The Red Badge Of Courage Literary Analysis

Courage is an ideal created in one’s mind that can only be gained through self-acceptance. Courage can be a trait others see, however the question is wether or not on sees it in oneself. Stephen Crane’s artfully crafted novel, The Red Badge of Courage, depicts this inner conflict through a young solider in search of glory on the battlefield, Henry Fleming. Set during the Battle of Chancellorsville (1863), the raging Civil War provides the perfect backdrop for the novel. Stephen Crane published The Red Badge of Courage in October 1895 and masterfully portrayed his ‘Youths’ internal struggle. In The Red Badge of Courage Henry realizes that inner peace/Courage is achieved through admitting mistakes and correcting them, not by false mean and

In “Symbolism and Psychological Realism in ‘The Red Badge of Courage’” John McDermott used symbolism throughout the novel to grasp a better understanding of the theme and literary achievements of the Red Badge of Courage. Through McDermott’s article he sums up the character development of Henry and what actions and psychological changes cause Henry to be a changed person by the end of the novel. McDermott praises the way Stephen Crane has used symbolism to develop his seemingly simple characters. However, despite McDermott’s success in relating symbols to the theme of the novel, he wrongly assumes the simplicity of the protagonist. McDermott describes Henry as “Intellectually limited” (329) and as an “unsophisticated, inarticulate farm boy” (324). By saying this McDermott wrongly assumes the intellectual significance of the character. While Henry is just an average boy who had grown up on a farm, his thoughts throughout the novel appear to show his intellectual strength. Through this Stephen Crane portrays the significance and complicity of the average soldiers daily thoughts, showing that

Oftentimes, Crane uses a lack of physical description when addressing the main character, Henry Fleming. In contrast, Crane uses the protagonist’s thoughts to characterize his ‘youth’. Rather than going into detailed descriptions, Crane states, “There was a youthful private who listened with eager ears to the words of the tall soldier and the varied comments of his comrades” (Crane 4). Through most of the novel, Crane calls the protagonist ‘the youth’ and refers to his comrades in similar ways, calling them ‘the tall solider’ or ‘the loud solider’. However, other perhaps more insignificant characters are addressed in a different tone, Crane goes into detailed physical descriptions in writing about everything except is central characters. Crane describes a tattered solider as, “fouled with dust, bool, and powder stain from hair to shoes, who trudged quietly at the youths side...His lean features wire an expression if awe and admiration” (Crane 52). Crane had never gone in this much description in addressing his main character, yet he describes in great detail the insignificant tattered solider. This is on account of Crane hoping the reader is able to focus more upon Henry and his comrades thoughts and actions, rather than their physical appearance. As a consequence, the characters of central focus are physically described in a minimal way in order to shift the