The narrator sees Doodle as the scarlet ibis at the end, but doodle identifies with the exotic bird immediately. To explore this symbolic...

In James Hurst's heart-rending short story, there are several similarities between Doodle and the scarlet ibis. 

Like the scarlet ibis, when Doodle is born he is out-of-the-ordinary. He is exceptionally frail and "shriveled like an old man." Also, he enters the world in a caul, an amniotic membrane that encloses his tiny body from which he must be removed. Although the scarlet ibis hatches from an egg formed from calcium, he, too, must emerge from his cover...

In James Hurst's heart-rending short story, there are several similarities between Doodle and the scarlet ibis. 

Like the scarlet ibis, when Doodle is born he is out-of-the-ordinary. He is exceptionally frail and "shriveled like an old man." Also, he enters the world in a caul, an amniotic membrane that encloses his tiny body from which he must be removed. Although the scarlet ibis hatches from an egg formed from calcium, he, too, must emerge from his cover as a very delicate creature.

Also, like the scarlet ibis, Doodle seems to be in an environment not suited for him. When his brother tries to make Doodle do things that others can do, Doodle does succeed in walking and swimming. But when he is forced to row against waves, Doodle's weak heart is strained. Then, after the boys pull the boat onto the shore, Doodle tries to keep up with his angered brother who runs ahead of him. Like the scarlet ibis who cannot withstand the storm winds and 

...tumbled down, bumping through the limbs of the bleeding tree and landing...with a thud....its legs were crossed and its claw-like feet were delicately curved at rest... [as] it lay on the earth like a broken vase of red flowers....

Doodle also collapses, huddled under a red bush on the side of the road. He seems to be sitting with his face resting upon his folded arms, not unlike the crossed legs of the bird. When his brother turns back to find Doodle, the small boy again resembles the delicate scarlet ibis:

He had been bleeding from the mouth, and his neck and the front of his shirt were stained with a brilliant red.

The brother, who acts as narrator, calls Doodle's name, weeping and "sheltering [his] fallen scarlet ibis" from what he thinks is the mockery of the rain.