By James Hurst the Clove of seasons Clove is a noun here from the verb to cleave or to split A cleaver is a knife used by butchers Cloves are a spice The clove of seasons is the split between two seasons not quite summer and not quite fall ID: 299754
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Slide1
“The Scarlet Ibis”
By James HurstSlide2
. . .the “Clove” of seasons
Clove is a noun here – from the verb “to cleave” or to split.
A cleaver is a knife used by butchers.
Cloves are a spice. The clove of seasons is the split between two seasons – not quite summer and not quite fall.Slide3
Grindstone – a wheel that is turned and used to sharpen tools.Slide4
Symbolism – Something that is used to mean something else.
Words from the first section that hint at symbolism:
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
. It's strange hat all this is still so clear to me, now that that summer has since fled and time has had its way. A grindstone stands where the bleeding tree stood, just outside the kitchen door, and now if an oriole sings in the elm, its song
seems to die up
in the leaves, a silvery dust.Slide5
Mood: The feeling you get from reading the story
Based on the first paragraph, what do all those highlighted words suggest to you?
How do they make you feel?
Do those words suggest something that is to come later in the story? FORESHADOWING!Slide6
Setting: Location and Time
The narrator says that cotton grows and he lives close to a swamp; when he climbs up a tree, he can see the ocean. This would place the location somewhere in the deep south. Either North or South Carolina.
Time: The narrator says that his Miss
Leedie sends letters to President Wilson. President Wilson (remember him from
Iron-Jawed Angels) was the 28th President and held office from 1913-1921). We will see other events that place the time more specifically. Slide7
Plants listed in the first sectionSlide8
CAUL
A
caul
is the placenta, also called the “afterbirth” – it is the sac that surrounds a baby while it is still in the womb. Sometimes it covers the head of a baby while it is born.مشيمة
胎盘Slide9
Swamp
A wetland area. Here it is an area near the sea where wild plants and trees grow.Slide10
Palmetto – A tree that grows in the south – state tree of North Carolina with fan-like leavesSlide11
He seemed all head, with a tiny body which was red and shriveled like an old man's. Slide12
Doodlebug
Sometimes called a “pill bug” – it can roll itself into a ball. It is usually found under logs or in damp, wet places.Slide13
Go-Cart – A type of wagonSlide14
Piazza – Means a “square” in Italian, here it is used as a large porchSlide15
Barn Hay loft - Slide16
Screech Owl – a night bird that often lives in barns and makes a loud noise when disturbed.Slide17
The birds of “The Scarlet Ibis”
Oriole
Cardinal
RailSlide18
Honeysuckle – a vine with flowers which are very fragrant and sweet-smelling.Slide19
Brogans – heavy old-fashioned shoesSlide20
Peacock: - the feathers are “iridescent” – seem to change colors.Slide21
Dog Tongue plant – so-called because it was thought that if you wore it on your shoe, you would keep dogs away.Slide22
Umbrella Tree (Magnolia)Slide23
Painting of a Carolina Swamp – (notice the rope vines)Slide24
Cotton Bolls – (before they open up into the white cotton)Slide25
Cypress Trees – Found in swamps in the south.Slide26
Southern Cotton FieldSlide27
To Wither means to dry up because of a lack of rainSlide28
SCARLET IBISSlide29
Skiff - A small boatSlide30
Fiddler Crabs and EgretsSlide31
Nettles – A weed with tiny hairs that sting the skin when touched.Slide32
Marsh RailSlide33
Roman Candle – A firework that shoots off flamesSlide34
“Brother, Brother! Don’t Leave Me!Slide35
Red Nightshade Bush – Do the berries remind you of something?Slide36
“The heresy of rain”
Heresy is the act of going against established tradition. For example, the Danish man who published a cartoon showing the Prophet Mohammed was accused of heresy by Muslims.
Rain is the bringer of life – we saw that the cotton crops were dying because there was no rain. At the end of the story, instead of bringing life, when the rain came, it led to Doodle’s death, thus “the heresy of rain” falling on the dead Doodle held in his brother’s arms.Slide37
The EndSlide38
Extra Credit
“The Scarlet Ibis” ends with the quote “sheltering my fallen scarlet ibis from the heresy of rain.” Where did we see this idea first presented in the story?