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Red Badge of Courage

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"The Red Badge of Courage," written in 1895 by Stephen Crane (1871-1900), is considered by many literary critics to be one of the greatest of all American novels. This is a book about the Civil War, and one Union soldier's struggle with his inner demons as he prepares for, and fights his first battle.

Although the story Crane tells is deceptively simple, it reveals, better than any other novel I've read, the full horror of war, and the complexity and unpredictability of human behavior in the crucible of battle. Henry Fleming (always referred to by Crane as "the youth") is a young northerner who, despite his mother's objections, enlists in the Union army with great patriotic fervor. As he awaits his first battle, the youth ponders how he will react: will he stand and fight, or will he flee? The answer comes soon enough. His regiment is attacked by the Confederates; at first the youth stays to fight, but, during a second attack, he watches other soldiers run away from battle in a state of panic. He himself is overcome by fear, and he too flees.

The youth finally reaches a state of exhaustion and stops running. Immediately, his conscience begins to gnaw at him. He hears rumors that his regiment has actually stood and won the day against its foe. His thoughts and emotions begin to run the gamut from rationalization, to self-loathing, to fear of being discovered a coward. He continually looks for ways to justify his flight. The youth hears the continuing sound of battle in the distance, and is drawn to it, almost as a moth to a flame; he decides to return to his regiment, but loses his way. As he tries to find his way back to his regiment, he is confronted by people who serve to prick his conscience even further. He witnesses the horrible death of Jim Conklin, one of his friends from his regiment. While walking with a group of wounded soldiers, he is asked by one tattered and probably insane soldier what the nature of his wounds are. Shamed by this inquisition, he runs away, afraid he'll be uncovered as the poltroon he is beginning to believe himself to be. He begins to wish for a "red badge of courage" - a wound - which would signify his bravery in battle. He gets his wish in a roundabout way when he attempts to ask another soldier for directions. He gets into a scuffle and is cut on the head with the soldier's rifle. This becomes his "red badge" when he finally makes it back to his unit; he lies to his comrades-in-arms, saying he received the wound as a result of being shot in the heat of battle.

Ultimately, the youth is afforded another opportunity to prove his courage in battle. How he reacts under fire during this new test of his character and courage is the great climactic event of "The Red Badge of Courage." Henry's behavior reveals the lessons he has learned about himself , and shows how he is able to come to terms with his inner demons and the world around him as a result of those lessons.

Crane's writing is excellent on most levels. His descriptions of the insane violence of battle is graphically intense, and of reasonable historical accuracy. The one noticeable weakness in Crane's style is his dialogue. Although it is raw and gritty, it is also somewhat unrealistic; all his characters sound like they have southern accents, even though they are supposed to be from New York and other northern states. Still, the dialogue is effective in conveying the essential truth of who did most of the fighting on both sides during the Civil War: tough, profane, and often poor and uneducated men, many who did not know of, or care about, the causes for which they fought and sometimes died.

In my view, what sets "The Red Badge of Courage" apart as one of the finest Civil War novels of all time is Crane's brilliant analysis of Henry Fleming's state of mind as he runs away from battle and then attempts to redeem himself. Through Crane's lively pen and sometimes purple prose, I was able to peer into the youth's very soul and understand some of his fears, hopes, intermittent self loathing, and frequent rationalizations, and how those emotions and attitudes drove his behavior during battle. Henry Fleming is certainly not an admirable protagonist! (This may, in fact, have been the first Civil War novel which depicts the central character in less than an idealistic, "knightly" fashion.) He is immature, vain, shallow, and mendacious throughout the book, but is also imbued with an inner strength and the self-discipline which allow him ultimately to triumph over his many character flaws.

"The Red Badge of Courage" is indeed a timeless masterpiece of American fiction. It is easy to understand why it ranks alongside such great American novels as Harriet Beecher Stowe's "Uncle Tom's Cabin," John Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath," and "To Kill a Mockingbird," by Harper Lee. "The Red Badge of Courage" is a book to be read and savored!

When I was in high school several years ago, this was one of the books required in one of my English classes. And, upon going through the many reviews below, I find that it is still a required book for today's students. But, several appear to find Crane's novel "boring," "difficult to read," and nothing that they can "relate to." I heard many of the same things in the early 1960s. But, then I found myself in an environment not too dissimilar of the main character of the novel. It suddenly became relevent and real. Crane's depiction of war and the thoughts of young men at war, both willing and unwilling, will always be relevant. This novel is the psychological study of a young soldier and his first encounters with the brutality seen in battle (many critics have regarded this book as the first modern war novel). The unnamed battle in the novel is probably Chancellorsville (1863). The young infantryman, Henry Fielding, faces his first battle wanting to prove himself a hero. However, when the battle is actually thrust upon him, he is overcome by fear and he runs. He joins the wounded but he has not won their "red badge of courage." He sees his friend Jim Conklin killed and he becomes enraged, particularly at the injustice of war. (I remember noting the significance of the initials J. C. for the soldier's friend; but, I later discovered that this observation was not original. The novel is filled with imagery. For example, even the horsemen of the apocalypse make an appearance.) This is a great novel and I hope it remains on reading lists for years to come.

The Red Badge of Courage is interepted as many as being an anti-war novel: it is not.What it does do is present the horrors and psychological aspects of war war without glory, but not without heroics and courage.Henry Fleming is in many ways an every-soldier: he joins the army out of patriotism and to prove his manhood; when the time comes to fight he doubts himself and runs away out of fear. It is at this point Henry comes to the crossroads of his young life: instead of completely deserting his unit he returns to his regiment and the battlefield out of a sense of duty and also out of shame and anger at himself. Once he returns he peforms heroically on the battlefield. I feel Crane's purpose in this books is not to make some overblown anti-war treatise like All Quiet on the Western Front, but to portray what he believed( and may soldiers who read the book agreed with him) to be the emotions and feelings of a soldier in war and also the true motivation behind courage and heroism. Crane shows through Henry, that heroism and courage in war is not something that comes naturally to man(or any animal, as shown by the squirrel scene in the forest) or can simply be conjured up out of blind obedience or extreme partiotism. Crane in fact argues the opposite: courage in war(or in and courage in reponse to violence) is something unatural, something that must be accomplished by overcoming our own natural fear and flight instincts.Henry is able to perform herocially because of anger, his sense of duty, his feeling of brotherhood toward his regiment and out of something deep inside himself that even Crane ( and nobody) could not totally understand . This is a great book about heroism, courage , brotherhood, duty and the psychological aspects of war. It is not a books that glorifies war ,nor it is it an anti-war treatise. It simply tells a story about war in a world where war exists.

When we play chess, what is always the first piece we give up to attain triumph? The pawn, obviously. This front line soldier that is forever, so superfluous. Never mind what happens to that inferior pawn. In this Civil War novel, Stephen Crane invited me into the mind-set of just such a pawn. He came into contact with terror when he turned and ran for his life, and sensed a crushing shame at realizing his buddies stayed behind to fight the enemy. The burden of his shame was so overwhelming that he could not deal with it with everyday terms and mentally, created an alternate reality in which HE became the hero because he fled while his friends were the failures for thoughtlessly staying behind to die in vain. But by a twist of fate, his misfortunes were reversed and he discovered valor within himself. We even see the "pawn's" hatred for the "king", as he inwardly fumes at the arrogant general who insultingly refers to him and his companions as "mule drivers". This book is "confusing" because war is complex and both horrible and attractive to the main character, and I suppose it is "mind-numbing" because it does not give the prefect answers to the problems of war that it raises, but rather requires thoughtful and patient reading. Though the book dealed a lot with courage, take a look at the struggle with guilt and duty this youngster went through.

Stephen Crane's "the Red Badge of Courage" was serialized in 1894 and published in book form the next year. It is one of the greatest achievements of a truly extraordinary American writer. "Red Badge" tells the story of Henry Fleming, a young enlisted soldier in the United States Civil War.

"Red Badge" is a powerful story of war told from the viewpoint of a low-ranking enlisted man--a man who is really still just a boy. The book is rich in sensory details and poetic language; actually, the book is an effective complement to Crane's irony-laden, often grim poems.

Crane is as much interested in the inner mental states of Henry as he is in the blood and thunder of war. He does an effective job of portraying an altered state of consciousness brought on by combat. Also noteworthy is Crane's representation of American vernacular speech in the dialogue of his characters.

"Red Badge" is not a long book, but it is a rich text that invites re-reading on many levels. I recommend the following as companion texts: James Fenimore Cooper's "The Last of the Mohicans," Tim O'Brien's "The Things They Carried," and Eve Ensler's "Necessary Targets."

This classic tale of a young man's coming-of-age during the American Civil War is a worthwhile read not only for the themes captured in its story but also for the place it holds in literary history. The basic storyline of the book (boy-becomes-man-during-war) has been recast many times in print and cinema (All Quiet on the Western Front, Platoon, etc), but The Red Badge of Courage stands out for two reasons.

First, it was the first popular novel to depict war in a realistic manner. Prior to this work, war was almost universally treated as a glorified and romantic undertaking. Not so in The Red Badge, where we are given a soldier's-eye view of combat. The battle scenes in this book and the descriptions of the dangers and hardships (both physical and emotional) faced by the soldiers may seem tame by today's standards of blood-and-gore violence, but they were quite radical to readers in the 1890's, when the book was first published. The Red Badge was thus a harbinger of the direction in which American popular fiction would move in the 20th century.

Secondly, the tale is much more than just a war story. It is primarily a psychological drama played out in the mind of Henry Fleming, the young soldier who is its main character. This psycho-centric perspective allows the story to encompass some of the great issues that were just beginning to enter the realm of popular knowledge at the time, and thus the main character comes to symbolize the entire human race at the end of the 19th century. We follow along with young Henry as he learns through hard experience that he does *not* occupy a privileged place in the world, as he falsely believes at the beginning of the story. As his mother tells him before he goes off to fight, "yer jest one little feller amongst a hull lot of others." This revelation reflects the feeling of all humanity as Darwin's theory of evolution began to gain wide acceptance. We also feel Henry's terror during his first battle and his later willingness to risk death in order to avoid the ridicule and scorn of his peers. The thoughts and fears running through this young soldier's mind, soon to be analyzed in more scientific ways by Sigmund Freud and others in the emerging field of psychoanalysis, are as historically realistic as the men and armaments running across the battlefield.

The addition of the sequel short story "The Veteran" and the excellent introductory essay by Shelby Foote make this a good edition of the American classic for first time or repeated reading.

The Red Badge was a pioneer novel for its impressionistic presentation of war on a personal, experiential level. This is now second nature, from Hemingway's Farewell to Arms to the James Jones and Norman Mailer World War 2 novels -- and for that matter to such films as Full Metal Jacket. Previously what you could expect was: (1) panoramas from the command level and/or 2) straight-up unabashed heroism and war propaganda. Crane's method in a stroke deconstructed such approaches for good, much to the benefit of American literature.

Also, the book is still a pioneer work in certain important ways. Cheap TV reporting on war's front lines or supposedly "imbedded" journalists will give you the false impression that being there is simply enough, as if a live voice and a camera never lie. They also have no shortage of glib, universal explanations for everything. True American realism, however, does not satisfy quick as a trip to a candy shop. There are things finally still unsettled, feelings that do not make sense, unresolved issues -- even the main ones. Does Henry become a man? Who won the battle? Was this truly courage? Good questions -- and the text does not resovle them. That Henry believes he is a man and has earned a badge of courage at the end simply begs the overarching questions. That is realism, not sermonizing or instant history. And that is this nation's enduring contibution to the arts which Crane had a large hand in crystalizing. Although, unfortunately, a culture addicted to quick "reads" instead of books, verbal and political one-upsmanship can often no longer negotiate its own history or even recognize its own merits and singular contributions.

Crane heard the whole story set down here on hunting trips to northern New York, from his family's veteran friends who hunted with he and his brothers. Yes, this is the way they sounded and spoke -- and if you think they sound like Southerners you are looking through the wrong end of a telescope, historically, plus perhaps conditioned by movie stereotypes. Crane's sources were the rustic country fellows who actually fought the war. His upstate New Yorkers were indeed at Chancelorsville -- and their experience is what the writer, schooled in reporting, tried to convey -- not a neat history book nutshell that thinks one side or the other "the winner" of that battle. If there were ever winners of battles in history, there were few clear ones in the 4 year folly known to some as the Civil War, to others as The War Between the States -- and the continuing debate over what to call it is itself proof, if anything, that much is still unresolved.

If you want fantasy, at least go to good stuff such as Peter Jackson's Tolkien trilogy. It also has some profound lessons. But bear in mind that such lessons are more readily available when you make up not only the characters and events, but the whole world. If you want opinions, turn on CNN or go your favorite pro or anti war blog. But as Alexander Solzhenitsyn stated as conclusion to his own war novel, August 1914: "Untruth did not begin with us, and untruth will not end with us." Yet once upon a time, as they say, a gifted young American writer named Stephen Crane at least suspended untruth for about 100 pages -- and amidst the subject of a vicious war around which incredible untruths still swirl.

The novel, THE RED BADGE OF COURAGE, is a book full of uncertainty. Means the reader is never sure what the main character is going to do next in the story. The reader never knows how anyone will act from one moment to the next. This gives the whole novel a certain suspense. The story is about a young enlisted soldier named Henry Fleming who goes off to war as a naive boy and returns as a man. It shows the true side of life, because Henry is acting like most young soldiers do in times of war; Henry feels guilty for running away as the battle began, but he just did what his heart told him to do. Stephan Crane wants to show the reader how bad war is, and the message he prevails is very knowledgeable. The whole story is very well written and the reader has no problem understanding what is going on. The book is rich in sensory details and poetic language. I believe, "The Red Badge", to be one of the most real accounts of Civil War I have read. I would say it is definitely one of the great pieces of American literature and I really have to give this book 5 stars for its perfection.
I just want to add that English isn't my first language and I didn't have any trouble reading this book.

Peace is a rare circumstance among major nations in the last 150 years. When war pushes peace out, everyone quickly realizes why peace is so important and desirable. When peace returns, the next generation can quickly fail to grasp its significance. In extreme cases, this can lead to romanticism of war.

Books like The Red Badge of Courage and All Quiet on the Western Front are important ways to pass along the message of how undesirable war is.

The Red Badge of Courage offers another benefit. Stephen Crane takes us into the mindset of mid-19th century America. At that time, the spiritual and the tangible were closely entertwined in peoples' minds. You will find a lot of religious metaphors in this book, that a modern writer would be relatively unlikely to use.

Another benefit of reading The Red Badge of Courage is that it helps to understand the profound effect that the Civil War has had on the United States. The significance of these events remains fresh for many Americans, while others ignore the events totally.

Although it is certainly not an easy book to read, it can be a rewarding one. You will find that you can discuss this book with a high percentage of all the people you will ever meet who like to read. That's a pretty nice benefit from reading a fairly short book.

I also recommend that you also think about where in your own life you have developed misconceptions that could harm you.

This book is by no means difficult. I'm in eighth grade and I read this book in no time. However, it is difficult for some people to understand because the format in which it is written is very different than the way that books are normally written. I guess this is one of the things that makes it such a great read. If you don't understand it at first my recommendation would be to slow down and read it slower than you normally read books. If you try and read it too fast you may get confused.

Anyway, this is a great book! It emphasizes what it really means to fight in a war in a very philosophical sense. This book is proof that it isn't all glory to be out fighting on the battlefield with people dieing all around you. Despite claims that some people make, the main character is highly developed. Complaints that the narraration switches too suddenly, seemingly without reason doesn't have to do with Stephen Crane being a poor writer, it has to do with people not fully understanding the development of the main character, Henry Fleming. Henry Fleming's views of life are shared by the narrarator so even though the book is written in the third person you get a sense that it is also first person as well. The development of Henry's views shift through the book and it is very interesting to see Henry's stereotypical tough male views change to meek aloof views and then back again to philosophical views and Henry thinking he is the "alpha male" out on the battlefield. Henry's philosophical views are also very interesting. Crane's writing style kind of reminds me of Edgar Allen Poe's in the way that he switches views suddenly, but once you get the hang of it you can almost expect it.

Lastly, I think that the best part about this book is the way that Stephen Crane is able to convey what it actually means to be out on a battle field, fighting, your comrades dieing by your side, and then really feeling a fear for your life. This is a theme that develops through the entire book and it isn't something you really get unless you think about it and analyze the book... Anyways, I'm rambling now but I would highly recommend the book it you want more than an easy read. After all, having a large vocab and being able to read really fat books doesn't mean that you can comprehen what this book really has to say!