The Red Badge Of Courage And Cowardliness

The America I believe in, has a military that has fought for our freedom. Our military has fought for years to ensure our safety. Without the military we would be under the rule of an enemy country. The military is especially brave, and we can barely convey they are afraid. Like David Hackworth said, “Bravery is being the only one who knows you’re afraid.” We must be as brave as they are, and give them support. According to the web site army.mil, the military does what they ensure for us, since they acquire honor, integrity, respect, and courage. My uncle, Henry, is a retired veteran, and he has been through war. He stands a highly respected person in the military. I asked him when I was younger why did he join the military. Confidently, he

I don’t think about courage much. I never really thought about how the presence of others might effect our perception of courage. When other people are around, acting courageous for the sake of looking brave could be considered false courage by the standards set in The Red Badge of Courage. Without the knowledge of how courage works, it might be difficult to discern between real and false courage, but through your book, I was able to learn the difference.

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 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.

"He became not a man but a member. He felt that something of which he was a part -a regiment, an army, a cause, or a country -was in a crisis. He was welded into a common personality which was dominated by a single desire." (Crane ) The Red Badge of Courage is written by Stephen Crane. It takes place during the Civil War. Some readers think Henry is a Coward while other think he is a hero. Henry shows heroic traits when he ends up fighting, grabs the flag, and stays with the army.

In the Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane, Henry has a conflict of individual vs. self as he struggles to mature at first when confronted with the realities of war. We see Henry be mesmerized by the glories of being a soldier but he does not truly understand what it means to be a soldier fighting in a conflict such as the Civil War. He matures and develops throughout his exposure to warfare and understands what it means to be a warrior. This is the central point in understanding why he fights with the other soldiers the first battle, yet he flees when the second battle ensues.

War requires people to give up their lives to reach a common goal. These sacrifices create opportunities that allow people to grow. In The Red Badge of Courage, Henry and Wilson make sacrifices which lead to growth.

1. Crane appeared to be enthusiastic, as he used a fresh approach, to write about the war. There are two quotes, from the story, which, exactly, reveal this. From the first of the quotes, ("...As the landscape charged from brown to green, the the army awakened, and began to tremble with eagerness at the noise of rumors..."), we can tell, that something exciting, in a dramatic way was going on. We can, also, begin to see, that the army seemed to be fighting for something big, since it is mentioned, in the text, that they were awakened, suddenly. The army was fighting, for something they, probably, wanted, badly, as we can see, that the army "began to tremble with eagerness"). The second quote, from the story, which reveals Crane's fresh approach, was ("He was swelled with a tale he had heard from a reliable friend...").

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)

The Red Badge of Courage is less about conflict and more about how Henry comes to terms with his fears about battle, confrontation and death. Henry Fleming was greatly afraid of battle. He once thought it to be this great and easy piece of enlisting that would make him a hero to his mother (Crane 5).

Red Badge of Courage The Red Badge of Courage, by Stephen Crane, is a war novel about the meaning of courage, taking place during the American Civil War. This novel is told through the eyes of Henry Fleming, a young Union Army recruit. Henry enlisted in the Union Army with romantic notions about the glories of war, but shortly after enlisting he quickly discovers sides of himself he never knew existed. The novel shows the transition of Henry Fleming, from a naïve young boy, to a new role as a man and a hero.

War is a mandatory action crucial to obtain peace in dire circumstances. Civilizations falter and crumble due to disagreements inside the system. In order for peace to prevail, war becomes a necessity, to avoid the reversion and waning of improvements or else all struggles and achievements will amount to nothing. By giving reason and name to war, it is transformed into a fair, yet morally inaccurate solution to find peace. This indistinct finale to the fiasco reflects how in order to succeed in one situation; one must sacrifice and sin for the better and more desirable outcome. A person fights for reasons concealed to themselves, but are exposed in sacred revelations broadcasted publicly during the dissection of character. Reasons for

Crane’s novel “The Red Badge of Courage” is a compelling war novel focusing on the psychological growth a soldier goes through as he experiences war. He starts us with Henry with the naive idea that war is a quick shot at fame. He imagines himself being a superhero on the battlefield, and returning home with stories to swoon all of the women with and impress his mother. However he doubts his own courage in the face of danger. Crane takes us through the psychological growth and maturity that henry experiences during the battle.

Courage is a battle fought on two battlefields. The battle for courage involves the individual’s development ranging from learning to taking care of oneself to becoming aware of others. The battle for courage is reflected in judgment, planning, response, attention, control, and realistic expectation. This creates the theme of man vs self in the use of foreshadowing, irony, and allusion. Crane illustrates this truth in the novel The Red Badge of Courage, a story of a young farm boy, Henry, who is in the middle of the American Civil War facing many challenges, but ultimately overcoming them through maturity.

The Red Badge of Courage is a classic story that stands the test of time. It is about a heroic young boy named Henry Fleming. He is excited to finally enlist in the war and get his “red badge of courage”, a wound from combat. He wishes to impress friends and females alike. But what makes Henry flee from the war?