Examples Of Individualism In The Red Badge Of Courage

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Individualism and Conformity in Stephen Crane's Red Badge of Courage

Stephen Crane's pieces are written with the intent to establish individualism as an unfavorable quality. He establishes that group goals are more important than that of the individual and creates groups to which each character should conform. Crane supplies models for the individual to comply to and elucidates that adherence to the group would bring reward but deviation from said groups would be detrimental. Henry, in Stephen Crane's The Red Badge of Courage, is created as a child in search of self worth and assurance. Crane establishes Henry as an individual by giving him the ability to think for himself but creates situations that stifle his individualism …show more content…

"The youth ensured himself that at any moment [the army] might be suddenly and fearfully assaulted"(P.186). His fear was manifested as he awoke to the find himself retreating with the rest of his infantry. Crane had constructed a situation in which Henry's individuality could not be utilized. "[Henry] ran with his comrades, strenuously [trying] to think, but all he knew was that if he fell down those coming behind would tread upon him. All his faculties seemed to be needed to guide him over and past obstructions. He felt carried along by a mob"(P.188). Henry was no longer a person, he became like the other men of his regiment: indistinct.

In the wake of danger, Henry realizes that rejection of the group is impossible. He attempts to follow Crane's naturalistic instructions within the novel, conforming to the actions and ideas of the rest of the regiment around him. He accepts the underlying law that that adherence to the group would bring reward but deviation from said groups would be detrimental. With this acceptance, Henry "suddenly lost concern for himself [and] became not a man but a member... He was welded into a common personality which was dominated by a single …show more content…

He finds this in the squirrel. After seeing the squirrel scurry away at the advance of his rock, he justifies his departure from the group by alleging that it was nature's will. The youth felt triumphant at this exhibition. There was the law, he said. Nature had given him a sign.

Henry mingles into a regiment returning from battle but again feels like an outcast. He comes to realize that he is the only one among them that is not injured. Crane thereupon creates a situation that allows Henry to be assimilated into the group. Henry is once again consumed by a retreating infantry. And upon questioning a soldier he is "crushed upon the [his] head" with a rifle. Crane had given Henry a red badge of courage. He could now return to the ranks of his regiment acclimatized.

Crane utilizes the general to make Henry stay within the group. After overhearing that his infantry can be spared, Henry finally acknowledges that his actions alone will not have any deep impact on the war. Henry fights valiantly within the group, driven by a collective feeling of patriotism and

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