Question

at that moment the bird began to flutter, but the wings were uncoordinated, and amid much flapping and a spray of flying feathers, it tumbled down, bumping through the limbs of the bleeding tree and landing at our feet with a thud. its long, graceful neck jerked twice into an s, then straightened out, and the bird was still. a white veil came over the eyes and the long white beak unhinged. its legs were crossed and its claw - like feet were delicately curved at rest. even death did not mar its grace, for it lay on the earth like a broken vase of red flowers, and we stood around it, awed by its exotic beauty. - \the scarlet ibis,\ james hurst use the passage to think about the story’s central symbol. what symbol does this passage describe? what is the literal meaning of this symbol? what does the symbol represent?

Explanation:

1. For the first question, the passage describes a bird (the scarlet ibis) as the symbol. The text details the bird's fall and death, so the symbol is the scarlet ibis.
2. The literal meaning of the scarlet ibis here is a bird that has died, with descriptions of its physical state (uncoordinated wings, still body, etc.) after falling from the tree.
3. The scarlet ibis in the story represents the fragile and short - lived nature of beauty, or more specifically, it can symbolize Doodle (the character in the story) whose life is also fragile, as the bird's exotic beauty and sudden death mirror Doodle's situation.

Answer:

1. The symbol described in the passage is the scarlet ibis (the bird).
2. The literal meaning of this symbol is a bird that has died, showing its physical state after falling and passing away (e.g., uncoordinated wings, still body, etc.).
3. The symbol represents the fragility of beauty and life (or specifically, it can represent Doodle, with the bird's death mirroring Doodle's fate, and its exotic beauty mirroring Doodle's unique and fragile existence).