Comparing Heroism in Red Badge of Courage, Journey's End, and Regeneration

1217 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: What is heroism to you paper

Heroism in Red Badge of Courage, Journey's End, and Regeneration

The idea of heroism is constantly evolving with time. The traditional idea of heroism, is derived from ancient Greek influences such as the two major epic poems, the Iliad and the Odyssey. The mythological figure of heroism is endowed with great strength and ability, and of divine descent. He brings honour and acclaim, and is admired for his courage. This is the Homeric ideal that The Red Badge of Courage and Journey's End approaches. There is the predominant emphasis on the physical, courage and masculinity, in the ideal of a heroic person in these two texts. However heroism redefined in the modern context has extended its definition beyond the distinctly physical terms with the obvious absence of the intellect and morals, and is exemplified by Sassoon in Regeneration.

According to the Britannica-Webster dictionary, heroism refers to "great self-sacrificing courage, that is, greatness of heart in facing danger or difficulties." The modern definition of heroism, though it remains to be purely subjective, has evolved to mean (as I would define it) an unyielding and uncompromising commitment to one's purpose and morality even in the face of antagonism, qualities of which will command admiration.

It is this very idea of heroism that is the motivational force behind many young ambitious men to join the war. This desire to live up to the Homeric ideal feeds on pride and vanity of youths and is clearly demonstrated by Henry Fleming in The Red Badge of Courage. His exaggerated and romantic notions of honour - "tales of great movements shook the land...there seemed to be much glory in them" - drives him to the decision to join the war. However, his misguided fantasies of which " in visions he had seen himself in many struggles...imagined people secure in the shadow of his eagle-eyed prowess", proves to be terribly wrong in a matter of only a few days. In no time, he found himself to be "part of a vast blue demonstration".

Crane tries to dispel the link between heroism and actual real-life warfare by bringing Henry, an ignorant youth immersed in idealized notions of glory fame and honour, to a clearer and more sombre view of the world and himself.

Show More
Related

  • Stephen Crane and Walt Whitman: The Natural and the Language of Social Protest

    1813 Words  | 4 Pages

    In The Red Badge of Courage, Henry Fleming was drawn to enlist by his boyhood dreams. His highly romanticized notion of war was eclectic, borrowing from various classical and medieval sources. Nevertheless, his exalted, almost deified, conception of the life of a soldier at rest and in combat began to deflate before the even the ink had dried on his enlistment signature. Soon the army ceased to possess any personal characteristics Henry had once envisioned, becoming an unthinking, dispas...

    Read More

  • How Did Beowulf And Achilles Demonstrate The Nature Of Human Condition

    1065 Words  | 3 Pages

    Many cultures in the ancient and medieval worlds found courage as a value and virtue associated with warriors. To a great extent, western cultures also find courage as an attribute of warriors. This courageous cultural tendency gets its imaginative manifestation in literature of heroic societies such as The Epic of Gilgamesh, homer’s Iliad and Beowulf. These Epic heroes which show human conditions are Gilgamesh, Achilles from Homer's Iliad and Beowulf. Although, the actions and lives of these warriors occurred at different times in history, their stories are passed on from generations to generations and they share a lot of commonalities but with some discrepancies based on their lives, their choices, ideals and beliefs. These warriors present human conditions in terms of their heroism, weaknesses and mortality. All demonstrate the nature of humans and their constant struggles with understanding and curiosity which drives their internal hunger. The struggle of understanding and the curiosity drive is faced with difficulties and the greatest one is that of facing their fears head on.

    Read More

  • Patriotism In 'The Red Badge Of Courage'

    391 Words  | 1 Pages

    In the Red Badge of Courage, the protagonist Henry, is a young boy who yearns to be a Great War hero, even though he has never experienced war himself. Anxious for battle, Henry wonders if he truly is courageous, and stories of soldiers running make him uncomfortable. He struggles with his fantasies of courage and glory, and the truth that he is about to experience. He ends up running away in his second battle. Henry is somewhat nave, he dreams of glory, but doesn't think much of the duty that follows.

    Read More

  • Heroism in Beowolf and The Canterbury Tales

    1021 Words  | 3 Pages

    All in all, heroism is a vague word that could be defined as many of things. Such as bravery, courage, honesty, morality, trusts...etc. If Beowulf was defined as a hero then the knight should be defined as one also seeing as he gave the old women the choice to be old and good or pretty and bad. Or if the Author of The Art of Courtly love cannot be heroic and then write in a way of being heroic how can one decide what heroism is. All three of these studies show different forms and fashions of heroic people, feelings, and attitudes. Overall heroism is and always will be based on personal opinion, what one person defines as a hero can be completely different from what another person sees it as.

    Read More

  • Status Confessionis and Social Commentary from the Current Church

    1279 Words  | 3 Pages

    Throughout my ongoing investigation of the interactions between religious values and social behavior, I have become thoroughly intrigued with the role of the institutional church in the realm of social commentary and criticism, as well as political activism. That there is a long standing concept within the church tradition relating to my curiosity is not terribly surprising after just an overview of the language that sociology theory has applied to religious bodies. The role of the church in relation to society is divided into two basic categories of action- that of the “priest,” and that of the “prophet.” (Download a PDF file of a pamphlet eslpaining the terminolgoy of "Priest & Prophet.") The former describes the conserving, nurturing actions of the church towards broader social structures, the latter, criticism and the call to move away from corruption towards righteousness. When acting as prophet in the most extreme sense, the church is considered to be in a time of, what is called, status confessionis - acknowledging a state of social injustice so abhorrent that the church must actively interject its influence into even the secular sphere and demand repentance and reform. Nazism and apartheid in South Africa are the two most often cited examples of church bodies acting in status confessionis (Schuurman 100).

    Read More

  • Heroism in Beowulf and Frankenstein

    949 Words  | 2 Pages

    With fear comes courage, with experience comes bravery, and with pain comes strength. One may assume that these traits are the exact characteristics a hero. However, heroism can come in many different forms. Victor Frankenstein, from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, and Beowulf exemplify many different traits of heroism.

    Read More

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

    1108 Words  | 3 Pages

    The reaction of one soldier to another is the basis of war, as camaraderie is the methodology by which wars are won.  Henry gave witness to the horrors of war, the atrocities of battle, the deaths of his friends, and later a life of victory.  The ultimate transformation in Henry's character leading to a mature temperament was found by finding himself in the confusion of war and companionship.

    Read More

  • Capitalism: Where Do We Come From?

    564 Words  | 2 Pages

    Globalization is the process of people of different cultures or countries integrating through interacting through trade or the use of social media. In “Point: Globalization Provides a Better Life for All” By Jennifer Graham, she provides a valid point of view of how globalization has benefited society. “Globalization enriches the human experience through increased cultural and economic integration, which promotes diversity by opening society to new technology, communication and ideas...Moreover, globalization helps to break down discrimination against people on the basis of religious beliefs or race” (Para, 11,13). Globalization has an impact on my lifestyle because I am currently surrounded by technology and different cultural food. With globalization I have access to different foods that i would normally never get to try, also technology has allowed me to gain knowledge about different culture I would normally not know, this results in me being more informed and benefited because of globalization bringing the different culture of the world so much closer

    Read More

  • The Red Badge Of Courage Essay

    792 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Red Badge of Courage is not a war novel. It is a novel about life. This novel illustrates the trials and tribulations of everyday life. Stephen Crane uses the war as a comparison to everyday life. He is semi-saying that life is like a war. It is a struggle of warriors—the every day people—against the odds. In these battles of everyday life, people can change. In The Red Badge of Courage, the main character, Henry Fleming, undergoes a character change that shows how people must overcome their fears and the invisible barriers that hold them back from being the best people—warriors, in the sense that life is war—they can be. Henry has a character change that represents how all humans have general sense of fear of the unknown that must be overcome.

    Read More

  • Heroism in Stephen Crane's The Red Badge of Courage

    1786 Words  | 4 Pages

    The world of Stephen Crane's fiction is a cruel, lonely place. Man's environment shows no sympathy or concern for man; in the midst of a battle in The Red Badge of Courage "Nature had gone tranquilly on with her golden process in the midst of so much devilment" (89). Crane frequently anthropomorphizes the natural world and turns it into an agent actively working against the survival of man. From the beginning of "The Open Boat" the waves are seen as "wrongfully and barbarously abrupt and tall" (225) as if the waves themselves had murderous intent. During battle in The Red Badge of Courage the trees of the forest stretched out before Henry and "forbade him to pass. After its previous hostility this new resistance of the forest filled him with a fine bitterness" (104). More omnipresent than the mortal sense of opposition to nature, however, is the mortal sense of opposition to other men. Crane portrays the Darwinian struggle of men as forcing one man against another, not only for the preservation of one's life, but also the preservation of one's sense of self-worth. Henry finds hope for escape from this condition in the traditional notion that "man becomes another thing in a battle"‹more selfless and connected to his comrades (73). But the few moments in Crane's stories where individuals rise above self-preservation are not the typically heroicized moments of battle. Crane revises the sense of the heroic by allowing selfishness to persist through battle. Only when his characters are faced with the absolute helplessness of another human do they rise above themselves. In these grim situations the characters are reminded of their more fundamental opp...

    Read More

  • Free Antigone Essays: The Human Condition

    592 Words  | 2 Pages

    Heroism entails several things; a selfless act, courage, or the accomplishments of bold and daring expeditions. A hero can also mean courage in the face of death. Others may view this type of hero as stupid, or a martyr. Every hero has faults and these faults along with heroic deeds make the man or woman; a hero, heroine.

    Read More

  • Gilgamesh: A Mythical Hero

    855 Words  | 2 Pages

    From the beginning of time, mythology has appeared to be one key method of understanding life’s confusions and battles. Within these myths lies a hero. From myth to myth and story to story, heroes experience what may be called a struggle or a journey, which lays down their plot line. Bearing tremendous strength, talent, and significant admiration, a hero holds what is precious to their audience, heroism. Over time however, no matter the hero, the hero’s role remains indistinguishable and identical to the position of every other hero.

    Read More

  • Essay About Heroism

    913 Words  | 2 Pages

    Heroism can show itself in many shapes and forms from ordinary people to heroic and courageous people something to think about is that anyone can show heroism. A lot of people have shown heroism just by doing the right thing such as just helping someone or not acting mean towards others. heroism can show itself in many different forms but sadly some ordinary people don’t get recognized for the heroic acts that they do. Many different people just don’t recognize heroism from ordinary people as they just think of superheroes and supervillains. In reality anyone can achieve heroism as long as they strive for it. While ordinary people can sometimes not be recognized for acts of heroism, these heroes are courageous and can defeat all of the challenges

    Read More

  • Nations Should Promote Globalization, Not Localization

    1779 Words  | 4 Pages

    Globalization is also a term that is often misused interchangeably with other terms such as world society, globalism, universalism, and interdependence because many people believe that they all have the same basic and essential meaning. Localization, another important term also commonly misused due to the lack of clarity in it’s definition, mainly focuses on individuals and groups that narrow their horizons due to pressure and therefore participate in different forms of behavior in comparison to other groups. In this paper, the main issue of discussion will focus on the significance, cost and benefits, and basic definition of globalization and localization, as well as fragmegration (an integration of the two dynamics, globalization and localization). Finally, this paper will also discuss how these terms relate to and affect real life situations such as the Asian economic crisis.

    Read More

  • Globalization Affects Culture

    1500 Words  | 3 Pages

    Globalization has taken place in the past when state and empires expanded their influence far outside their border. However, one of the distinctions of globalization today is the speed with which it is transforming local culture as they took part in a worldwide system of interconnectedness. Through globalization, many cultures in the world have changed dramatically.

    Read More

More about Comparing Heroism in Red Badge of Courage, Journey's End, and Regeneration

Open Document