The Red Badge Of Courage Literary Analysis

War is something no person would ever be able to understand unless they’ve lived it. I will never know the true reality, the most I can imagine is what I am shown and told. To me it is truly a strange concept, people killing each other to achieve goals that will make our world a better place. Why is it that for our world to be better, we have to weaken other people? Why is it that people destroy the lives of others, to make life easier for others? However we must remember the world is not a perfect place and sometimes you have no choice but to fight back. War is unpredictable, cruel, and gruesome, and the only reason we know this is because of the fighters who lived to tell us. In class we read The Red Badge of Courage, by Stephen Crane, a

War is gruesome and terrifying and some things are just so difficult to understand how anything like that could possibly happen, unless you see it for yourself. The Red badge of courage has incredible imagery. Stephen Crane used perfect descriptions of the battle so the readers could almost see what was happening and accurately described the dying men, “he was being looked at by a dead man…. the eyes, staring at the youth, had changed to the dull hue to be seen on the side of a dead fish. The mouth was open. Its red has changed to an appalling yellow. Over the gray skin of the face ran little ants. One was trundling some sort of bundle along the upper lip” (Crane 46). This description is heartbreaking and can enable a sensitive reaction from readers. I do believe this description was very effective, but I would argue that watching dozens of men running into battle and get blown to pieces shows the reality of war more. It is important to focus on individuals, no man should ever get left behind like that man did in glory. However the reality is that people do get mistreated like that, but not in small amounts. Tens to hundreds to thousands of people are killed brutally in war. In the final battle scene of Glory the camera pans over how many men go into battle. It then shows them screaming and fighting with bravery and we know this because they do not run away. You then see all those brave

Some leave feeling relieved, some feel heroic, some will face depression, and many are scarred forever. The men and women that fight for our freedom should feel very proud and heroic. They risked their lives for the freedom of our people. They are some of the strongest, most brave people. However, it is expected for them to feel sorrow or anger because of what they just went through. Henry was very brave. He threw himself at the enemy being fearless, however in the end all he could think about his own valor and no one else's. Henry came to a point of selfishness where he disrespected his own man, “he made a spring and a clutch at the pole. At the same instant his friend grabbed it from the other side. They jerked at it, stout and furious, but the color sergeant was dead…. The dead man, swinging with bended back, seemed to be obstinately tugging, in ludicrous and awful ways… they wrenched the flag furiously from the dead man” (Crane 106). Henry is leaving battle feeling heroic, but he shows no signs of respect to those who have fallen. The bravest most honorable soldiers find a balance between heroism and respect. The black regiment in Glory is overcome with heroism. The support of the white troops guide them into battle feeling better than ever. They are ready to fight for what they believe in. After they prove their heroism, they kindly honor the fallen. The dig graves and say their prayers. Reality is that no matter how