Show how Brother's relationship with Doodle illustrates how complex and paradoxical love can be.

A paradox is anything that demonstrates a contradictory nature. Brother demonstrates paradoxical feelings towards his little brother because they are family and he loves him; however, he is also afflicted with tempestuous feelings towards Doodle due to his little brother's birth defects. Back in the early twentieth century, people were less tolerant of people who had disabilities than they are now. Therefore, Brother feels embarrassed by his little brother's frailties and physical challenges. On the other hand, Brother wants Doodle to overcome his physical obstacles so he can feel and act like everyone else. As a result, a paradox is created within Brother because he loves his brother, but he also despises Doodle's physical disability.

To understand how complex Brother's love is for Doodle, consider the fact that Brother is highly disappointed when he is told that his little brother will never be able to climb trees, run, walk, or even talk. Brother is so disappointed that he plans to smother his little brother. Fortunately, Doodle smiles at Brother one day, which gives him hope that he is "all there." Brother decides at that point to help Doodle become stronger than what everyone else believes he can be.

One major paradox is portrayed when Brother teaches Doodle to walk and he is given all the glory for the accomplishment. Brother feels guilty, though, because of the following reason:

"'What are you crying for?' asked Daddy, but I couldn't answer. They did not know that I did it for myself; that pride, whose slave I was, spoke to me louder than all their voices; and that Doodle walked only because I was ashamed of having a crippled brother."

Brother helps Doodle for the wrong reasons, which makes the success not as sweet as it could have been if Brother had taught him to walk for Doodle's sake and not his own. Once Doodle can walk, Brother then wants him to run. Again, this is for Brother's sake so he won't be embarrassed when Doodle shows up to school with him in the fall. Brother wants a "normal" brother and not an embarrassment next to him at school.

Unfortunately, Doodle doesn't make it to school that fall because he dies of a heart attack while running with Brother. When once Brother planned on smothering his brother to end his life for both of their sakes, now he is devastated by Doodle's death--another paradox. Brother says, "I began to weep . . . [and] it seemed forever, I lay there crying, sheltering my fallen scarlet ibis from the heresy of rain." From this it is clear that Brother loves Doodle, but while he was alive, Brother did not appreciate him for his companionship and brotherly love. It seems easy to take people for granted while they are living. The story demonstrates that we never truly appreciate what we have in the moment. For some reason, we have to lose something or someone before we truly understand their importance in our lives.