Red Badge Of Courage Throughout the story many settings appear, the most important one is the battlefield. The time is 1862, which is the period of the Civil War. The story begins at dawn on a cold morning when the army rests by campfires on some hills. As a tall soldier, who later becomes known as Jim Conklin, washes his shirt at the river, he hears a rumor. He rushes to tell his comrades that the regiment will move the following day. When the loud soldier, Wilson, hears this rumor, he argues with Jim that it is a lie. While this argument is taking place, the youthful soldier and main character in the story, Henry Fleming, is listening attentively. He then thinks what his reaction to fighting in battle will be. A flashback to when he first enlisted against his mother’s wishes occurs. He remembers fantasies of glorious and bloody wars of times past. Henry thinks that war is a courageous adventure. This transports us to a different setting at his farmhouse. During this time, the people live a simple life mostly based on agriculture. The youth also recalls his mother’s lecture before departing. “She could . . . give him many hundreds of reasons why he was vastly more important on the farm than on the field of battle” (p. 4). His mother warns him about taking care of himself and staying away from bad companions. His mother’s character symbolizes many different concepts. Because of the era in which the story takes place, one can imagine that this woman is uneducated. Her farming lifestyle implies that she is a hard-worker, especially since no father-figure is present in the household. This image also sets an earthy, or realistic, tone contrasting with Henry’s fantasizing. Her simple actions, such as knitting him socks, and farewell speech show her motherly love, which represents motherhood. In this mental setting, one learns of Henry’s emotions about his mother and his views about war. He struggles with the idea of what his reaction will be to a real battle. The notion that he might run penetrates his thoughts. Running would prove that he is not courageous or heroic and that his fantasies of triumph in war are just fantasies. The more he imagines himself fighting, the more he “. . . failed in an effort to see himself standing stoutly in the midst of them,” them being the threats of the future attacks (p.
Henry is worried about how he will do in this first battle. He isn't. sure if he will run or not, and he is scared that he might. He doesn't. want to look like a fool and run, but he is also scared of getting killed.
War changes a person in ways that can never be imagined. Living in a war as well as fighting in one is not an experience witnessed in everyday life. Seeing people die every time and everywhere you go can be seen as an unpleasant experience for any individual such as Henry. The experiences that Henry had embraced during the Vietnam War have caused him to become an enraged and paranoid being after the war. It has shaped him to become this individual of anxiety and with no emotions. The narrator says:
We learn that when Henry comes home from the war, he is suffering from PTSD. "It was at least three years before Henry came home. By then I guess the whole war was solved in the governments mind, but for him it would keep on going" (444). PTSD changes a person, and it doesn 't always stem from war. Henry came back a completely different person. He was quiet, and he was mean. He could never sit still, unless he was posted in front of the color TV. But even then, he was uneasy, "But it was the kind of stillness that you see in a rabbit when it freezes and before it will bolt"
Henry is somewhat naïve, he dreams of glory, but doesn't think much of the duty that follows. Rather than a sense of patriotism, it is clear to the reader that Henry goals seem a little different, he wants praise and adulation. "On the way to Washington, the regiment was fed and caressed for station after station until the youth beloved
After Henry enlists in the army, he is afraid of what the future will hold, and is unsure of whether his strength will stay with him as fighting erupts, specifically, Henry is cynical of the soldiers who seem to be excited for war. Crane uses such elements of figurative language as metaphors to create a paranoid tone as Henry tries to find his character amidst the impersonal environment of war. “His emotions made him feel strange in the presence of men who talked excitedly of a prospective battle as of a drama they were about to witness, with nothing but eagerness and curiosity apparent in their faces. It was often that he suspected them to be liars. He did not pass such thoughts without severe condemnation of himself….He was convicted by himself of many shameful crimes against the gods of traditions.” (9-10). Henry feels threatened by the army he has enlisted in. He is not sure of how he must act or, more importantly, who he must be when faced with the insurmountable odds...
Having read of marches, sieges, conflicts, and the exploits of Greek warriors, and, as well, longing to see such, Henry enlisted into the Union army, against the wishes of his mother. Before his departure, Mrs. Fleming warned Henry, "...you must never do no shirking, child, on my account. If so be a time comes when yeh have to be kilt or do a mean thing, why, Henry, don't think of anything `cept what's right..." Henry carried with himself this counsel throughout his enlistment, resulting in his questioning himself on his bravery. As a sign of Henry's maturation, he began to analyze his character whilst marching, while receiving comments from his brethren of courage in the face of all adversity, as well as their fears ...
Stephen Crane begins the novel with a description of the fields in the morning: “ As the landscape changed from brown to green, the army awakened, and began to tremble with eagerness at the noise of rumors” (1). The fog clears to reveal the literal green world of grass. It also reveals another green world, the world of the youth. Like school children, the young soldier tells rumors within the regiment. This natural setting provides an ironic place for killing, just as these men seem to be the wrong ones fighting in the Civil War. Stephen Crane says something on this in the narrative: “ He was aware that these battalions with their commotions were woven red and startling into the gentle fabric of the softened greens and browns. It looked to be a wrong place for the battlefield” (26).
This was the turning point for Henry. He started questioning himself and thought about running away. And he did. During his first battle, Henry became scared, confused, and goes into a state of mind where he saw his side losing. He got up and started to run like a "proverbial chicken", who had lost the direction of safety. While running, Henry analyzed himself. He thought of himself as a coward, running away, but he made himself feel better by thinking this is a way of saving himself for a later battle.
Malcolm Gladwell introduces the reader to a man named Chris Langan. Langan came from a rather poor family that never experienced higher education. Ironically, this man is known for having an extremely high IQ. Surprisingly, he has an IQ score that is greater than the brilliant Albert Einstein. For some we might think that because of this Langan ultimately has the main ingredient for success. However, one will find themselves surprised to discover that unfortunately he never completed college. Some may question, “How is it possible for someone this smart to end up with such an average lifestyle?” Gladwell also introduces another intellectual man by the name of Robert Oppenheimer in the chapter. He was a famous physicist who in World War II, helped America develop the nuclear bomb. On the surface the stories of these two men seem quite similar at first. Langan and Oppenheimer are both intelligent men who happen to face a major obstacle that could potentially end their educational career. Chris desperately needs to change his classes so that he can have transportation to get to school. Robert has to face the possible consequences for trying to poison his teacher. The end result of these situations is what contrasts these two men from one another. Langan’s request eventually gets denied which causes him to drop out. Oppenheimer on the other hand gets counseling and continues on with his academic studies. This
that he should run and does so. “I ducked down, pushed between two men, and ran for the river, my head down (p 225.)” Henry has been exposed to the brutalities of war and violence and is seizing the moment to freedom. War and violence forces the thinking on the soldiers to live in the moment.
When one hears the word “Paradox”, the first thing that comes to mind are the age-old brain teasers, such as “If Pinocchio said his nose would grow, would it?”. But these are not true paradoxes. The term Paradox stems from the Greek word “paradoxon” which means contrary to expectations, existing belief or perceived opinion. It is a statement that appears to be self-contradictory but may include a latent truth. The truth of Paradox is that it is everywhere; in many of our day to day decisions, our perceptions on politics, even as far as our entire worldview. Paradoxes shape our societies, our achievements, even the smallest of successes. A paradox is an inescapable, underlying aspect of all human achievement and constantly contributes to the success of individuals, as well as society as a whole.
“How could that be a bad bargain? Everything we have learned in Outliers says that success follows a predictable course. It is not the brightest who succeed. If it were, Chris Langan would be up there with Einstein” (Gladwell 267). Chris Langan, according to Gladwell, has currently the highest IQ; he is a genius but cannot be influential. Gladwell describes him as a genius without social intelligence. Langan did not finish college, he only went for a year and a half, accusing the school system of being unfair and calling schools such as Harvard “glorified corporations” (Gladwell 96). Another example he gave is Bill Gates, he described him as a successful person because he had the luck of having spent more than ten thousand hours as a programmer. His high school had a computer club in which he spent most of his time, when he had the chance to use his programming abilities he was already an expert because of his previous experience. Gladwell gave more reasons why a person could be an outlier, including birthdate, diligence, and rigorous schedule during childhood. All these can result in a person being an
Many of the soldiers who enlisted into the war discovered that their assumptions were completely amiss. To them, war was all about glory and exhilarating battles that they would one day be able to tell to their adoring families. Instead, they were confronted with death, fear and even some terrifying moments. Stephen Crane makes it known that the troops were never prepared for what the war was going to throw at them. Henry being one of these naive soldiers absolutely saw and experienced all the cruelties that resulted from this negative event in history. One of these harsh occasions in particular was when Henry witnesses the decease of one of his good friends Jim Conklin. After discovering that the soldier had been shot while in battle Henry starts to notice how pale and weak Jim was becoming. These symptoms then led to the fateful end of Jim Conklin’s life. Succeeding Jim's passing Henry remarks that he “desired to screech out his grief [and that] he was stabbed, but his tongue lay dead in the tomb of his mouth”(Crane 57). He then “threw himself again upon the ground and began to brood”(Crane 57). These quotes shows exactly how the reality of war played a part on Henry's emotions. From this Henry noticed and beared how truly horrific the civil war was. Now he viewed the war as dreadful and wretched all because of that one eye opening
American history holds the stories to many different movements and revolutions, one of which is the Naturalist movement. Naturalism was a literary movement in which authors used a character’s society or instincts to victimize them. Stephen Crane is an acclaimed author well known for the beginner of naturalism. He is most commonly known for his short story “An Episode of War,” and even more notable, his novella “The Red Badge of Courage.” The unique thing about Stephen Crane is that he hadn’t been born when the last battle of the American Civil War was fought, yet he knows so much about it. Pizer states, “For example, take Stephen Crane (1871-1900) and Frank Norris (1870-1902),
The state of affairs and the grim reality of the war lead Henry towards an ardent desire for a peaceful life, and as a result Henry repudiates his fellow soldiers at the warfront. Henry’s desertion of the war is also related to his passionate love for Catherine. Henry’s love for Catherine is progressive and ironic. This love develops gradually in “stages”: Henry’s attempt at pretending love for Catherine towards the beginning of the novel, his gradually developing love for her, and finally, Henry’s impas... ...