Henry Fleming in Red Badge of Courage Red Badge Courage Essays

Henry Fleming in Red Badge of Courage

The Civil War forced many young boys out of childhood and into adulthood.

Most of these young boys were not prepared for war, and Henry Fleming was

one of these boys.

Henry Fleming's life in New York was routine. He had his normal share of

friends and lived on a farm. When Henry got up in the mornings, he always

knew exactly what the day had in store for him. This simple and boring

life drove Henry to enlist.

Henry wanted some excitement and to be seen by everyone as a hero. He

wanted to be a man. However, his mother was strictly against his joining

the Union Army. She thought that the Army was for rough and uncivilized

heathens.

His mother's greatest fear was that these heathens would influence Henry to

start drinking and swearing. Despite his mother's concerns, Henry enlisted

in the Army.

But being in the Army wasn't enough, Henry was anxious to go to battle.

All along the way to his station he and his fellow recruits were treated

kindly. Old men patted them on their backs and young boys admired them

when they stopped for rest. This warm feeling faded when they reached the

camp. Here life was boring for Henry. The only thing his company did was

drill day in and day out. All of the experienced soldiers told war stories

every night by the campfire. Henry could only listen because he was still

'wet behind the ears'. He felt left out and often sat alone wondering

about battle. War was like an illusion to him. He couldn't imagine people

slaughtering each other. "Aren't we too civilized to massacre ourselves?"

he often wondered. After hearing the tales of battle, Henry began to be

intimidated by fear. Would he run when faced with death or would he have

the courage to fight? This question was always on Henry's mind. Finally,

after many months of monotonous camp life, the question was answered.

After hours of marching one day, Henry's regiment met with a Rebel

battalion. When gunfire erupted, Henry sprung up and ran. He ran with

"the zeal of an insane sprinter." Now Henry had the answer to his question,

he was a coward. After his flight from battle, Henry met a group of

soldiers who were wounded. He felt guilty because he was unmarked. He

wanted to be wounded like them so he could have his own "Red Badge of

Courage."

Henry did get his badge of courage on his return to his detachment.

Ironically, it was from the butt of a fellow soldier's rifle. Now he was

determined to prove himself and show that he would not run again. War used

to be something Henry could not imagine fighting in, but now it was his

obsession. When the time came he did more than just stand up to his fear,

he led the charge against the Rebels and was noticed for his heroic actions

by the commander. After the battle he felt as if he had crossed a bridge

from being an inexperienced, frightened young boy to a strong and heroic

soldier.

The war was the catalyst that propelled Henry into manhood. Henry leaped

into manhood by having to face every man's greatest fear, death, instead of

maturing slowly into adulthood. War seemed to be not even imaginable to

Henry, but he ended up smack in the middle of it in an effort to find some

excitement and become a hero.