The Red Badge Of Courage, By Stephen Crane

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What role do we play in the universe? Do we even have agency over our own lives, or are we influenced by some larger entity? These profound questions have plagued humanity for centuries, resulting in perspectives ranging from religious fanaticism to the resigned Dadaist movement. In his 1895 novel, The Red Badge of Courage, author Stephen Crane provides a unique viewpoint of these concerns through the character of Henry, a private fighting in the 304th regiment in the Union army during the Civil War. Seminally, Crane addresses and interacts with the confusing-and as one can see in the text, paralyzing-existential fears that are precipitated by the raucous environment of the battlefield. Often coined the first realistic depiction of war in