Is Henry Fleming A Hero

370 Words2 Pages
Throughout Stephen Crane’s Red Badge of Courage, Henry Fleming grows as a character, but not quite to a hero. Enlightened by his ability, Fleming finds confidence as a “young soldier.” Nonetheless his earlier failures and fears detract from one’s heroic image of Henry. Although Henry Fleming evolves into a man with heroic qualities, his fearful attitude, narcissism, and lack of leadership all characterize Fleming as a protagonist, not a hero. Henry’s quickness to retreat depicts him as a character struggling to face his fears. As a young soldier, he never truly fights the enemy heroically. His battles, as the reader experiences through Crane, are the internal struggle between his fears and his drive to be courageous. Henry did the logical