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Henry Fleming In The Red Badge Of Courage

483 Words2 Pages
As defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a hero is “a person who is admired for great or brave acts [of purpose] or fine qualities.” In the book, The Red Badge of Courage, Henry Fleming is not a protagonist, nor a hero because he does not behave as a hero should and does not possess the qualities of a hero. He becomes motivated to enlist merely because of his desire for glory, flees from his first experience in battle, and leaves the tattered soldier alone. Fleming’s self-absorbed, cowardly, and selfish behavior are of a tempestuous teenager, who is clearly not a hero. Henry, his mind composed with thoughts of glory of the ancient Greek war heroes, enlists to the Union Army. The “youth,” as Stephen Crane, the author, calls him, does not
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