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Narrative techniques
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1. The critics of the novel all agreed that Crane had taken a new and “fresh” approach to writing about the war and those soldiers in the war. This had been done through the strong depiction of the settings and situations that those in the novel had gone through. One critic specifically said Crane is “a great artist,” meaning he was able to use his words to effectively make the story within the novel feel more real than most other authors of this time.
2. Crane’s writing gives a feeling that is significantly more realistic to the reader by his use of extremely descriptive language. General Pleasonton also used descriptive language but this was a much more broad description than Crane, who described each event in deep detail, giving the reader
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The two passages have a different effect on the reader because they describe different aspects of the battle. Crane’s description gives a vivid image of the setting and allows the reader to almost feel the fear one may feel having been in the battle. The description of the battle in The Artillery at Hazel Grove is much less descriptive than Crane’s and does not give as much of an appalling image as that in The Red Badge of Courage.
8. In Gordon’s account he described an order to him that was severely misunderstood due to the unreliable communication between superiors and their generals. He did not understand why he had gotten this order, but because of his duty to obey the orders given, he carried out what he believed to be what was asked of him. It was incorrectly interpreted because of poor communication yet did not cost him his job/reputation because he successfully overtook an important territory.
9. In Chapter 17 of The Red Badge of Courage, Crane uses feelings and emotions to describe one of the attacks the soldier went through. Using the phrase “he began to fume with rage and exasperation” gives the reader a good description of the personal mindset of the soldier and how the environment shifted his mentality. This can also be seen in the description as the soldier “scowled with hate at the swirling smoke that was approaching like a phantom flood.” This hatred relates solely to the trepidation the soldiers felt within their surroundings of the
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The third paragraph of Chapter 1 of The Red Badge of Courage and the passage resemble one another by both describing the setting of an event the soldier witnessed from the perspective of someone looking in on the event. Both write about the actions of other men rather than of themselves, and this gives the reader the visual that is disconnected from the plot of the story itself.
11. In the paragraph from The Red Badge of Courage, the author used much more detailed description of the men he was observing. With the use of phrases such as “scattered into small arguing groups between rows of squat brown huts” gives a very detailed image of what the author witnessed. This description is much stronger than that of the passage, which uses more broad descriptions of the soldiers actions, such as “rushed” and “set about.”
12. A day in the life in the red badge of courage ages was not necessarily, pleasant. It was rather troublesome for most people. War is a very violent, unforgiving occurrence, that takes pity on no man or woman. Gunshots firing off in the background, and children not being able to go outside freely because of all the violence going on around them. Even waking up in the morning was a bit of a struggle, knowing that we dont have much to eat at all for the large family of 6 we
In The Red Badge of Courage, Henry Fleming was drawn to enlist by his boyhood dreams. His highly romanticized notion of war was eclectic, borrowing from various classical and medieval sources. Nevertheless, his exalted, almost deified, conception of the life of a soldier at rest and in combat began to deflate before the even the ink had dried on his enlistment signature. Soon the army ceased to possess any personal characteristics Henry had once envisioned, becoming an unthinking, dispas...
The Red Badge of Courage is a descriptive novel about the courage one can develop if he/she rises above the fear. Henry Fleming was afraid and cowardly but, saw the look in his comrade's eyes and changed his entire mindset on the battle. Henry is my favorite character and the most like me for these reasons, he changed his entire way of thought for his regiment. This book is a well written Civil War novel on how war changes people not just for the negative but, for the positive
Events of crisis tend to reveal people’s true character, as well as help those people learn from the experience. Decisions people make during crises can display what kind of personality they have. In The Red Badge Of Courage by Stephen Crane, the youthful main protagonist, Henry, decides to join the army. In the beginning of the novel, Henry exhibits multiple cowardly qualities. However, through a series of battles, Henry learns more about himself and begins to become a remarkably brave soldier. Henry’s transformation from cowardice to bravery is portrayed through Henry’s change in thoughts, actions, and dialogue.
In the Red Badge of Courage, the protagonist Henry, is a young boy who yearns to be a Great War hero, even though he has never experienced war himself. Anxious for battle, Henry wonders if he truly is courageous, and stories of soldiers running make him uncomfortable. He struggles with his fantasies of courage and glory, and the truth that he is about to experience. He ends up running away in his second battle. Henry is somewhat nave, he dreams of glory, but doesn't think much of the duty that follows.
1. The Red Badge of Courage and The Things They Carried definitely differ with regard to their narrative voices. In the Red Badge of Courage, by Stephen Crane, Henry’s thoughts and imagination serve as the foundation for the story that it told in the first person. The narrative voice is a bit confusing because the story is being told as a reflection on Henry’s own interpretations and the way he sees things in his mind. We thus lack knowledge of any of the other’s characters thoughts or feelings. The narration makes it difficult for the reader to detect which of Henry’s perceptions and remarks are accurate, and which are instead influenced by others factors
Gibson, Donald B. The Red Badge of Courage: Redefining the Hero. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1988.
Soldier’s Heart and Red Badge of Courage are works that seem to reflect off one another. The two stories have such a minor amount of difference that it can be difficult to discern between the two. On the other hand, these works have numerous similarities, which would lead one would to believe that they were made with the identical idea in mind. Overall, two works have few differences but various comparisons.
Stephen Crane’s The Red Badge of Courage, and the poem, Charge of the Light Brigade, by Lord Alfred Tennyson, are two extremely distinct Authors' depictions of war in two very different ways. The most noticeable differences between the two are the interpretation of war, and the mood set forth by the individual authors. While both lead you through the journey, the method, and result, dramatically differs.
The Red Badge of Courage is not a war novel. It is a novel about life. This novel illustrates the trials and tribulations of everyday life. Stephen Crane uses the war as a comparison to everyday life. He is semi-saying that life is like a war. It is a struggle of warriors—the every day people—against the odds. In these battles of everyday life, people can change. In The Red Badge of Courage, the main character, Henry Fleming, undergoes a character change that shows how people must overcome their fears and the invisible barriers that hold them back from being the best people—warriors, in the sense that life is war—they can be. Henry has a character change that represents how all humans have general sense of fear of the unknown that must be overcome.
Gibson, Donald B. The Red Badge of Courage: Redefining the Hero. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1988.
Gibson, Donald B. The Red Badge of Courage: Redefining the Hero. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1988.
There are many characteristics in Crane’s novel that would more readily fit within the category of realism: the ordinariness of his characters, the use of dialect, the portrayal of protagonist Henry Fleming as a complex individual, the description of nature as disinterested in human affairs, and the positive ending of the story. Realism, often described as "slice of life" or "photographic" writing, attempts to portray life exactly as it is, without twisting it or reworking it to fit it into preconceived notions of what is appropriate or what is aesthetically pleasing. In this book, Crane relies on neither the oversimplified rationalism of classicist literature nor the emotional idealism of romantic prose. Instead, he offers realistic, believable characters with average abilities. The soldiers are presented neither as epic heroes nor as bloodthirsty killers; rather, their most noticeable trait is their overwhelming normalcy. The soldiers of Henry’s regiment curse, fight, and argue just like normal people. This down-to-earth, gritty, everyday style is characteristic of realism. A particular convention used by Crane in convincing the reader of his characters’ existence is dialect. The distinctive speech of the soldiers enhances the photographic effect of the novel, lending it authenticity. Another distinctive trait of realism is complexity of character – a trait readily evident in Henry Fleming. As he switches between cowardice and heroism, compassion and contempt, and optimism and pessimism, the reader observes that he is more than just a stereotype. He is a person with fears, hopes, dreams, and foibles.
The Red Badge of Courage, by it’s very title, is infested with color imagery and color symbols. While Crane uses color to describe, he also allows it to stand for whole concepts. Gray, for example, describes both the literal image of a dead soldier and Henry Fleming’s vision of the sleeping soldiers as corpses and comes to stand for the idea of death. In the same way, red describes both the soldiers’ physical wounds and Henry’s mental vision of battle. In the process, it gains a symbolic meaning which Crane will put an icon like the ‘red badge of courage’. Stephen Crane uses color in his descriptions of the physical and the non-physical and allows color to take on meanings ranging from the literal to the figurative.
Stephen Crane sets the story well because he allows the reader to understand the tw...
If it was not for Stephen Crane and his visionary work than American Realism would not have taken hold of the United States during the eighteen hundreds. During the years following the Civil War America was a melting pot of many different writing styles. Many scholars argue that at this time there was still no definite American author or technique. Up to this point authors in the Americas simply copied techniques that were popular in regions of Europe. Stephen Crane came onto the scene with a very different approach to many of his contemporaries. He was a realist, and being such he described actions in a true, unadorned way that portrayed situations in the manner that they actually occurred (Kaplan). He had numerous admired pieces but his most famous work was the Red Badge of Courage (Bentley 103). In this novel he illustrates the accounts of a Union soldier named Henry Fleming. At first the writing was considered too graphic and many people did not buy the book. Eventually the American people changed their opinions and began to gravitate towards Crane’s work. The readers were fascinated by the realistic environment he creates even though he himself had never fought in a war (Bentley 103). By spreading the influence of realistic writing Crane has come to be known as the first American Realist.