant red. The story ends with Brother crying and cradling Doodle's body. As this happens, Brother recalls how he killed Doodle with his selfish pride. Analysis The story has been described as "rich in symbolism". The scarlet ibis is the main symbol in the story, as is the color red and the ibis in comparison to Doodle as fragile yet majestic. The storm is often compared to Doodle's brother because the brother pushed him too hard, much as the storm did with the scarlet ibis. The story also examines the ambiguous nature of pride: "I did not know then that pride is a wonderful, terrible thing, a seed that bears two vines, life and death." Brother acknowledges that pride is wonderful because it has allowed for Doodle to do great and unexpected things but also terrible because his true motivations were not pure and ultimately caused Doodle's death. Opera The story was developed into an opera by composer Stefan Weisman with librettist David Cote. The opera was co-produced by New York City's Beth Morrison Projects and HERE Arts Center in association with American Opera Projects, and premiered in the Prototype Opera Festival on January 8, 2015. New York Times critic, David Allen, called the opera "a moving, intense and dignified creation." The opera was produced in January 2019 by the Boston Opera Collaborative and February 2019 by the Chicago Opera Theater. James Hurst James Hurst was born on January 1, 1922, near Jacksonville, North Carolina. He attended Booker T. Washington High School in Atlanta, Georgia and studied chemical engineering at North Carolina State College. However, following military service in World War II, he decided to be an opera singer and studied at the Juilliard School of Music in New York and in Italy. In 1951, Hurst