Crane’s Red Badge of Courage
When people witness horrible atrocities, they feel the need to incite change. Stephen Crane experienced the Stephen Crane’s world renown novel, Red Badge of Courage, is a culmination of his experiences and was written in response to the events of the period to convey a message about true leadership.
Crane’s early life prepared him to write exceptional works of literature and to lead the Naturalist movement. As a young child Crane was surrounded by writers and journalists who sparked his creativity. Both of Crane’s parents wrote religious articles and two of his thirteen siblings were journalists. Crane became interested in the Civil War as a student at Claverack College, a military school which he attended. After quitting college because “’humanity was a more interesting study’ than the curriculum,” he lived among the poor and impoverished lower class of New York. His…show more content… Maggie: A Girl on the Streets was published under the name Johnston Smith because publishers thought that Crane’s description of the reality of the slums would shock readers. Although the Naturalism in Maggie was a change from previous literary styles, the work was not well received. The novella remained unpopular until Crane dulled the sharp knives of reality with a second edition three years later. Maggie was the first work fully in the Naturalistic genre. Crane was leading the movement in the United States to usher in a new genre that exposed the harsh realities that other authors merely hinted at. Rather than merely alluding to the true desperation of the poor people, he used his previous experiences to capture the horrible conditions and suffering of the lower class. Maggie allowed Crane to blaze begin the movement that Red Badge of Courage personifies. The style Crane uses in Maggie is one that he carries in Red Badge of
