Henry Fleming Characteristics

The amount of blood shed, and the amount of soldiers that were fleeing was not a confidence booster for him. The soldier next to Henry dropped his riffle and ran before Henry did. This was ultimately the decision maker. After witnessing this, Henry didn't even need to think twice about fleeing. As Henry is running, he begins to rationalize the decision in which he made. Thinking that maybe he had made the right decision. He completely forgot all the lessons his regiment had instilled in him and his fellow comrades. He abandons all the honor and loyalty he has for his Union, and runs for

Henry’s internal struggle is his view of courage. Henry believes courage is something a person earns and achieves. He never experienced war, but has dreamt and, “He had imagined peoples secure in the shadow of his eagle-eyed prowess. But awake he had regarded battles as crimson blotches on the pages of the past. He had put them as things of the bygone with his thought-images of heavy crowns and high castles.” (Crane 3) Henry wants to go to war to become a hero. He thinks that he has courage and could go to war and get all the glory. Henry runs from battle and has guilt, he comes up with excuses, he is a piece of the army and should save himself. When Henry comes back to the battlefield, he sees wounded soldiers and, “At times he regarded the

Most Americans didn’t really understand what was going on during battle, mostly during the time of the civil war because up to this point we we hadn’t had a war that had been this deadly and gruesome. One of the most prominent themes that you see throughout the book is courage; as the novel opens, Henry’s view of being courageous is traditional and romantic. He assumes that, he will return from the war either with or without his shield. Henry’s understanding of courage has more to do with the praise of his peers than any internal measure of his

It is stated, “ He suddenly lost concern for himself, and forgot to look at a menacing fate. He became not a man but a member.” This quote shows he was part of something bigger. He was a member of something from which he could not flee since they needed him, just as he needed them. His lapse of selfishness allowed Henry to fight his first battle with honor. However, after seeing many wounded men, Henry could not fight another battle and runs for the hills. The second battle brings on another feeling for Henry. Although Henry feared he would run like a coward during his first battle, Henry actually acts cowardly during the second

This shows that Henry allows himself to now be a part of something bigger. This also shows that Henry lets himself become sucked in a bigger cause, to not to save himself but to but to save and help his other comrades. He loses his sense of being an individual completely, which cuts self-preservation out of his picture.

In the beginning of the book Henry reflects his decision to enlist in the war because he thinks it’s going to be perfect and glorious, but as he gets involved in the war his perspective changes. When he gets to war he is confident and fears nothing, however, his feelings change when he hears Jim Conklin, the tall soldier, say that the war was imminent. Throughout the novel Henry questions himself. He questions if he is courageous,

Henry felt unhappy that the tale was false and now was more concerned about himself and it leads him to be depressed because he had done nothing for the last few months when waiting to go to war. He comes to the point that he feels like he cannot do anything at all, and can't be the hero he wants to be. He also comes to the point that he finds out that math and science cannot help him in everything, such as determining if he is a coward or not. Having noticed that he cannot determine on math and science to help him find out if he is a coward or not, he decides to go find an opportunity to help him prove if he is a coward or not. Trying to find an opportunity, he tried to measure himself to the other soldiers of his camp and tried to understand what the other soldiers was thinking about. He explains that he also afraid to show the other soldiers his concern about the war. He then thinks about two theories about his own camp as a whole. His first theory is that he believes that all the soldiers in his camps are heroes. However, at some times, he ignored the positive theories he had about them and saw them instead as a wandered someone who is afraid to do something. His emotions about them made him feel strange, especially about the people who talk about the excitement of the battle that is going to occur right in front of their

He started to realize that he could die right here right now. Henry started to feel a lot of fear. The reality kicked in and his whole view on the battle changed. He started firing his gun blindly and never looked at the enemies. He started to witness some of his fellow comrades getting shot and wounded. He thought to himself that I don’t want that to be me. He also noticed that a couple of his fellow comrades had dropped their weapons and fled. That’s where Henry panicked and fled along with them, because of the

" He suddenly lost concern for himself, and forgot to look at a menacing fate. He became not a man ..." During the battle, Henry loses himself and becomes instinct. That is the only thing that allows him to continue fighting.

Before Henry enlisted to be in the army, he thought that fighting uld make him a brave hero. But as the time approached that he had to actually fight, he began having a self-conflict. He was afraid that we would not be brave enough and flee from battle when the time came. So during his first battle, he was trying

“Almost from the moment he is struck, Henry starts to set aside his fearful and potent imagination and his reason... The chaos of war teaches the necessity of insensibility. “(DillingHam) Henry’s first notice of change is when he is back at the camp talking to his brothers he notices how changed they have become. He sees that his friends are no longer the outgoing, energetic youths of the day before.

In the beginning of the book, Henry tries to understand what courage is and asks himself if he has it. When he realizes that he does not have the courage he wants, he becomes sad and thrives to become a man that embodies his courage. Henry finally gets his courage when he leads a charge as the flag bearer with his lieutenant. Another theme in the book is manhood. Throughout the book, Henry tries to become a man. He knows he does not have what it takes it at the beginning of the book when he runs from the battle even though he would've been fine. As he continues to battle, he becomes more of a man and when the ultimate test comes, he passes it with great

However, his thoughts about his brother in arms proved false and his regiment held the line, making him see that he was not preserving his life, but rather abandoning his companions. Dashing from the battle scene was a conscious choice on Henry’s part, but instead of facing is flaws like a hero and trying to build upon his mistakes to recover, Henry hides behind excuses, like the immature coward he is.

He saw his captain dead on the ground, He saw a fellow soldier with his knee cap blown out by a bullet, and he saw a bullet graze a mans face. This had made Henry realize that he was dancing with death. This contributed substantially to his fears of death. As he ran the text states that his fears were beginning to become more and more intense as he ran. “Since he turned his back on the fight, his fears had been wondrously magnified. Death about to thrust him between the shoulder-blades...” this fear of being killed turned Henry from a soldier into a coward in a split

Upon arriving to the battle he realizes how life in the war really is and becomes afraid to progress. While his comrades are fighting in the battle, Henry adjourns elsewhere. One of his closest comrades had died, and he later realized he needed to step up and fight the battle he enlisted for. The death of his close comrade motivated him to fight this battle, but he was still a coward and just stayed behind to watch. Henry’s other close comrade, Wilson, motivated Henry to proceed to the battle and fight like he was suppose to. Another soldier mocked Henry forcing him to put his full determination this war and defeating them. The main hardship Henry experienced was battling his cowardice side while trying to embrace his determination for courage. Both Ishmael and Henry have the courage and determination from the motivation they receive from their colleagues to fight their