Red Badge of Courage

Is it Sweet and Fitting to Die for One’s Country?

Stephen Crane’s The Red Badge of Courage is truly a unique book because it challenges the common perceptions of the Civil War. The fight for freedom and the American way of life were how writers such as Fredrick Douglass and Walt Whitman portrayed the Civil War. Crane challenges these principles by concentrating on the day-to-day reality the regiments of the North faced. Since the North’s main goal was to abolish slavery, they are remembered to be a group of men who were well equipped and prepared for battle because they represented the morality of the war. However, the North is shown through Crane to be a group of amateurs who are untested, lack discipline, and do not appreciate the opportunity to fight for their country and their way of life. In this sense, The Red Badge of Courage relates to life for how it is instead of how people want to remember it to be. Contrary to Crane, Cicero once wrote “Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori” (It is sweet and fitting to die for one’s country). Stephen Crane’s The Red Badge of Courage begins as a validation of these sentiments of Cicero: although, the rationale of the sentiment is challenged throughout the story, Cicero outlook is ultimately shown to be true in the last battle scene.

In the beginning of The Red Badge of Courage, the main character, Henry, has preconceived ideals of war that lead him to believe that “it is sweet and fitting to die for one’s country.” “The young soldier” and “the youth” are nicknames for Henry and are used throughout the novel to convey the characteristics of his youth. Henry had a false sense of what war is really like because his lack of experience causes him to compares war to epic ancient battles. He idealistically thinks that his first battle will be “one of those great affairs of the earth (45).” Henry desperately wants to follow in the footsteps of Ancient Greek heroes and become a hero himself. He naively believes in the traditional forms of honor and courage. Dreams of the image of a dead soldier being laid upon his shield, following the Greek tradition of dying in battle, fill Henry’s head. He lacks experience in war so he can only imagine what it is truly like. The lack of experience makes Henry over zealous for battle and makes his belief in his inevitable greatness seem vain and self-centered.