Initially, nobody thought he would survive “[Mom and Dad] named him William Armstrong, which is like tying a big tail on a small kite. For such a name only looks good only on a tombstone.” when he didn't die our main character hated doodle. “It was bad enough to have a invalid brother but one who possibly be not all there was unbearable. I began to make plans to kill him.”
R.I.PWilliam Armstrong
Eventually, our protagonist decides to teach his brother how to walk. When his brother is able to walk, it changes his view and he believes that his brother is capable of running, jumping and becoming even stronger. “....I set out to teach him [how to walk]” “I would teach him how to run, to swim, to climb trees, and to fight.” Much like Icarus who flew too close to the sun, our protagonist will push doolde too far and make him 'Fly too close to the sun'
The protagonist has to choose between his brother well being and reaching their goal, putting him at risk of serious injury or even death. In the end, he decides to keep pushing no matter what and keep going even with the risk of him getting hurt. “We decided to double our efforts, I made him swim until he turned blue, and row until he couldn’t pick up an oar.” “It was too late to turn back, for we had both wandered too far into a net of expectations and left no crumbs behind”
Our protagonist finally pushes Doodle too hard, and the combination of the physical exertion and how the storm scares Doodle causes his heart to give out. Our protagonist leaves him behind even though doodles yelling “Brother, Brother, don’t leave me!, don’t leave me!” When our protagonist realizes that doodles is nowhere to be found he goes looking for him, finding him dead underneath a tree. Our protagonist feels immensely guilty and blames himself. “I found him huddled beneath a red nightshade bush beside the road… I began to weep, and the teared blurred vision in red looked very familiar to me.”