Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane - Book Report/Review Example

 Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane Theme of “a red badge of courage” The Red Badge of courage is a novel that was written by Stephen Crane. The context of the war novel is the period in which American underwent a destructive civil war.. The story is about Henry Fleming, a young private of the union army who flees from the battle, but he is engulfed with shame and aspires to get wounded, “a red badge of courage” in order to fulfill his inner quest of being courageous. After making a retreat after fleeing the war, he musters enough courage and leads his regimen to a spirited and successful battle. Basing on this novel, “ a red badge of courage” is a major theme that acts as the turning point of Henry’s life from the state of cowardice to being a courageous and competent fighter. Henry gets his wound “a red badge of courage” after being hit by the butt of a fleeing soldier’s gun (Crane,33). Before engaging in the military, Henry’s mother advice him on making responsible decision, however he ignores her counsel and joins the military to prove his manhood and enjoy the glory that accompanies the career. However, his education on mustering courage starts when he enters the battle ground. To his surprise and dismay, he discovers that the courage he thought he had was just a mirage when he flees the battle. However, he feels ashamed of fleeing from the battle and so he decides just like other wounded soldiers to muster enough carriage and fully engage in the war even if it means getting wounded (Red badge).It can be concluded that” a red badge courage” is the courage that placed him at risk of getting wounded in order to fulfill his dream of being a courageous and an excellent soldier (Crane,43). Noise and silence There is a notable presence of great and terrible sounds in the novel. The novel starts with soldiers gossiping, arguing and chattering about when and if they would engage in fierce combatant action in the battle ground. After a short time, the sounds of exploding artillery and gunfire overpower their loud discussions. These sounds can be associated with the soldier’s bravado due to their young and inexperienced age and the battle, both mental and physical, whose sound represents the scary, rough and merciless nature of wars (Crane,51). Silence marks the process of maturation, where peaceful disposition takes over the noisy nature of characters in the novel. Further, the internal feeling of courage is quiet in nature and tends to silence the need for bravado and public recognition among young soldiers such as Henry (Crane,57). In my opinion, the contrast is effective because it shows the real transformation of the soldiers from immature boys who do things for public recognition (noisy state) to mature soldiers who build courage internally as a result of the experience they face in battle field and life in general(Crane,59). Indifference of nature According to the novel, nature is portrayed in a gloomy picture and does not care about man’s fate. This fact may be symbolized by a dead soldier’s body, the forest, and the creepers. When the horror stricken Henry flees the battle ground, he seeks solace in nature. However, he is subjected to the hostility of nature when creepers entangle his legs and make loud protest against his escape. This clearly indicate that nature does not care about his predicaments and clearly shows that even if he escapes the battle field, nature is likely to subject him to other horrors that are almost similar to those that he was escaping from. Further, the action of the creepers shows that nature does not approve his flight and is trying to force him back to the battle ground no matter how dangerous it may be since he was the one who made his personal decision to join the military(Crane,64). When Henry enters the woods, he stumbles upon a dead soldier. The decaying body portrays nature’s indifference to the life of human beings. Henry assumes that death was inevitable in stopping the horrors of battle fields, but when he discovers a corpse, he realizes that death is an unremarkable and integral part of nature (Crane,70). Henry fled from the battle field and sought refuge in the forest. However, the forest presented to him with horrific sights that compelled him to flee from its sanctuary. In this novel, the forest acts as a symbol of the power of darkness that manifests the malicious characteristics of nature that does not care of man’s predicaments or destiny (Crane,74). My personal views In my opinion, I believe the combat scenes are realistic. In any battles or wars, the aim of any army is to win. As such, deadly weapons may be used in order to defeat the rivals. I arrived at my opinion basing on battles in different parts of the world that are usually aired in television news. For example, Iraq war resulted in many casualties, which is a clear indication that battles may result in a surprising massive deaths. The book has changed my opinion of war because I now understand that wars may lead to unexpected deaths and so, those who join the military should have enough courage to face unexpected risky situations. Further, I have come to realize that a military career is not as splendid as people think because of the risk of getting hurt or dying while in the battle field. Description of Henry’s personality Before joining the military and during his first days in the army, Henry exhibits the characteristics of self- centeredness. He joins the military to gain self honor and glory and not for the usual call for a selfless service. His selfishness is further shown when he flees the battle field in order to save his life whereas other soldiers are fighting out to win the war. However, his guilt as a result of fleeing from the battle field changes him and enables him to gain courage to face the enemy’s army (Crane, 100). Henry transforms by becoming a mature soldier who fights selflessly for his regimen. As such, the novel shows that he transforms from a coward and selfish youth into a mature person who understands what it entails to be a man (Crane, 101). Work Cited Crane, Stephen. The Red Badge of Courage. New York: D. Appleton and Company,1917. Read More