Henry Fleming is a young Union soldier enlistee in the novel The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane. Henry goes through many events while away in battle. Some of these make him stronger and others make him weaker. All of these events and encounters changed Henry in some way. As the novel progresses, Henry’s character continues to change and the reader sees many different sides of him. Throughout the novel, Henry Fleming grows from a naïve youth to a war wizened veteran.
There were many events that had a large effect on Henry while he was away at war. An example of this event occurred in chapter seven. In this chapter, Henry runs away from battle and hurries into the woods. In the woods, Henry sees a squirrel and throws a pine cone at it.
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To see Jim badly wounded, brings Henry face-to-face with his own mortality. Henry is devastated by the death of Jim. On page sixty-four, it says, “The youth turned, with sudden, livid rage, toward the battle field. He shook his fist.” This encounter taught Henry that a real soldier, is one who fights until the end. In chapter seven, Jim told him that if the regiment fought, he would fight too. This is what he did and by doing so, was mortally wounded. Henry looks up to Jim and appreciates his bravery.
Another event that had a large effect on Henry was the battle in chapter seventeen. In this chapter we see a whole new side of Henry that we have never seen before. In Henry's mind on page ninety-seven, "Those other men seemed never to grow weary; they were fighting with their old speed.” He grew a wild hate for the relentless foe which caused him to fight even harder. During this battle, Henry fires his rifle non-stop until a comrade informs him that he is shooting at nothing and that the battle has ended.
This battle had a large effect on Henry because afterwards, he was looked at as a “war devil” to his comrades. This compliment gave Henry confidence. Also, Henry was no longer afraid of battle. This encounter taught Henry that he is, in fact, a soldier and he must kill or be killed. Knowing that the enemy was going to fight at full speed with no remorse made Henry realize that he must fight back to