The two chapters this passage encompasses and reveals the weakening morale of Henry and his internal justification for his disappearing courage, a necessary development for the story’s hero to later redeem himself. Here, Crane employs a wide range of literary devices such as parallel structure, symbolism, perspective, imagery and emotions in order to paint a realistic image of the War and to captivate the reader with alluring rhetoric.
The passage in pages 29-32 displays a rich use of parallel structure and descriptive emotion to encapsulate the fearful mentality of many in the face of war. For example, Henry’s feelings of shame for disloyalty on his war regiment is effectively captured by Crane’s use of parallelism. After Henry disappeared from the war effort, “‘He had fled, he told himself, because annihilation approached. He had done a good part in saving himself, who was a little piece of the army. He had