The Red Badge Of Courage Essay

The Red Badge of Courage Through the Eyes of A Soldier Stephen Crane’s novel The Red Badge of Courage is recognized as one of the greatest war novels that helped promote a “revolutionary change in American Literature.” Crane never fought in a war, nor did he undergo any resulting suffering; yet he did the unthinkable and wrote an ingenious piece of literature that managed to capture every psychological and internal conflict witnessed through the eyes of an ordinary soldier. Crane’s writing was well received in both Europe and America because of his unique ability to bring the reader into the situation as though he or she were facing and enduring the emotional sufferings of war. Many Civil War books written during this time referenced historical

But the grim reality of war, the blood and the horror, would eventually serve as an antidote for such romanticism. These soldiers would meet a rude awakening. War’s horrors also demanded a great deal of courage and sanity from the soldiers, but the human psyche is not necessarily built to endure such horrific episodes. Their families at home saw photos of actual battle-scenes depicting widespread death and destruction. Their perception of war too was quickly changed by the bloodshed. Not only death and disaster, but in the war there was a lack of medical support and medicine for those in need and many were simply dying because of infections settling in. America was reeling painfully not only under the physical wounds of war but also the psychological. Crane wanted his readers to come to recognize that their romantic views of war were unrealistic. He wanted them to experience, through fiction, a soldier’s turmoil in order to comprehend the emotions that are triggered by war. Men often pride themselves with regard to power, strength, and victory, but when true danger is imminent, fear often overshadows