Stephen Crane has a very unique writing style, one that is quirky and hard to follow at times; but very captivating. Of the numerous “quirks” that make The Red Badge Of Courage a literary masterpiece, three stand out: Crane’s use of simile, metaphor and personification. He relates war to things of the natural world, giving life and color to things that otherwise dark and melancholy.
The earliest example of personification in Red Badge of Courage can be found on page 1: “The cold passed reluctantly from the earth, and the retiring fogs revealed an army stretched out on the hills, resting,” in this sentence the cold, the fog, and the army are described as persons with specific behaviors, feelings and needs. In chapter two Crane writes: "From …show more content…
His use of personification, metaphor, and simile paints a vivid, colorful picture of war. For example, Crane writes: “A shell screaming like a storm banshee went over the huddled heads of the reserves,” a simile that describes how loud the bullets are as they fly overhead. “ They could see a flag that tossed in the smoke angrily,’ personification that gives an inanimate object (a flag) emotion. Lastly, “The composite monster which had caused the other troops to flee had not then appeared,” a metaphor. This specific use of a metaphor leaves readers in suspense, because the enemy, the composite monster, is not visible. The troops feel the anxiety of waiting for the confederate soldiers, and the reader does as well. Crane does a brilliant job using figurative language to create an anxious, fearful setting that leaves readers in …show more content…
Crane writes about a brutal war scene and almost immediately follows that with a description of the sunset or the stillness in the trees. This, in part, is due to the fact that Henry attributes whatever emotions he’s feeling to the landscape around him, he’s trying to find some explanation to the roller coaster of emotions he’s feeling during battle. In chapter 3 Crane writes: “Absurd ideas took hold upon him. He thought that he did not relish the landscape. It threatened him. A coldness swept over his back, and it is true that his trousers felt to him that they were no fit for his legs at all.” Henry turns to the natural world to maintain his sanity during and after battle. His emotions directly correlate to what is happening in the world around him, which is why during the heat of the battle he often focuses on the flowers on the ground or birds flying
The earliest example of personification in Red Badge of Courage can be found on page 1: “The cold passed reluctantly from the earth, and the retiring fogs revealed an army stretched out on the hills, resting,” in this sentence the cold, the fog, and the army are described as persons with specific behaviors, feelings and needs. In chapter two Crane writes: "From …show more content…
His use of personification, metaphor, and simile paints a vivid, colorful picture of war. For example, Crane writes: “A shell screaming like a storm banshee went over the huddled heads of the reserves,” a simile that describes how loud the bullets are as they fly overhead. “ They could see a flag that tossed in the smoke angrily,’ personification that gives an inanimate object (a flag) emotion. Lastly, “The composite monster which had caused the other troops to flee had not then appeared,” a metaphor. This specific use of a metaphor leaves readers in suspense, because the enemy, the composite monster, is not visible. The troops feel the anxiety of waiting for the confederate soldiers, and the reader does as well. Crane does a brilliant job using figurative language to create an anxious, fearful setting that leaves readers in …show more content…
Crane writes about a brutal war scene and almost immediately follows that with a description of the sunset or the stillness in the trees. This, in part, is due to the fact that Henry attributes whatever emotions he’s feeling to the landscape around him, he’s trying to find some explanation to the roller coaster of emotions he’s feeling during battle. In chapter 3 Crane writes: “Absurd ideas took hold upon him. He thought that he did not relish the landscape. It threatened him. A coldness swept over his back, and it is true that his trousers felt to him that they were no fit for his legs at all.” Henry turns to the natural world to maintain his sanity during and after battle. His emotions directly correlate to what is happening in the world around him, which is why during the heat of the battle he often focuses on the flowers on the ground or birds flying