What Does Henry Symbolize In The Red Badge Of Courage

A Story of Courage, Bravery,and Isolation

Stephen Crane’s The Red Badge Of Courage. In The Red Badge of Courage Crane takes us into the life of a young man named Henry Fleming, who wants to enlist in the Army and fight in the war against the South. By using irony, similes, and symbols, Crane "paints" a vivid picture of what life was like for the fragile Henry Fleming. He opens our eyes to the vast reasons of separation for Fleming, and why he lived his life so independently. The risky, vulnerable, and insecure Henry Fleming was isolated from more than just his family and his division; he was isolated from himself.

Henry Fleming, the protagonist of this story. Henry is a young farm boy who struggles with his emotions, going off to fight

Henry believes that in order to be seen as brave, he needs to earn a "badge", a wound, in battle. Ironically, when Henry finally does receive a wound, it is while escaping from battle and running away from his friends in need. This is the opposite of courage, and yet Henry hides the cause of his wound from his friends and goes on to be known as a courageous fighter. The title of this book draws the reader 's attention to one of the main symbols in the book. Henry sees a wound in battle as a symbol of courage. Stephen Crane does insert other examples of symbolism throughout the book. For example, the dead man that Henry sees as he flees from battle represents the inconstant life and death. The corpse, covered with crawling ants, gave Henry the opportunity to consider the fact that nature did not care about the low soldiers, and that death could come to a person no matter how brave. Also in chapter four of this book two examples of similes show up. "They mouthed rumors that had flown like birds out of the unknown." and, "A shell screaming like a storm banshee went over the huddled heads of the reserves."

The red badge of courage is an exciting tale of the action of the American Civil War and a moving story of one soldier 's battle against himself. I have to give this book a ten out of ten, absolutely moving and touching to see the courage of a coward. This book shows me that even the weakest can rise up and show their strength. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves history and moving stories of courage, bravery, and redemption of