The Red Badge Of Courage Literary Analysis

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Stephen Crane’s, “The Red Badge of Courage” is a story much broader than it first appears. Readers are taken through the experiences of the novel’s protagonist Henry Fleming as he embarks on a journey that forever changes his life. Henry is forced to face hard truths about the reality of war that differ from what he first had anticipated. Henry had to except the realism that his life was indifferent to the world and that he was only one piece in a large “machine”.
Although, through these challenges Henry is able to gain a new outlook on life and develop a new sense of inner charisma and self worth. The story starts off in the midst of the Civil War, where a Union regiment awaits battle. Henry Fleming, a recent recruit of the regiment begins to worry about his courage. He fears that if battle were …show more content…
Because of this Crane is able to create the “Red Badge of Courage” into a unique piece of American Literature. Early in the novel, Henry has a very romantic outlook on battle. He is amused by the glorifying experience of war, which is what inspires him to enlist. But unlike many other authors of the time Crane portrays the war in a realistic sense. Crane puts readers on the battlefield to experience chaos and brutality that is often random. This gives readers a sense of pain, despair, and uncertainty by displaying death in its raw form by exemplifying the harsh conditions the men have to endure. Because Crane doesn’t sugarcoat the experience readers understand the truth. Additionally, with the use of naturalist elements Crane is able to show the power of the external forces in the environment. This idea can be seen when Henry flees to the woods in search for the comfort of nature. He quickly finds this is not the case as nature is indifferent towards him. He finds a gruesome dead soldier amongst the beauty of the land, which further separates Henry from any sense of
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