In battle, there are many ways to be put in the wrong position. A few erratic decisions can cause lifelong problems. In “The Red Badge of Courage” Stephan Crane shows the many situations in battle during the Civil War in 1860. Henry Fleming, also known as “The Youth,” made many notable decisions that would consider him a coward rather than a hero. Henry demonstrates a coward because he ran during the battle, deserted the tattered soldier, and lied to the other soldiers.
For example, when Henry bolted in the heart of the battle. Beginning his first battle, Henry was confident and fearless. As time went on, Henry showed a loss of courage. Just as the second battle was beginning, Henry noticed stampede of men running in the opposite direction of the enemies. He also did not want to stay and fight back. This is shown when, “He thought of it later, he conceived the impression that is it
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This is incorrect because Henry made choices that reflect on him in the end. Henry shows this when, “As he perceived this fact it occurred to him that he had never wished to come to the war. He had not enlisted of his free will. He had been dragged by the merciless government. And now they were taking him out to be slaughtered” (Crane 22). This is a clear sign that Henry was not prepared to enlist in the war and was. A true hero would have stayed through it all and would have never given up. At the beginning of the story when only wanted to go against what his mother said, he was immature and misunderstanding. Henry’s mother told him, “Henry, don’t be a fool” (Crane 4). Even though his mother attempted change his mind, the next morning he set out to enlist. This proves that he was not ready and only wanted to prove his mother wrong. As one can see, there are many reasons that Henry is considered a