The Red Badge of Courage | Teaching Key Figures

Character Descriptions

This section provides a short description of all the major characters in the book. This can be printed out as a study guide for students, used as a "key" for leading a class discussion, or you can jump to the quiz/homework section to find worksheets that incorporate these descriptions into a variety of question formats.

Characters

Henry Fleming - A naive, young farm boy from New York state whose dreams of glorious battle lead him to sign up in the Union Army against his mother's wishes.

Cheery Soldier - Henry's unidentified, strangely lighthearted guide back to his regiment.

Jim Conklin - The tall soldier, as he is described by Crane, is more realistic about war than Henry.

Ma Fleming - Henry's mother who offers homespun advice to her boy as he goes to war.

Lt. Hasbrouck - He is depicted as an ideal military man encouraging his soldiers to...
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