Examples Of Similes In The Red Badge Of Courage

      In The Red Badge of Courage, Stephen Crane explores the theme of courage and heroism in depth. He develops these themes through the main character, Henry Fleming. Henry is a naïve young man faced with the harsh realities of war, in this book, some argue that Henry is transformed into a heroic "quiet manhood" while others see Henry as the same young man who ran from battle in the beginning of the book. I think Henry doesn't change, his heroic status acquired at the end of the book isn't truly him, instead he merely is motivated by fear of dying and being rejected by his fellow soldiers.

Written by Stephen Crane, The Red Badge of Courage is a novel filled with irony. This story is written in the point of view of the main character, Henry Fleming, and tells about his maturation through the war. Including the title, from the beginning to the end of the book there is irony present. The use of irony by Crane helps create a lot of discussion for critics. Henry’s internal debate is a main source of irony in this novel. Also, his fantasy of how he thought war was going to be and how it turned out is ironic.

Stephen Crane’s The Red Badge of Courage portrays war through the youth Henry fleming’s conception. In the beginning of the novel, war is romanticized by Henry; he is enchanted by the idea that war produces heroes. However when Henry does finally fight in a battle, the romanticized idea of war is destroyed. Although Henry seems to grow up in some parts in the novel, there are parts that show he still is a child with superficial and shallow desires and ideas involving war. Henry shows his ignorance and naivness in some scenes, but then he shows his progression into adulthood and acquiring of courageousness in other scenes.

   Stephen Crane's literary technique has long been a matter of analysis and speculation. In The Red Badge of Courage Crane takes us into the life of a young man named Henry Fleming, who wants to enlist in the Army and fight in the war against the South. By using irony, similes, and symbols, Crane "paints" a vivid picture of what life was like for the fragile Henry Fleming. He opens our eyes to the vast reasons of separation for Fleming, and why he lived his life so independently. The precarious, vulnerable, and insecure Henry Fleming was isolated from more than just his family and his regiment; he was isolated from himself.

This novel displays many emotional aspects and the harsh reality that each soldier faces either in battle or war. This good work of historical fiction should be taught in schools to educate students on the American Civil War, to display the undercover perspective of the Civil War and, most importantly, to display an ordinary soldier's journey to the end of the war. To begin with, Red Badge of Courage will

In the novel, The Red Badge of Courage, Stephan Crane develops the theme “that maturity is reached by experience” through the character of Henry Fleming. Throughout the novel, we are witnesses to Henry’s growth from a naïve, foolish, and fantasizing young boy to a man. In the first couple of chapters, Crane sets the stage, the mood, and introduces the main characters, where he intentionally begins to unravel the theme that maturity is reached by experiences. At the beginning of the novel, Henry whole heartily believed that he was “made to shine in war.” Henry a naïve young boy, “burned” to enlist with “excitement and expectancy” that he would make a difference, be a hero and carry “the badge of courage” and honor.

The Red Badge of Courage is written by Stephen Crane. The book was named The Red Badge of Courage because the main character, Henry, sees a wounded soldier and wishes that he too also had a battle wound. This book portrays one of the most accurate, physical, and psychological effects of intense battle. Stephen Crane was born in Newark, New Jersey, in 1871. His father was an elder in the Methodist Conference, which required him to move a lot. He was born when his mother was 45 years old, so he was mainly raised by his sister. Stephen Crane was mainly raised by his sister because his mother was 45 when he was born. When Crane was 17, his mother sent him to Claverack College, a military school. The military did not have an effect on his discipline,

“So it came to pass that as he trudged from the place of blood and wrath his soul changed” (Crane 139). The Red Badge of Courage is a great American classic, and this wonderful quote sums up the entire novel from start to finish. The novel is a novel about a solider in the civil war who deals with the difficulties of being in war. The novel follows and captures his journey using many literary elements. Crane’s use of style, plot, setting, and characters help enhance the story. The use of these literary elements helps enhance the novel and help readers understand the struggles of a solider during the civil war.

War forces young soldiers to grow up quickly. In Stephen Crane’s Civil War novel, The Red Badge of Courage, Henry Fleming is no exception. He is faced with the hard reality of war and this forces him to readjust his romantic beliefs about war. Through the novel, the reader can trace the growth and development of Henry through these four stages: (1) romanticizing war and the heroic role each soldier plays, (2) facing the realities of war, (3) lying to himself to maintain his self-importance, and (4) realistic awareness of his abilities and place in life. Through Henry’s experiences in his path to self-discovery, he is strongly affected by events that help shape his ideology of war, death,

People tend to be greatly influenced by stories, news, and other contemporary sources of knowledge, which ultimately affects the impact they have on the world. Stephen Crane was greatly impacted by the time period in which he lived. One such influence was the popular literary style of Realism. Realism is the trend in which literature is based on the true nature of everyday occurrences devoid of any fantasy or romance. It is the raw depiction of what life and society is actually like. This literary style can be found in many of Stephen Crane’s novels. Religion also had a significant impact on the way Stephen Crane wrote his novels. He was an atheist which brought about the idea that humans are just part of nature and must solve their own problems without the intervention of a higher being. This notion is evident with the protagonist of The Red Badge of Courage. Henry Fleming, a young union soldier in the Civil War, must overcome the fear of putting his life at risk to achieve what he wants most which is honor. Honor comes from actively participating in battle and sacrificing his life for the cause. Honor is physically represented from a wound noted as the “Red Badge”. In the end Henry doesn’t consult in a higher being and achieves what he wants most by overcoming the mental obstacles and ultimately finding the strength within to realize what courage actually is. Accompanied by the literary movements and his religion, his time period was heavily influenced by the

The Red Badge of Courage, written by Stephan Crane in 1895 gives a detailed, yet, fictional account of Henry Fleming, a farm boy who joins the Union Army in the American Civil War. Before Henry is battle-tested, he ponders his courage and questions whether he will be able to fight the urge to flee from battle. Henry does indeed end up deserting his comrades however he ultimately overcomes his guilt and becomes one of the best fighters in his regiment. In order to depict a realistic and relatable war scene, Crane includes Henry’s realistic thought-process and emotion in his struggles to maintain courage. The narrative simply revealed war in a manner that was divergent to all prior forms of literature in the 19th century. Previous novels predominately entailed the glorious and romantic aspects of war rather than the tedious, gritty, and gruesome details of close combat. Instead, Crane broke the barriers of literary norms in war-related literature; the novel depicted a pragmatic experience of combat from the eyes of an inexperienced and frightened youth. In the Red Badge of Courage, Stephan Crane primarily uses religious and gory imagery as well as symbolism to contrast the romantic conceptions of war versus the reality of experiencing battle.

The Red Badge of Courage is a story of self-discovery. The novel is set during the American Civil War, on multiple battlefields. Henry Fleming is a young soldier fighting for the Union. He first joined the army because he dreams of the glories of battle and performing heroic deeds in battle. Although Henry wishes to be a brave soldier, when in battle, his survival instincts take over, and he begins debating fight or flight. His desire to become a soldier and his instinct to survive introduces the main plot and conflict of the story: During a battle, he runs away. This causes him to see the contradiction in himself and it becomes an emotional conflict for him to solve out the contradiction. Because he is so hung up on the image of the war hero, even though he wasn’t shot at, but hit by a fellow soldier, he lies to his comrades that the wound was a bullet wound. He’s lied once to them about fighting bravely in battle when in actuality he ran away, and he lied again telling them that the head would which he actually got from another soldier was a bullet wound. The climax of the plot occurs when Henry redeems himself at another major battle by fighting bravely and taking up the Union flag when the flag bearer is wounded. He ignores his fears and faces the battle like the hero he’s dreamed of and he overcomes his survival instinct. The resolution happens after the battle is over and Henry survives. He reflects on the decisions he’s made and sees how much he’d

	Crane began his writing career in poverty, hoping that it would inspire him to write. Along with his beliefs in Darwinism, he drew much if his influences from his religious beliefs (Colvert 12:108). Famous writers such as Hamlin Garland, William Howells, Rudyard Kipling, and Tolstoy also influenced him (12:101). The first of his stories was Maggie, which was very unpopular ("Stephen" n.p.). His second novel, The Red Badge of Courage, earned Crane international fame. The Red Badge of Courage showed Crane’s views of life as warfare in a book that is basically plotless. It is about a young soldier, Henry Fleming, and the emotions that he experiences during wartime ("Stephen" n.p.). Crane’s most famous work of poetry was Black Riders, which appears to have little or no outside influences (Quartermain 54:106). Black Riders was also an attempt by Crane to get rid of his thought that God was vengeful and wrathful (Colvert 12:101).

(A critique of Stephen Crane’s use of symbolism in Red Badge of Courage and An Episode of War)

Stephen Crane is one of the most important writers in American history. He has an incredible influence and has a gift for writing great stories about war. There is no one that quite has his natural skill for describing wars in the most vivid detail. He explains them so well, though one might believe that he was there for the wars he is describing in writings. While, it is, in fact, the exact opposite and he was never been in the army, navy, or any form of military. He just based his writings off of his knowledge of war and stories he heard about them. What makes his stories so special, is his perfect use of symbolism and the effect they add to his writings. Symbolism must first be defined to understand Crane’s use of it in his writing. “Symbolism is when one thing is used to represent a broader idea or emotion”(Gray). This is the perfect definition for symbolism and will help to understand Crane’s use of it in the writings. Crane uses some symbols in these ways throughout his writings; losing a limb, hero and courage, and color.