Naturalist Themes In Stephen Crane's A Mystery Of Heroism

Naturalism is a complex literary movement which infiltrated many books in the 1800s. One book in particular best shows the themes of Naturalism. The book, Ethan Frome, displays a multitude of motifs which further the main ideas and themes of the story. Motifs are used to highlight the theme. Due to the complex nature of the book, Ethan Frome written by Edith Wharton, motifs are used to further the ideas and themes presented in this tale.

In the story, Crane uses literary techniques such as logos and ethos to describe the harshness of the Civil War and of life. The story tells of a Civil War lieutenant who is shot in the arm while parting out coffee for his troops, and despite the lack of severity of the wound, his arm must be amputated. The lieutenant uses logic when he struggles and denies the fact that his arm requires amputation, but the doctor insists. The story tells of his struggle by saying, “‘Let go of me,’ said the lieutenant, holding back wrathfully, his glance fixed upon the door of the old schoolhouse, as sinister to him as the portals of death.” This shows the seriousness of life and the unfairness of it because the lieutenant was not engaged in battle, yet a stray bullet hit his arm. The story also shows emotion when the lieutenant’s arm is unjustly amputated and he must sooth his family by telling them that his situation is not as serious as they make it out to be, although he himself felt it was unfair. He faces life with dignity and realizes the seriousness of

“Perhaps an individual must consider his own death to be the final phenomenon of nature.” In this small excerpt from his short story “The Open Boat” one can clearly see that Stephen Crane was a firm believer in the concepts of naturalism. After the harsh and violent Civil War the United States was no longer the nation it had been before. Previously, Americans had focused on the positive or romantic side of their surroundings and had written in a romantic style, glorifying man’s communion with nature. However, after the civil war that wasn’t the case. Some American’s had now experienced the harsh reality that nature was completely unbothered by the events that occurred to man. They realized

Both Crane and Robinson show how certain events psychologically impact human mind and behavior by forcing one to commit an unusual and dangerous action. In “A Mystery of Heroism” Crane shows the psychological thoughts that caused Collins, an employee of the A company, to force himself into a dangerous situation. Collins’ thoughts about showing his bravery and proving his worth to his comrades motivated him to go get the water

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

	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).

Stephen Crane also draws on hope and transcendentalism to describe the strength of man in his battle to survive against nature. There are four men in “The Open Boat,” yet when the correspondent rows alone at night he doesn’t feel the “subtle brotherhood of men” (587), but that “he was the one man afloat on all the oceans” (594). Crane’s adherence to naturalism shows in the correspondent’s desire to communicate with a personification of nature, the great antagonist. In response—like London’s dancing stars—the “high cold star on a winter’s night” (595) responds

Crane's approach to war was a direct and realistic way of portraying war. It is true that war has been presented to society as a moment where heroism is present and the brave stand out and being wounded gives you a bravery recognition. Crane wanted to portray the reality of war. The real suffering, the pain of injury. Crane showed that most soldiers are afraid of dying and afraid of watching other die at their side.

I believe the purpose for Stephen Crane writing this book is to show how 1) Don’t underestimate something, and 2) it is also a way to consider how a teenager felt when going into war. The way he showed not to underestimate anything is by showing how Henry felt about fighting in the war, and masculinity. Henry thought the war was easy which is why he joined, he did it for the glory and himself. In the end, he realizes that war is about fighting for what you believe in, and not for your own personal glory. Lastly, the way it showed how a teenager felt is by showing that he thought the war was easy, and also that he ran away in the beginning battle. In the beginning, Henry left his mom to join the war thinking it was easy. The group he was in

Born in November 1, 1871, Stephen Crane was an astonishing American poet and short story writer. He wrote many memorable works, which we even remember to this day and generation. Crane was one of the greatest authors in his generation. Crane began writing at only the age of 4 and published many pieces when he turned 16. Crane’s writing journey began with his first novel called A Girl of the Streets, in which critics really enjoyed and had a high praise or acclaim for. Crane wrote one of his more popular novels, The Red Badge of Courage, in which he wrote without having any war experience what so ever. He even based one of his novels on a real life experience. When Crane was travelling to Cuba, his ship sank from the coast of Florida, which

only created poetry, but also many novels, short stories, sketches, and letters during his twenty-nine years of life. A flawless ironist, Crane was neither a pessimist nor an optimist; he was, rather, a meliorist who believed that improvement was conceivable. He was very creactive and had meaning behind his writings as seen in the following sentences. Crane believed in progress, some of his best writings encapsulated the self-defeating perversity-and more often the apathy-through which individuals cause death as seen in, "The Upturned Face". Isolation is found in "The Blue Hotel". Solitude is found in, "A Duel Between an Alarm Clock and a Suicidal

To understand Crane first we need to know what a naturalist and a realist writer are in terms of literature. A realist wrote about the world in the here and now of its time period. Realist wrote on a subject as it was, made the reader feel like they were right there in that time and space. A naturalist come from the realist. A naturalist wrote just like the realist but went deeper into the person as well as their environment. A naturalist wanted to make you as the reader feel like you were there and to make you relate to if not feel like the character of the story.

Crane takes the reader through major snippets of their lives so as to show the reasons behind

The story comes from a topic that Crane is used to writing about. He was a journalist during the muckraking journalism period before he became

Crane’s approach to writing was something new for war stories. His sense of abruptness and literal storytelling was extremely straightforward for some readers. Crane does not attest to “mannerism” or “social norms”, he says the outright truth despite its emotional effect. This sense of emotional truth can be interpreted as harsh to a reader, but is the best way of communicating the emotional truths of a story. This style can be observed when Crane depicts Henry's cognition. We can observe how he contemplates fighting or running, and the amount of guilt he feels as well. It’s in no way glamorous to be in fear, it’s not “sexy” to leave the tattered soldier behind to die, it’s in no way acceptable to fake an injury to avoid fighting. These facts are disclosed despite how appealing they are, this sense of truth, sets Cranes writing apart entirely.