Analysis Of The Red Badge Of Honor By Stephen Crane

611 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: American civil war essays

The Red Badge Of Honor, By Stephen Crane. Takes place during the American civil war with the Union Army (The United States) fighting against the Confederates (The South). The main protagonist of the book is called Henry he is a young man who is blinded by the Romance, glory and honor of war. Henry thinks that if goes to war he will obtain a semblance of Honor and glory. But his mother does not think so she sees her son as merely a fool, but as any mother would she worried about him going to war. And she gave him hundreds of reasons of why he would not be successful in the army. While I think that Henry's mother is right about him being not soldier material we often forget that the heat of the battle and war forges a new man. He sometimes become a killing machine, a leader or just a plain old broken man. During the novel Henry faces internal conflict on many levels He runs away as from the second battle because he is scared to die, but later returns out of guilt and fear, He then uses that guilt and fear to feed his anger and goes into frenzy and fights until he cant. The final reason is that after the final battle when Henry has the flag he is a new man as he is not afraid of war anymore. …show more content…

During his time running away Henry finds himself in deep internal conflict because he ran away from his regiment, soon after he finds the tattered man who talks to Henry about how his regiment fought to the last man. And about how he fought bravely with his regiment and how the whole army has so much courage and fortitude. Henry then feels guilty about leaving the 304th behind and so he changes course and finds the army and gets back into the

Show More
Related

  • Expressions of Fear in The Red Badge of Courage

    518 Words  | 2 Pages

    The important conflict in The Red Badge of Courage is Henry Fleming's. fear about how he will perform in his first battle. There were three people. who expressed their ideas about their fears before the first skirmish. They Henry Fleming, Tom Wilson, and Jim Conklin.

    Read More

  • The Black Flower: A Novel of the Civil War

    2584 Words  | 6 Pages

    This type of novel is recommended for anyone interested in the Civil War. Not too many books explore the southern battles, especially from a Confederates soldier’s point of view. Bahr does an excellent job at capturing the essence of the Civil War and its affects on the people involved. The novel was nominated for several awards, earning the Harold D. Vursell Memorial Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, Gettysburg College, won the Book-of-the-Month Club, and was a New York Times Notable Book. The book showed some popularity and sold 10,000 copies, but was heavily overshadowed by another...

    Read More

  • Henry Fleming and The red Badge of Courage

    862 Words  | 2 Pages

    The main character of this book is Henry Fleming, mostly referred to as The Youth or Youth. The Youth has dark, curly brown hair also; he is a young teenager and is average height when compared to the Tall Soldier. Henry is insecure because he is going through a difficult stage between being a "man" and being a "boy". Henry can't wait to get to war when he signs up but during the book Henry learns that war has a lot of affects on people emotionally and physically. Henry's flaw is that he is afraid of making himself look bad and he is worried that he is going to be a coward and run away from battle. Henry really wants to be a "man" and be courageous. I once heard a swim coach give an extremely good definition of courage. He said "To me courage is not to be unafraid but it is to be afraid but one does it anyways and doesn't worry about being afraid. I think Henry thought of courageous as fearless and that is also part of his flaw.

    Read More

  • How Does Henry Fleming Change In The Red Badge Of Courage

    1008 Words  | 3 Pages

    He struggled to fight and ran away. He felt ashamed of himself and wanted to change. He saw what JIm did and how he put all his effort and life into this war. Henry destroyed his guilt and lead his regiment into victory. He changed from cowardice and fear to courage, humility, and wisdom. My emotional response was motivational because Henry was afraid and his fear almost consumed him but, he rose up and developed the courage to be victorious.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Henry In The Red Badge Of Courage

    854 Words  | 2 Pages

    For example, Henry’s actions in the second battle convey his initial cowardice. In response to the enemy coming back to fight, Henry “ran like blind man” (Crane 57). Henry’s actions illustrate his cowardice since he is afraid to stay and fight and flees instead. However, as Henry matures throughout the novel, he learns to control his fears and show courage through his fighting. For instance, in the battle after Henry rejoins the regiment, Henry “had not deemed it possible that his army could that day succeed, and from this he felt the ability to fight harder” (Crane 133). Henry portrays bravery in this battle, since he still fights with all of his strength, when he believes the enemy would win. Henry’s change from cowardice to bravery is conveyed through his act of running away from battle, to fighting courageously in

    Read More

  • Patriotism In 'The Red Badge Of Courage'

    391 Words  | 1 Pages

    Henry is somewhat naïve, he dreams of glory, but doesn't think much of the duty that follows. Rather than a sense of patriotism, it is clear to the reader that Henry goals seem a little different, he wants praise and adulation. "On the way to Washington, the regiment was fed and caressed for station after station until the youth beloved

    Read More

  • The Red Badge of Courage - Henry is No Hero

    899 Words  | 2 Pages

    At the beginning of the novel Henry is disappointed of war; he had far greater expectations of war. He wants one thing out of this experience, Glory, and he would go to any extreme to fulfill it. In battle Henry acts impulsively and is easily manipulated, he flees from battle at the sight of others running. When he realizes his cowardice he rationalizes without end to why he ran. He justifies that nature also flees at the sight of fear when he scares a squirrel to runoff. Henry acts shallow and vain when he manipulates his friend, Wilson; he uses the letters Wilson gave him as leverage if Wilson finds out Henry's "crimes". His pride is restored when he finds out that he doesn't get caught. He is constantly comparing himself to others, and doesn't judge himself by the same standards as he does others. I think Henry is envious of his friends. The only thing the tattered man wanted is warm pea soup and a warm bed, but he wants to survive to be there for his children. I think Henry admires the tattered man's selflessness and courage, he never really complained abo...

    Read More

  • Themes and Symbols in “The Red Badge of Courage”

    1626 Words  | 4 Pages

    “The Red Badge of Courage” was written by Stephen Crane in 1985 as a fictional tale of a soldier of the Civil War. With its accurate depictions, readers were led to believe that Crane had at one time been a soldier. This was however not the case. Crane has a unique way of using themes and symbols in “The Red badge of Courage” to relay a very realistic portrayal of war.

    Read More

  • The Red Badge Of Courage Literary Analysis

    593 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the Historical fiction, “The Red Badge of Courage”, written by Stephen Crane; a young man try’s to find courage in himself in the time of war. After watching your commander die in war, would you stay and fight or return home and be a coward? Enlisting Himself into war Henry, to be more than the common man to prove worthyness and bravery. With the sergeant dead will Henry lead his men to victory, or withdraw his men in war. Not being the only are faced with the decision Jim and Wilson Henry’s platoons will have the same decision.

    Read More

  • The Red Badge Of Courage By Stephen Crane Essay

    627 Words  | 2 Pages

    There is not many a time when men like Stephen Crane come by and take the whole world by surprise. His ideas are not popular for thinkers at the time but very realistic and down to earth. In his time, his short stories were not very prevalent but were read by many people. Stephen Crane found it very difficult to make money off of them and in that way, was inspired to write vigorously even to the point of his death. Stephen Crane craved the attention and support of the people and so gave birth to Naturalism literature. Interestingly, Stephen Crane found his own voice when he wrote The Red Badge of Courage at just twenty years old, and became very famous for the novel. This war novel was followed by a tremendous amount of short stories that had nature as a main theme. Stephen Crane felt nature all around him and felt that, even as a child Methodist, nature is an overwhelming force that should not be meddled with. Stephen Crane’s religious upbringing and life-changing experience led him to incorporate recurring themes of nature in his short stories as seen in The Open Boat.

    Read More

  • The Transformation of Henry Fleming in The Red Badge of Courage

    1108 Words  | 3 Pages

    Having read of marches, sieges, conflicts, and the exploits of Greek warriors, and, as well, longing to see such, Henry enlisted into the Union army, against the wishes of his mother.  Before his departure, Mrs. Fleming warned Henry, "...you must never do no shirking, child, on my account.  If so be a time comes when yeh have to be kilt or do a mean thing, why, Henry, don't think of anything `cept what's right..."  Henry carried with himself this counsel throughout his enlistment, resulting in his questioning himself on his bravery.  As a sign of Henry's maturation, he began to analyze his character whilst marching, while receiving comments from his brethren of courage in the face of all adversity, as well as their fears ...

    Read More

  • Courage And Courage In The Red Badge Of Courage

    1068 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...ther battle begins, but this time, Henry is prepared to fight. Henry's fighting tactics are extremely wild and is afterwards is congratulated by his lieutenant for a job well done. However,between battles, Henry and Wilson (his fellow soldier) overhear a general referring to their regiment as "mule drivers" and preparing to sacrifice them at the front line in the next battle (Crane Chapter 18). Henry accepted this challenge and thinks of it as an obstacle he desires to overcome. When the next battle starts, he and Wilson see the Union flag beginning fall. They both sprint to retrieve the flag and lead their comrades to their next fight. After the battle ended, the officers praise their courageous action (Crane Chapter 21). In the novel’s final battle, Henry captures the Confederate flag as well and helps lead the Union regiment to victory (Crane Chapter 23).

    Read More

  • The Red Badge Of Courage Essay

    792 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the first part of the novel, Henry is a youth that is very inexperienced. His motives were impure. He was a very selfish and self-serving character. He enters the war not for the basis of serving his country, but for the attainment of glory and prestige. Henry wants to be a hero. This represents the natural human characteristic of selfishness. Humans have a want and a need to satisfy themselves. This was Henry's main motive throughout the first part of the novel. On more than one occasion Henry is resolved to that natural selfishness of human beings. After Henry realizes that the attainment of glory and heroism has a price on it. That price is by wounds or worse yet, death. Henry then becomes self-serving in the fact that he wants to survive for himself, not the Union army. There is many a time when Henry wants to justify his natural fear of death. He is at a point where he is questioning deserting the battle; in order to justify this, he asks Jim, the tall soldier, if he would run. Jim declared that he'd thought about it. Surely, thought Henry, if his companion ran, it would be alright if he himself ran. During the battle, when Henry actually did take flight, he justified this selfish deed—selfish in the fact that it did not help his regiment hold the Rebs—by natural instinct. He proclaimed to himself that if a squirrel took flight when a rock was thrown at it, it was alright that he ran when his life was on the line.

    Read More

  • No Heros in The Red Badge of Courage and A Farewell to Arms

    1594 Words  | 4 Pages

    No Heros in The Red Badge of Courage and A Farewell to Arms Many great literary novels have the protagonist, the main character. of the novel, being portrayed as the "hero". There are many different deeds and actions that can characterize a person as a hero such as saving someone from a burning house at the risk of their own life. The main The distinguishing characteristic of a true hero is self-sacrifice, whether it sacrifice of your own personal desires or ideals or sacrifice of physical well being to help others.

    Read More

  • The Red Badge of Courage

    1086 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Red Badge of Courage, by it’s very title, is infested with color imagery and color symbols. While Crane uses color to describe, he also allows it to stand for whole concepts. Gray, for example, describes both the literal image of a dead soldier and Henry Fleming’s vision of the sleeping soldiers as corpses and comes to stand for the idea of death. In the same way, red describes both the soldiers’ physical wounds and Henry’s mental vision of battle. In the process, it gains a symbolic meaning which Crane will put an icon like the ‘red badge of courage’. Stephen Crane uses color in his descriptions of the physical and the non-physical and allows color to take on meanings ranging from the literal to the figurative.

    Read More

More about Analysis Of The Red Badge Of Honor By Stephen Crane

Open Document