Character Summary In 'Red Badge Of Courage'

In the Red Badge of Courage, the main character Henry joins to army during the Civil War to fight for the Union and America. As the novel progress through Henry’s time in the army he learns how war truly is. In the beginning he refers to a wound as a red badge of courage and something to be sought after, but his mind soon changes as he sees his friends die. He realizes the harshness of war and of life and how lives are simply lost. When Henry joins the war effort he really is just a kid, both in the way he acts and the way he thinks. His mother had even tried to warn him against going into the army. For she knew that his preconceived notions of war life were inaccurate. Despite this, Henry is able to in the end be the soldier he wanted to …show more content…
When he wakes up to find their camp has been ambushed by the enemy, Henry takes this a sure fire loss and runs from camp into the woods. So when the second attack comes, the soldiers seem more powerful in Henry’s eyes, and almost mechanical. Henry’s doubts about him being a good soldier and fighting in the war come bubbling up to the surface. He runs away because he wants to survive. He sees other soldiers run and follows their lead. As he tries to rationalize his cowardice and running away Henry thinks, “As he perceived this fact it occurred to him that he had never wished to come to the war. He had not enlisted of his free will. He had been dragged by the merciless government. And now they were taking him out to be slaughtered”. He runs away purely for self preservation. Because he is not physically being forced into line with the other soldiers, his fear consumes him and persuaded him to run from the battle. He verifies his actions because he says he does the best he can do for himself and his survive. But, in reality he wasn’t ready for the real life of war, he doesn’t realize the reality of what is ahead of him when he signs up to join the army. Fear and self-doubt overwhelm him, emotions which become more important than his desire to be a good soldier.When he is faced with his own decision of his own free will, he runs because he is not ready for the reality of …show more content…
In the first battle because he is surrounded by soldiers and can’t desert even if he wants to. So henry stays and fights, and he also comes to a realization that when he is surrounded by his friends and fellow soldiers that he is protected and the battle is not so scary. He is lost in the moment and his body takes over his mind to do what has to be done without thinking too much into it. But in the second battle because no one is watching him and there is nothing forcing him to stay and fight he is able to think about what is happening. His fears and doubts take over his body. His mind controls his actions in the second battle. He is able to think about how truly terrified he is of dieng, and see it as a real possibility. The real difference between the two battles is what is controlling Henry’s actions, his body or his