Imagery In 'The Red Badge Of Courage'

Henry’s progress, and the use of imagery in The Red Badge of Courage.

To begin it’s best to give a brief summary of Crane’s story. Crane begins by showing a small army of men. These men are ready to fight, ready to move. The men are bickering back and forth as to when, and where they're headed to. So instead of them experiencing instant glory, instead they get tedious waiting. In the next section, a young boy named Henry appears. He wishes to enlist, but his mother tells him to not be a fool. However, by the next day, Henry had gone to town and enlisted in a company that was forming. Henry has a sort of excitement about the ideas of war. The youth have engaged in their first battle, where they saw many of their fellow brothers die. As the next

The Imagery of The Red Badge of Courage by James W. Tuttleton. In this analysis, Tuttleton identifies a lot of Christian symbols and imagery. He says these “Ideas are based upon the symbolic function of Jim Conklin” (Tuttleton). Jim will go under various different names throughout this entire story. The reader will find Jim listed as the tall soldier or the spectral soldier. This will depend on where you came across him in the story. Jim was portrayed as a perfect man. He taught all the other soldiers to find peace within the war. No one held a grudge against Jim, nor did Jim hold a grudge against anyone. The matter of which Jim dies appears to symbolize the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Tuttleton goes on to say “that his torn body and his gory hand, and even in the initials of his name, Jim Conklin that he is intended to represent Jesus Christ” (Tuttleton). When Henry finds Jim Conklin Dead, He’s upright with his bloody hands at his side. In this analysis, he understands and points out the importance of death in the story. This analysis tries to help the reader understand the comparisons. It’s said to be believed that Jim Conklin’s painful death is what helps “redeem” Henry. Watching Jim die is another lesson Henry Fleming must learn. Comparing Jim Conklin to Jesus Christ in the sense that Jesus Christ painful death “redeemed” so many. It’s hard to disagree with this analysis. Anyone who’s been taught about Jesus Christ could easily make the above comparisons. James W. Tuttleton’s analysis is neither wrong nor right. In this analysis, Tuttleton isn’t taking sides. He’s left it to the reader to decide what they feel. Crane relied heavily on imagery throughout the entire story. Even smaller notations of imagery can be found throughout the book. For example, Crane talks about war as “red animal, the blood swollen God” (Crane 20). Another example would be from chapter five when he says “The