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Mark Wilson

Nancy Stier

Junior English-Period 5

6 march 2018

Performance assessment

Young men sign up in the military service with the intention of fighting for the cause of

freedom. People feels that this is a way to serve their country for the greater good. The novel

The Red Badge of Courage was written by Stephen Crane. The novel plot is about the American

Civil War in 1861 focusing on the experience of the 304th regiment soldiers in the battlefield. It

tells the story of Henry Fleming who is a private fighting in the war for the first time. It is an

example of the Realism period of American Literature which lasted from 1860

1890. This novel was the first to portray war realistically. The importance of courage is the

major theme of the novel The Red Badge of Courage. Stephen Crane employed imagery,

symbolism and characterization to express the theme.

The beginning part of the novel is when Henry Fleming went to war with hopes that he

would become hero, but he got scared. So, he ran away because he was a coward. After a while he

gained the courage to fight back enemy lines in doing so he won the war. In addition to his victory of the

war, Henry was given the privileged to hold the flag. But before that all happened Henry saw that his

friend Jim had died and had also seen another soldier dying. He tried to help him but he left him there

because the solider told him to run away. After witnessing his friends and other soldiers die he gains

the courage to fight back because he was done with being cowardly. Henry fights back and wins

the war with his regiment and in the end he was awarded a red badge for his bravery.
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There was something on the battlefield that Henry saw which was catching on fire and he

was trying to put it out. “The level sheets of flame developed great clouds of smoke that

tumbled and tossed in the mid wind near the ground for a moment then roved through the

ranks as through a gate" (Crane 38). Henry saw a great flame that was from a distance and

smoke came from that fire and the wind blew it near the ground which is an example of

imagery. Henry was watching how the soldiers were fighting and he feels that it would last

for a long time. “They must be machines of steel. It was very gloomy struggling against such

affairs wound up perhaps to fight until sun down.” (Crane 39). Henry was explaining that

guns were firing, and it was very hard to see where the enemy was firing their weapons of

mass destruction.

Irony is the literary element that the author used to covey the theme of courage.

“He, too threw down his son fled there was no shame in his face he ran like a rabbit.”(Crane 39).

Henry was explaining how cruel the man was because he did not take responsibility for his

actions and he ran away. "well then’ bawled the man in a rage he adontly and fiercely swans his

rifle it crushed upon the youths head the man ran on “(Crane 62). A man in rage this is an

example of irony because he swung his rifle at young people of the regiment and it smashed up

against the youth head.

Symbolism is the literary element that the author used to convey the theme of courage.

“out of this haze they could see running men some shouted information and gestured as they

hurried the men of the new regiment watched and listened eagerly while their tongues ran on in

gossip of the battle they mounted rumors that had flown like bird's unknown” (Crane 27) Henry

heard running men of the regiment shouting information then men of the new regiment watched

and listened. This is an example of symbolism because Henry was using pictures to represents
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what he feels about this situation. “The noise of battle grows into a “furnace roar,” and Henry

comes upon a line of soldiers and wagons inching down the road. He watches a column of

infantry hurrying to reach the battle and senses that he is “regarding a procession of chosen

beings” (Crane 51). As Henry hears the noise of the battle, it gets louder and louder, so Henry is

trying to make a choice whether to fight or stay behind. But Henry continues to fight so he talks

about how his decision making affects the regiment.

The Red Badge of Courage is the literary work of Stephen Crane, which became famous

because it tells the readers the reality that happens during the civil war. Stephen Crane showed in

the novel the bad and good times based on what the soldiers went through when they were

fighting for their common cause in the war. I find the part when Henry runs away the most

interesting because that was the time he figures out war was not easy but then he came back to

show that he still has courage and his intention is to serve his country.
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Works Cited

AuthorLastName, FirstName. Title of the Book Being Referenced. City Name: Name of

Publisher, Year. Type of Medium (e.g., Print).

LastName, First, Middle. “Article Title.” Journal Title (Year): Pages From - To. Print.

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