Symbolism In The Red Badge Of Courage

The Red Badge of Courage is a war novel written to exemplify the experiences and emotions of a young soldier in the American Civil War. The novel details the qualities of maturity and manhood in a gripping tale of Private Henry Fleming of the Union Army. The author, Stephen Crane wishes to relate the American public to the emotional and psychological challenges endured by countless men in the Civil War.

In the beginning of the book, the author describes Henry’s beliefs about the war. He thinks war is about the glory soldiers receive or dying a hero’s death. As he gets into the first battle, he is suddenly faced with the reality. Passing be dead soldiers and watching the battle before him causes Henry to flee. As he is running away, he happens to stumble upon a rotting corpse, this makes the realities become even more clear. Shaken from the encounter, he moves on.

The Civil War officially started in 1861, yet problems between the North and the South date back as far as the early 1830s. The North was infuriated over slavery after a woman by the name of Harriet Beecher Stowe published her book Uncle Tom's Cabin. Stowe's book analyzed the life of a slave in an astonishing and realistic way. It caused many people to join the Union. Then the war began in July of 1861 when a Confederate army met with a Federal army at Manassen, Virginia. Many battles were fought until finally the north was victorious. Slavery was abolished, and the federal government's power was set as supreme power over all the land.

In the first battle, Henry is shown as young and naive. He really did not understand what was about to happen around him. While he was scared at first, when the enemy started getting closer, he forgot about being scared and just started shooting. Part 2 of chapter 5 states that "He suddenly lost concern for himself, and forgot to look at a menacing fate." Henry saw many soldiers die during this first battle. As things kept going, his emotions changed from scared, to excited, to angry, to sad, and then to surprised. He was amazed at everything that had happened during the first battle.

As previously discussed, Henry must make adjustments to his dreams as events pertinent to his life manipulate his goals. Henry never seemingly has the exact same life goal at any one point in the book, as he changes his mind from being a courageous soldier, to earning a red badge of courage, and so on. However, Henry never loses his ambition to continue and persevere through the hardships from his sacrifices. He subconsciously understands he will eventually achieve what he is looking for; he realizes it will take time and guidance from the realities of his life. Henry’s approach to life eventually allows him to achieve his dreams. “So it came to pass that as he trudged from the place of blood and wrath his soul changed. He came from hot plowshares to prospects of clover tranquilly, and it was as if hot plowshares were not. Scars faded as flowers” (Crane 130). This quote emphasizes the result of Henry’s life as he leaves his previous forfeits behind in order to finally obtain his goal inspiring happiness, which emphasizes the novel’s overall

Henry wants to be the hero but he doesn’t think the war is really coming.He thinks that join the army has proved his bravery already,sometimes the people makes him think he is a hero now.He had, of course, dreamed of battles all his life--of vague and bloody conflicts that had thrilled him with their sweep and fire. In visions he had seen himself in many struggles. He had imagined peoples secure in the shadow of his eagle-eyed prowess,…but it, he thought, had been long gone over the horizon and had disappeared forever(chapter

The Red Badge of Courage Stephen Crane: 1. Significant of the book’s title The author chose the title “ The Red badge of Courage” because every soldier who got injured in a battle they would be giving a red badge and Henry the main character wishes to have a red badge to show his courage to everyone. He believes that he would return home as a hero or not return at all. He struggle through his journey in the battle to achieve or accomplish his goal of earning the red badge.

The Red Badge of Courage shows the real nature of war and specifically how most of Americans don’t understand what goes on when a person is actually at war. Soldiers are fighting not just for their own lives, but also for all of the people that don’t have to be apart of the heinous acts that happen during war. Most do not see or hear about what goes on in the line of fire or how if feels when it’s witnessed to see another human being shot to the ground in a firefight. The Red Badge of Courage changes the way that we think about war, most are naive just like Henry had been before he enlisted. “He had burned several times to enlist. Tales of great movements shook the land. They might not be distinctly Homeric, but there seemed to be much glory in them. He had read of marches, sieges, conflicts, and he had longed to see it all. His busy mind had drawn for him large pictures extravagant in color, lurid with breathless deeds.” (Crane 3)

As the battles continue, Henry dedicates himself to fighting. He starts working with his soldiers, and not only focusing on himself. He no longer wants approval from the other soldiers, because he knows what he does is right and has a significant amount of self affirmation. This shows his maturation and

“ The Red badge of courage “ was a great book. The book introduces a boy named Henry, who is the main character in the story. He wants to enlist in the army so he can have his share of showing bravery. He ends up enlisting even though his mother told him that he was not aloud. The conflict however in this story was not Henry's mother, or the fact that he enlisted in the army without permission, but its the way he feels about his first time at war. Henry is afraid that once its time to actually fight, he'll be to afraid and run away from it.

The Red Badge of Courage stood out to me from other war novels because it told the story of a youth and his hard and emotional journey to adulthood. Henry Fleming begins as an innocent young man, eager to experience the glory of war. Shortly after enlisting, he faces the truth about war and his own character. Henry is faced with the contradiction between his survival instinct and his desire to be a real soldier.

Henry's perspective on war changes throughout the story leaving him confused on what he'll do. "He became not a man but a member. He felt that something of which he was a part of a regiment, an army, a cause, or a country-was in crisis. He was welded into a common personality which was dominated by a single desire." (pg.83) He understands that he can't do much as himself scared with no courage. Rather the entire army as they comes together as one man essentially either they win or loose all fighting for the same cause to defeat the enemy. Henry transforms throughout the entire story he is a completely different man than he was in the

Before Henry joined the army he dreamed of being in battle it thrilled him he wanted to be a hero, but in the first chapter the narrator explains why. In chapter 1 he was deciding whether or not if he had courage to join the war and he decided to join the army because he believes war makes heros and he will gain honor and a place in history. This shows how his views of battle was before he joined the army he believed that he will be a hero if he joined the army.

“The Youth,” which Henry is referred to as, dreamt of glory in battle and being a hero (Crane 2). That is the reason why Henry enlisted himself; even though he told his comrades he was forced to be in the army. His mother’s farewell speech is ironic because he thought that she would give him a tearful and long speech, but all she really said was to “Watch out, and be a good boy” (4). She does not want Henry to be a hero even though that is what he went to war for. She told Henry that she will be fine if he does not return home. Henry tries to pull off being a confident and good soldier, while in the reality he is very nervous about what will happen in battle. Throughout the novel, he questions his courage and if he would run from battle. At an early battle, Henry continuously fires at the enemy line and feels like he is a courageous soldier. However, soon after this battle, another one erupts and Henry runs from it. This is

He described that he couldn’t escape even if he wanted to. Through this analogy, the reader can see that Henry is reducing the soldiers to unthinking, unfeeling machines, performing their duty without taking into account the threat of injury or death. As he looks around at the faces of the rest of the soldiers in his regiment, he notices their focused commitment to the firing of their rifles. He wonders if he is the only one faced with questions of morality. While the regiment began to advance, Henry was shocked to receive a packet of letters from Wilson, who feared he would die in battle. After the battle, he is glad that he made it through the first day. He begins to lose the romantic vision of war by seeing the realities, but he starts lying to himself about who is really is.