Stephen Crane, The Red Badge of Courage (1895)

Stephen Crane, The Red Badge of Courage (1895)




Despite all the action of the novel, Crane's emphasis is on the youth's response to the battlefront. This is achieved in a “first person” narrative perspective. The story takes place during the civil war. The forest is where all of the fighting occurs and where Henry learns about fear and valor. The camp is the Union base where the army set up for a while. Henry Fleming begins the novel as an untried youth with all the misconceptions of war that boys are raised to believe; as a result, he eagerly joins the Union army. At first he enjoys military life as his regiment marches in parades before cheering civilians. Soon, however, the Youth is disappointed to realize that army life is boring work. His regiment is marched, drilled, and halted repeatedly. He despairs that he will never see action. The build-up to the action magnifies his fears about being courageous in battle. Because of his fears, he becomes a loner, who is unable...