Summary:
The Red Badge of Courage by Steven Crane is a book that mainly focuses on growing up. Steven Crane did an excellent job explaining courage for what it is. Mr. Crane shows that courage is not a medal or badge, but a feeling you get from fighting for a cause.
The Red Badge Of Courage
The red badge of courage by Steven Crane is a book that mainly focuses on growing up. Henry Fleming is a teenager who signs up to join a union regiment in order to be considered an honorable and courageous man.
Just as soon as he sells his life to the government, the extent of his decision is soon realized. Shortly after Henry and his fellow soldiers experience a drudging wait for a battle to occur. As the wait is happening Henry starts to doubt himself more and more. When the battle commences Henry starts firing without even seeing the enemy. An enemies regiment tries to charge their line. Henry retreats because he is so scared of death and his fear overwhelms him.
Henry retreats even after the battle has ended and he hears his regiment has successfully held the line and forced the enemy back. As he gets time to think about how cowardly and dishonorable he was he returns to the battlefield, he sees some men fleeing to a medical camp for treatment. Henry meets a soldier who has been injured and refers to him as the "Tattered" soldier. The two have a conversation and get to know eatch other. The tattered soldier asks Henry were he is hurt and Henry runs away to evade answering the question.
Henry continues to walk amongst the wounded soldiers were he meets a soldier from his regiment, Jim Conklin, who is hurt badly. Henry walks with Jim. Later the Tattered soldier meets up with the two. Jim later falls down and dies, leaving Henry very shaken up and distraught. The Tattered soldier asks Henry once again were he is hurt. Nervous as to what could happen to him, Henry runs away again. The battle makes a turn for the worst and the army begins to retreat. Unfortunately Henry is caught up in the retreat and when he asks a soldier what happened the soldier hit Henry on the head with the butt of his gun while trying to run away. Henry finds help with a soldier whom he calls the "Cheery" soldier. The Cheery soldier helps Henry back to his regiment and helps him get aid.
Henry is scared of being derided by the other men of his regiment, but finds that no one is there to ridicule him. Instead he gets help from two soldiers, one of who gives him letters to his family incase he dies. Henry then feels replenished with courage and fights the other troops honorably.
The theme of courage in this story is vastly available for the reader's minds to understand. The whole plot is used to show courage. Here you have a young teenager who signed up for the militia and retreats, but he then gets the meaning of what he is doing. Henry understands that even if he dies, he is honorable because he is fighting for what he believes in. Without this literary device the story would be uninteresting and pointless. Steven Crane did an excellent job explaining courage for what it is. Mr. Crane shows that courage is not a medal or badge, but a feeling you get from fighting for a cause.
This is the complete article, containing 531 words
(approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page).
