THE RED BADGE OF COURAGE
By Stephen Crane
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| THE RED BADGE OF COURAGE By Stephen Crane |
The Red Badge of Courage is the story of Henry Fleming, a teenager who enlists in the Union Army in hopes of achieving his dreams of glory.
Shortly after his enlistment, he realizes the reality of his decision. Experience tedious waiting, not instant glory. The longer he waits for battle, the more doubts and fears invade his mind. When he finally engages in his first battle, he fires blindly into the mist of battle, never seeing his enemy. As the next enemy assault approaches, Henry's fears of death overwhelm him and he flees the field.
Henry continues his retreat for some time, even after hearing that his regiment has repelled the enemy. When he finally slows down and rests, he hears the sound of a renewed battle and ironically returns to the battle he had fled. He encounters many wounded returning from the front for medical assistance. One of these wounded soldiers, identified as "a tattered soldier", befriends Henry and strikes up a conversation with him; however, when the tattered soldier asks Henry where he is wounded, Henry evades the question by leaving him and blending into the crowd of soldiers.
As Henry continues to march with the wounded, he sees a veteran soldier from his company, Jim Conklin, who is mortally wounded. Henry follows Jim, and eventually the tattered soldier joins them. When Jim suddenly collapses and dies, Henry is devastated. The tattered soldier again questions Henry about his injury. Once again, Henry is unable to explain that he has no injury, so he leaves the disoriented, injured, and tattered soldier to stumble across the field.
Henry becomes distraught over his lack of courage, but cannot overcome the guilt and self-hatred that keep him from returning to his regiment. He hears the sound of a battle and sees reinforcement troops heading for the front. As he watches, the battle turns against the Union forces and many men begin to retreat. Henry is caught in his retirement. Try stopping a retreating soldier to find out what's going on; however, the soldier just wants to escape, so he hits Henry over the head with his rifle, leaving him with a severe head wound. He is stunned by the blow and runs back through the woods. Henry then befriends a merry soldier who brings him back to his regiment.
Henry fears being ridiculed by his comrades when he returns, but as he enters their camp, two soldiers, Wilson and Simpson, see his wound and immediately begin to treat him. They assume Henry was injured in the battle; however, Simpson questions Henry about his whereabouts and Henry is unable to answer.
As the regiment prepares to leave, Wilson asks Henry to return a packet of letters he gave Henry before the first battle. (Wilson feared he would die in battle and wanted Henry to give the letters to his family.) Henry realizes that Wilson was afraid of battle too, and Henry is thrilled to think he now has power and a weapon. , to be used to stand over another person's head. This knowledge gives Henry courage and restores his confidence.
Henry turns his fear of the enemy into anger and becomes a leader, fighting valiantly alongside his lieutenant. Henry becomes such a confident, assertive, and aggressive soldier that, ironically, he becomes a fighting machine himself. Henry resolves his guilt for abandoning the ragged soldier by deciding to use the memory of that selfish, indifferent act to stay humble, to control any selfishness he feels due to his now strong fighting ability.
When Henry's regiment is chosen to charge the enemy, Henry leads the charge with the lieutenant, eventually even assuming the role of the regiment's standard bearer after the color sergeant is killed.
Henry's transformation from a fearful, lost and doubtful young man to a brave, confident and duty-bound soldier is the essence of the novel. It is the story of a young man's growth from innocence to maturity.
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