Red Badge Of Courage Character Analysis

The book “Red Badge of Courage” written by Steven Crane was about young men in the army who went to war. One of the main characters was named Henry. Henry was a young man who had never been to war and had ideas of what he thought the war would be like. Henry had ideas such as “large pictures of extravagant color, lurid with breathless deeds” (Crane). Henry thought his mother would be supportive and encouraging when he decided to join the Army. Henry’s mother didn’t want him to join the Army. Henry’s mother “had looked at his decision to go to war with contempt upon the quality of his ardor and patriotism” (Crane). His mother had many reasons why she wanted him to stay home and work on the farm. Unfortunately, since Henry enlisted for the war anyway, his mother advised to him was to be careful and watch the company that you keep she wanted him to return home safely. His mother also advised him not to try to be a Hero or try to win the battle alone. Henry’s mother was wrong in her assessment because Henry fought hard, was regarded as a decorated soldier, gained respect from other soldiers and he respected himself by the end of the war. {{Good job improving your intro}}

Henry thought about running many times and what would happen if he ran. Henry seemed to be very afraid and did not have confidence in himself or his ability as a solider. When the fighting did start and Henry’s regiment had to fight Henry ran off. Once he realized that he had to fight to stay a live Henry fought hard. “The two bodies of troops exchanged blows in the manner of a pair of boxers”, the fast angry firings was how the gun battle was described in chapter 20, of “The Red Badge of Courage”. Initially, Henry didn’t want to fight but those fears started to