The Transformation of Henry Fleming in The Red Badge of Courage

The quote occurs after Henry fled from battle. It shows that he believes running away was the right thing to do even if he left his friends to fight. Henry believes that saving himself was more important than standing and fighting with his regiment.

When faced with adversities early into his first battle, he quickly reconsidered his views on war and courage. By running away from the face of battle, Henry “saw his vivid error, and he was afraid that it would stand before him all his life” (Cane 24.30).  This pushed him into believing that he would never be a man of courage of masculinity. This “error” of running away caused Henry to be angry at himself for mistakenly thinking the battle was over and abandoning his fellow soldiers. While away from the battle Henry discovers “that he had a scorching thirst” and “his body was calling for food” (Cane 11.21). From the struggle of war and the experience of Wilson, Henry learns to reflect upon his life and learn from his mistakes, rather than being angry at himself. This allowed Henry to be influenced by the culture around him, shaping him into acknowledging that courage was not depicted by a gunshot or a wound, but by the act of adhering to the line of duty and learning from your

When the men regroup for the second attack, many of the Union soldiers around henry begin to run away. Henry gives into the pressure and joins in the retreat, he wasn’t prepared for the horror that war brings. As he’s running, he seems to observe everyone else around him. He sees his captain lying stretched on the ground, dead, the babbling man was grazed by a shot to the head, and another man grunted as he was struck in the stomach, along with many others that just started dropping to the ground. As Henry ran, he feared for his life that he was going to be struck in the back, but he continued running. The thought of self-preservation seemed more important to him than fighting with selflessness and bravery along with the other

Meanwhile we meet two men, Jim Conklin or "the Tall Soldier" whom Henry has known for years, and Wilson or "the Loud Soldier." Wilson, afraid that he will die in battle, gives Henry a packet of letters to deliver to his family after the war. When the fighting finally starts, Henry doesn’t do too badly. However, when a second round of fighting begins after a brief lull, Henry is terrified and heads for the hills. Afterwards, he tries to rationalize his decision (to himself) by claiming it was simply a survival instinct. He oscillates between a

Henry says that with the fewer men fighting in the battle, there will be more honor for sticking around. He is using logic to present a fact that makes people want to stay and not quit. Some more examples are two pathos. First off, the text displays, “Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars? Old men forget; yet all shall be forgotten, but he’ll remember with advantages what feats he did that day,” (4.3.

"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.

The author's purpose in the book Band of Brothers is to inform about the less thought of effects of war such as the soldiers developing a close relationship and a strong bond between each other.

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.

In a battle in deep trenches, Henry starts complaining that the regiment has no real plan in the battle and that the regiment does not really know what to do in the battle. Wilson tries to calm down Henry from his anger, but Henry got angrier and took his anger out on Wilson. The lieutenant was dissatisfied with Henry’s anger and told him to keep his mouth shut about anything that might bring the regiment down. His immaturity is shown as Henry does not know how to control his feelings in a dangerous situation, which could get him and the regiment in

Henry hated to be ridiculed so badly that he abandoned the poor man who only showed care and concern for Henry. A hero doesn't abandon a fellow soldier in desperate need of help. Henry tries to reassure his confidence by asking other soldiers how they would respond to battle. Jim Conklin honestly said that it depended on the circumstances, "but if everyone was a standing and a fighting, why, I'd stand and fight."(Crane Ch.1) When he asked Wilson, Wilson dismissed the notion of running from battle. Henry was trying to look for someone to relate to, but as a result of questioning his fellow soldiers he further isolated his insecurities of battle.

Stephen Crane wrote during the Romantic era in when there was a literary and intellectual movement concentrating on a more idealistic theme. In his novel, The Red Badge of Courage

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

The Red Badge of Courage is a story of self-discovery. The novel is set during the American Civil War, on multiple battlefields. Henry Fleming is a young soldier fighting for the Union. He first joined the army because he dreams of the glories of battle and performing heroic deeds in battle. Although Henry wishes to be a brave soldier, when in battle, his survival instincts take over, and he begins debating fight or flight. His desire to become a soldier and his instinct to survive introduces the main plot and conflict of the story: During a battle, he runs away. This causes him to see the contradiction in himself and it becomes an emotional conflict for him to solve out the contradiction. Because he is so hung up on the image of the war hero, even though he wasn’t shot at, but hit by a fellow soldier, he lies to his comrades that the wound was a bullet wound. He’s lied once to them about fighting bravely in battle when in actuality he ran away, and he lied again telling them that the head would which he actually got from another soldier was a bullet wound. The climax of the plot occurs when Henry redeems himself at another major battle by fighting bravely and taking up the Union flag when the flag bearer is wounded. He ignores his fears and faces the battle like the hero he’s dreamed of and he overcomes his survival instinct. The resolution happens after the battle is over and Henry survives. He reflects on the decisions he’s made and sees how much he’d

The Red Badge of Courage, by Steven Crane, has been considered one of the greatest war novels of all time. It is a story that realistically depicts the American Civil War through the eyes of Henry Fleming, an ordinary farm boy who decides to become a soldier.

The soldiers face loneliness, isolation, the heavy burden of fear, and the weight of their reputations. The soldiers carry such a heavy weight from the past, in the present, and for the future. Even after the war, the psychological burdens the men carried during the war continues to define them. Those who survive the war carry guilt, grief, and confusion.