...Symbolism in The Red Badge of Courage The term Symbolism can be defined as the use of symbols to represent ideas, natural objects or facts (Mork). Throughout history, Symbolism has been used as a means of uniquely conveying certain messages across a public spectrum. Take for example the Underground Railroad system before the Civil War. Many slaves made quilts containing several pictures and symbols as a means of secretly communicating with other slaves (Breneman). The use of symbolism can especially be seen in literature; a great example of this is Stephen Crain’s novel The Red Badge of Courage. Written in 1895, the plot mainly takes place in the Civil War, more specifically in The Battle of Chancellorsville. It is said that this battle was one of the bloodiest battles in the Civil War (The New York Times). The story centers around a young man Henry Fleming, who is very much obsessed with fame and recognition. Part of this obsession makes him join the Union Army, as an attempt to die with honor and to be forever immortalized by fame. Crane makes use of Symbolism through his characters, such as Henry, and the environment in which these characters are placed in. Through the use of Symbolism, Crane is introducing and informing the readers about the concept of Naturalism in such a subtle yet effective manner. Crane’s novel is filled with symbolism, take the title for example. Back in that time period, Civil War solders used the term red badge to describe a blood stain or wound attained...
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...Kessia Andersen American Literature Dr. Mulrooney The Red Badge of Courage is a suspenseful novel, set during the American Civil War that follows the journey of a young soldier named Henry Fleming, and his psychological struggle over war, courage, and manhood. Often referred to by Crane as “the youth,” Henry finds himself drawn to the glory of battlefield conflict, the fairytale nobility of self sacrifice and the honor and reverence that seasoned soldiers are perceivably showered with. It is with all this in mind that he leaves his mother behind and enlists in the army. His hopes are high as he is sent off into battle with the local girls swooning over him, stroking his ego. Little does he know, the reality that awaits him is nothing so simple. His noble send off is a false precursor of what actually lies in Henry’s future. For months, all his regiment does is sit around camp, waiting for action, occasionally migrating to a different location, but...
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...Henry Fleming, along with most Civil War soldiers, endured psychological struggles when faced with the reality that death is inevitable. Stephen Crane wrote The Red Badge of Courage as a realistic novel by using average soldiers and conflicts that the average person could easily understand. Crane also included naturalism in this novel by associating the setting with the protagonist. Stephen Crane’s use of these psychological struggles made The Red Badge of Courage a truly unique novel of its time. The Red Badge of Courage is set in during the Civil War at the three day long Battle of Chancellorsville. The Civil War lasted for about four years in which the Union Army fought the Confederate Army, to preserve the United States, in sixty-seven full-scale battles, three hundred and ten engagements, and 6,337 skirmishes (Bowman 280). The Civil War claimed approximately 360,000 Union soldiers’ lives and left hundreds of thousands of men disabled. More than 400,000 men died of diseases, accidents, and other causes than war (Bowman 280). The war also severely hurt the economy. The property losses would cost billions of dollars by today’s terms. The total cost of the Civil War was fifteent billion in 1860 dollars which is equal to three hundred and fifty billion in 1990 dollars (Bowman 280). These losses resulted in the restoration of the American Union and the emancipation of four million enslaved African Americans. The Confederate Army fought against the mighty Union army for their...
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...When someone thinks of a superhero majority of the time they’ll think of the all mighty Superman or Captain America. But what really makes a hero? Is it the ability to withstand any force thrown upon them? Or is it their incredible super strength? Hero’s are not always what we expect them to be. However they are not always what cartoons tend to describe them. We sometimes think and refer to a hero as someone that will come and save us flying or doing some sort magic, but that is not what a hero is. A hero is someone with tremendous amount of courage and bravery and will be in the front line ready for any duty or obstacle comes upon them. One of the greatest 20th century hero ever lived is Audie Murphy. Born in Kingston, Hunt County, Texas on June 20, 1924, Audie Murphy was raised in a sharecropper’s dilapidated house. His father fell short on his parental responsibilities and eventually abandoned his family leaving Audie to pick up his slack and take care of his mother and younger siblings. Soon after, his mother passed away and to honor her death he enlisted in the military. Audie soon became the most decorated U.S. soldier in World War II. Though he was only 21 years old at the end of the war, he had killed more than 240 German soldiers, had been wounded three times, and had earned 33 awards and medals. One of Audie’s most courageous moments in combat started on January 26, 1945. Murphy and Company B found themselves on the outskirts of woods facing the German village...
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...Crane, Stephen The Red Badge of Courage. London: Puffin, 2009. 205 pages. In The Red Badge of Courage, a young solider, Henry Fleming, reflects on what will become of him when he gets to battle—will he run or will he stand and fight bravely? He enlisted because he wanted to be a hero, like the warriors of the Greek epics. His mother, however, was not interested in such notions of bravery, and she discouraged Henry from enlisting. She denied him a goodbye when she learned of his enlistment, and she told him to go with his feelings should he find himself in a situation. Days later, Henry’s regiment marched with other Union army regiments. During this time, Henry’s thoughts are mixed and distracted. After he passed a corpse for the first time, he believed his regiment was being lead to their death, but they soon faced an actual conflict. After a raging battle, Henry felt satisfied that he had overcome the trials of war. However, the Rebels attacked again. During the second battle, Henry dropped his weapon and ran. He ran into an open field after he passed through a forest, and he came upon a group of wounded soldiers. Henry saw that one of his friends, Jim Conklin, was one of the wounded men; Henry tried to help him, but Jim ran away and soon died. Henry continued wondering and encountered mass chaos. He was hit on the head with a rifle, and a nice man helped him return to his regiment. Upon his return, Henry believed he would have harsh words awaiting him because of his...
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...In The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane, the main character Henry Fleming joins the army as a teenager without a true understanding of what war is like. Through his time in the army, Henry learns a lot about himself, and that joining the military is not something you do for yourself. Henry has the three character traits of being dedicated, prideful and cowardly, which changes into courageousness. The first character trait Henry has is dedication. When the first battle starts, the fear of death and injury get the best of Henry, so he runs from battle. Knowing what he did was wrong, Henry comes back to his regiment. Being in the army is hard, with little food, constant marching and fighting, and the fear of death, this is enough to...
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...“Red Badge of Courage” The Red badge of Courage was full of many important themes and ideas we can compare to real life experiences and challenges our societies face on a regular basis. The first theme that mimics our society would be the gruesomeness and reality of war. In the world we live in today war and it’s gruesome nature is ever prevalent in our society. In the book many characters especially Henry were almost exited for war and what it would bring. They were hoping to earn honor and accolades to look good. When they see their first battle though they are met with a gruesome reality. War is not full of fun and games. It’s full of death, despair, and sadness. Henry talks...
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...Describe the elements of war and death in Stephen Crane’s The Red Badge of Courage. This book is divided into two parts. In the first part the main characters, Henry Flemings. illusions disappear when confronted by the reality of battle(WAH 642). During the first battle he sees vague figures before him, but they are driven away. In the next battle he is so frightened that he runs away becoming one of the first heroes in literature to actually desert his fellow soldiers in the field. While Henry is separated from his fellow soldiers, he wanders through the forest. There he experiences the kind of illusions that predominate in all of the writings of Crane (WAH 642). First he tells himself that nature does not blame him for running. Next he finds himself in a part of the woods that he believes is religious. The insects are praying and the forest takes the appearance of a chapel. Henry is comfortable with this until he finds a dead soldier in the heart of the “chapel”. Henry sees an ant carrying a bundle across the face of the dead soldier. That view is beautiful in the sense of conveying great emotion through minute detail(WAH 643). As he moves back henry sees a line of injured soldiers including his friend Jim Conklin,who is badly wounded and another friend called “the tattered man”. Trying to make up for deserting his friends, Henry tries to help Jim Conklin who is dying.After Conklin dies, the tattered man probes deeply into Henry’s conscience by repeatedly ...
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...in their lives. Such traits assist all people in functioning physically, mentally and socially. However, these traits also determine how an individual reacts to a situation, particularly one of adversity. In adverse situations, these traits which have built up one’s entire life can either aid or inhibit success in the face of adversity. War situations are a primary example of character traits either helping or hurting soldiers, no matter the conflict and its details. The sheer risk of the situation in itself makes it defining for many involved, particularly those in the thick of battle. In Stephen Crane’s novel The Red Badge of Courage, the protagonist Henry Fleming shows ambition, bravery, and eventually reflection, and is shaped by his stressful and horrific life as a Union soldier in the American Civil War, which forces him to progress mentally. In The Red Badge of Courage, Henry Fleming demonstrates an ambitious nature, however, this nature is altered by his experiences on the battlefield, causing him to become a more reflective individual. For example, when describing Fleming’s eighteen year-old, untested thoughts towards the regiment’s first battle, Crane writes, “He had, of course, dreamed of battles all his life-- of vague and bloody conflicts that had thrilled him with their sweep and fire” (Crane 3). Essentially, before experiencing any combat firsthand, Fleming thinks of war as a glorious and heroic situation, and is eager to join the cause. However, later in the novel...
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...What makes a man, above all others, a hero? This is one of many questions that will be asked by Crane in his works Red Badge f Courage and An Episode of War. These two texts are among Crane’s most famous works. Both concern the civil war and acts of bravery. However, they also concern acts which might not be considered altogether courageous. In both, his use of questions is obviously highly important. Within both An Episode of War and Red Badge of Courage, Crane will often provide questions that he will not answer, but the reader must answer in order to fully understand the message of the text. In Red Badge of Courage, Crane asks the question, “What is bravery, really?” but he will not provide an answer, leaving this task up to the reader. Red Badge of Courage features a young man enthralled by the world of war. However, when the time comes, he cannot live up to his potential. Rather than fight alongside his comrades, he runs. But, as the story progresses Henry proves himself to be braver than he appears. “And, furthermore, how could they kill him who was the chosen of gods and doomed to greatness?” (Crane, Red Badge) It is suggested that Henry was supposed to be great the entire time. But toward the end, he is not sure if greatness is necessarily a good thing. He realizes that it could, in fact, result in his death. “...the novel questions what courage...
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...The Red Badge of Courage, by Stephen Crane, is a novel about a boy in the Civil War who matures and realizes the definition of true courage. Courage comes from the ability to be willing to sacrifice one’s life for a good humanitarian cause. This is clearly manifested in many points in this story. For example, in the beginning of the book, Henry, the main character is looking for a person to admit that they are scared and might run from the battlefield, because he is afraid that he might. He questions his friend, Wilson regarding this, and he replies: “I didn’t say I was the bravest man in the world, neither. I said I was going to do my share of fighting—that’s what I said. And I am, too” (19). Wilson portrays courage, because he says that he...
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...In chapters five and six of Red Badge of Courage, Henry had his first battle since joining the army. His fear of battle first seemed nonexistent until he seen many of his peers retreat. What made him have a change of heart? Why was he not scared from the beginning? In the beginning of the battle, everyone was ready for war and stood in unison. Henry felt confident fighting with the men during the first part of the battle because of this. During the second battle, Henry seen most of his peers flee which gave him benefit of the doubt that they would win. So as a reflex, Henry fled too. “Here they come!” says a regiment. This suddenly alerted the soldiers to be ready for anything. Everyone grabbed their clips and equipment and stood ready for...
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...In the beginning of The Red Badge of Courage: An Episode of the Civil War (1895) by Stephen Crane, the year is 1863, two years have passed since the initial spark of the Civil War at Fort Sumter, and the stage is set for the upcoming Battle of Chancellorsville. A young Henry Fleming is told by the Jim Conklin, the “tall soldier,” of an early march the next morning. After the rumors turn out to be false, Henry’s angst doesn’t go away. The narrator says Henry “made ceaseless calculations” trying to determine whether or not he would flee in battle (Crane 6). Following months of being in camp, the regiment marches day to the upcoming battle. Along the journey, Henry witnesses a “rather fat soldier” attempt to steal a horse from a girl before being...
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...The Red Badge of Courage Imagine dark clouds and gun fire over your head. Cannons bursting off in the distance like thunder. Screams of men dying all the way round you. Men in gray uniforms charging at you like rabid dogs. Now imagine you’re a boy seeing and hearing all these things and running toward them. These are all things that Stephen Crane tries to explain in his book The Red Badge of Courage. The book takes through the eyes of a young Civil War soldier named Henry Fleming. Henry starts off like many young men wanting to serve their country. Like being naïve, full hope and false ideas of the military. I remember some of these things when I first joined only thinking of the positive like adventures, opportunities to see something new things and the pride of belonging. Like I said never the negatives just the positives. I could also relate with Henry when he holds off on telling his mother about joining. That’s something I did my self. When Henry first leaves to fight for the Union in the -304TH- regiment, he leaves with hopes of valor and glory. But soon finds himself constantly marching everywhere and finding himself board. Something he didn’t see himself doing. After going in circles for months and staying in the same place. Henry and the -304TH- get their chance to fight. But before they do Henry see a group of old soldiers and they look both physically and mentally different then Henry and his regiment. Henry soon finds out why and that’s because those...
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...A Call to war can be an unsettling feeling. In the “ Drummer Boy Of Shiloh” by Ray Bradbury, “ Beat! Beat! Drums!” by Walt Whitman, and “ An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” directed by Robert Enrico, each story contains a symbol represented by the beat of a drum. In “ The Drummer Boy of Shiloh,” Joby’s drum is one representation of hope. The soldiers know they are going off to war and some of them will not return. Their futures are uncertain and Joby does not know what is going to happen to him. When the soldiers march to Joby’s drum, the constant beat makes the soldiers feel strong. The rhythmic beat of the drum reminds them of their own heartbeat. Powerful and sturdy, the drum is a constant reassurance that everything is under control,...
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