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Red Badge of Courage

The Red Badge of Courage is about finding adulthood. The novel is not really about the civil war or a battle in that war; it is about the inner battle a young man undergoes in the struggle to define his manhood. During Henry’s struggle he undergoes mind changes and at time is very confused on what he should do. In the beginning of the novel Henry has courageous thoughts, but when it comes time to fight Henry gets afraid and chooses to run from battle; however in the end Henry goes into battle and fights with great strength.
In the beginning of the novel Henry feels like he is going to commit heroic deeds, but when it comes time to fight Henry turns to cowardly actions.(TS) For example, when Henry is going to his regiment, “he had felt growing within him the strength to do mighty deeds of arms.”(8)(CD) Henry is excited to go into battle to help his regiment overcome the enemy.(CM) Henry must have been told war stories of heroes and ...

Posted by: Geraint Watts

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