How Does Henry Fleming Show Courage In The Red Badge Of Courage

Having Courage in War Some of the major events that have shaped this country were wars. Throughout time there have been many wars, some were major wars and some were smaller. No matter the size of the war, or who was involved, there was always one thing in common: courage. Courage is a necessity in war because soldiers have to put their lives’ on the line, which is something that Henry Fleming struggled with in The Red Badge of Courage. The definition of courage, according to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is “mental or moral strength to venture, preserve, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty.” Cheryl Diaz Meyer, a senior staff photographer for The Dallas Morning News, has been to multiple wars photographing incidents. After being to the

Going off of what Meyer is saying, it is clear that in order to make our dreams reality, courage is needed. In the Red Badge of Courage Henry Fleming made the decision to enlist in the Civil War for the Union Army. After being sent out to camps and conversing with his comrades, they started to ask if he thought some of the new soldiers would run. Being asked that question, Fleming began to question himself. Would he run when it came to the battle? Or would he be able to fight with bravery? Henry did not know if he would have courage and fight. When the enemy charged Henry ran away because he thought that the regiment would be overrun. As he was running away, Fleming tried to justify to himself as to why he was running. He tried to convince himself that his cowardice was just. He began feeling ashamed for being a coward. While he was running he joined up with a column of wounded soldiers. He became envious of them, thinking that their wounds were a “red badge of courage”. Henry met a tattered man who had been shot twice. He spoke proudly of his wound. The man kept asking Henry where he was wounded, which made him uncomfortable. Henry met a spectral soldier with a distant, numb look on his face. He recognized him as a badly wounded Jim Conklin, one of his comrades that he knew. Henry promised to take care of him, but he ran from the line into a small grove of bushes where Henry and the

Henry startled one of the soldiers and he hit him in the head with his rifle, causing a wound. A soldier led Henry back to his regiment’s camp. There he is reunited with his companions. His friend Wilson thought he had been shot and cares for him. The regiment heads back into battle and this time, Henry fights. Thinking of Jim, Henry vents his anger. The second time around Henry had courage and fought instead of running. Henrys lieutenant said that with ten thousand Henrys, he could win the war in a week. Henry and Wilson overhear the officer say the soldiers of their regiment fight like “mule drivers”. They wanted to prove him wrong. The regiments’ color bearer falls and Henry took the flag and carried it proudly before the regiment. After the charge failed Henry heard the officer tell the regiments’ colonel that his men fight like “mud diggers”, which infuriates Henry. They charged a group of enemies behind a fence, Henry still carrying the flag. After a battle they won the fence. Wilson seizes the enemy fence and they capture four prisoners. While marching back to the camp, Henry reflects. He revels in his success, but he is still ashamed of his acts the previous day, especially his abandonment of the tattered soldier. He put that aside and realized he had come through the “red sickness of battle”. Henry was finally able to look forward to