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The Red Badge Of Courage Analysis

Decent Essays

Stephen Crane and John G. Neihardt are great writers. As the prompt states, great writers are great moralists. Theses writers use their texts to display tests of honor and compassion. In The Red Badge of Courage, Fleming’s honor and compassion are tested throughout his first experiences in the army. In Black Elk Speaks, Black Elk’s honor and compassion are tested through battle, and in spiritual journeys. From these tests, Fleming belives that he becomes a man. Black Elk see his tests as a steps towards manhood and knows he always has more to learn.
In The Red Badge of Courage there are many tests of honor. One of the ways in which Fleming’s honor is tested is during physical battles. Fleming enlisted in the army because he thought that battle would make him heroic. Fleming assumes that by enlisting, he has automatically become the honorable heroic figure he idealizes. In the first battle, Fleming shoots recklessly without aiming. He feels honorable by doing this, but in reality, he is unprepared and immature. Fleming’s honor is challenged again when he experiences his second battle. As he begins to prepare himself for the battle, Fleming saw a soldier flee and quickly ran away as well. “There was no shame in his face. He ran like a rabbit” (pg 43). Fleming is in denial about his lack of honor. In the novel he is continually tested with physical battles until he starts learning about the true meaning of honor. Fleming earns an honorable status in the next battle. He does

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