How Did Henry Fleming Fight In The Red Badge Of Courage

Decent Essays
Has the allure of personal glory ever outweighed your sense of duty? In the Red Badge of Courage, Henry Fleming had to deal with this very issue.

Henry Fleming did not fight in the Civil War for the right motives for three reasons. The first reason Henry Fleming did not fight in the Civil War for the right motives was that he had idealistic thoughts about war and the glory it would bring him as a solider. Since he was young, he had dreamed of thrilling battles. His mind was full of colorful pictures of heroic deeds, and newspaper accounts encouraged his own thoughts of victory on the battlefield.

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    The Internal Battle for Victory The Red Badge of Courage, a civil war narrative which portrays the struggle of a young soldier in battle, was written by Stephen Crane, an author who had no real-life war experience. But through the accounts of real soldiers, Crane was able to create a novel respected for its realism about the civil war. He is commended for his deft use of figurative language and symbolism to depict the morbid reality of war. In The Red Badge of Courage, Crane not only analyzes the struggle of a union soldier fighting to reunite the states, he also studies the internal back-and-forth battle occurring in protagonist Henry Fleming’s mind.…

    • 1699 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Red Badge Of Courage is a story about a boy who signed up for war not really knowing much about it. When it comes down to the time where he actually has to fight Henry begins to run away from the battle instead of being a man and fighting. As you get more into the story you'll see that Henry becomes a little more brave but I would still consider Henry a coward because of his decision , thoughts, and his actions during is time in war. In this story Henry makes so many bad decisions, but one of the big ones he made was joining the army and not knowing much about it. When it started getting close to war Henry started becoming very scared.…

    • 697 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Courage is not something that is integrally human, especially in times of war when one’s life is at most risk. This time is when ones integrity is challenged the most: there are few who hope to preserve this integrity and their humanity through altruistic acts in times when kindness is a mirage. When most people’s foremost thoughts are of their self-preservation, altruism preserves and strengthens ones integrity and humanity when one risks their life for the survival of others and keeps their honor intact. In the novel The Cellist of Sarajevo, Canadian author Steven Galloway illustrates the internal moral crisis people face when confronted with their own mortality and the pain and suffering of those worse off. Galloway brilliantly demonstrates…

    • 361 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Dick Couch writes a thought-provoking book, A Tactical Ethic: Moral Conduct in the Insurgent Battlespace, which details a growing problem in the United States military, i.e. maintaining ethical and moral behavior on and off-duty. His supporting arguments are society emphasizes behavior not conducive to promoting positive ethical behavior, malignant personalities in the ranks spreading negative behavior, and the ambiguity of the asymmetric warfare fought today. He provides anecdotal evidence supporting the US military’s methodology to combat these trends. However, his true strength lies in the combat stories of ethical dilemmas related to him through soldiers serving in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and advice given for junior officers and…

    • 1639 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Decent Essays

    1- Abraham Lincoln wanted to fight the Civil War because he wanted to “save the Union”. He did not want the Union to secede and would do anything to keep it as a part of the United States. 2- Jefferson Davis wanted the South to secede from the Union because he believed that the government was being unjust and if they secede they would have peace. The government became destructive to them, and as a right of the people, Davis argument was that people had the right to alter or abolish bad governments.…

    • 229 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the poem Red Badge of Courage (Crane), the main point of view belongs to “the Youth” which a young man called Henry Fleming. He is not the one narrating the story but is the character used to experience the story. It tells of how the men go through a some obstacles and in the end they end up dead or with an injury. “Red Badge” means that you did something courageous, and getting one is the wish of many of the young soldiers. However, Henry is one that does not end up with a wound with the meaning he wants it to be,…

    • 611 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Henry Fleming was a youth that had wanted to enlist. Some of his personality traits are one that needs courage. He lacked courage that was needed for him during the war. This would come to him during the time of him facing the battles. Henry is an idealistic and completely self-absorbed teenager.…

    • 1398 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    My “battle buddy” had received an injury one evening, which required a lengthy evaluation by the senior staff. Being her battle buddy, I stayed with her late into the night until the staff concluded that she needed to be brought to the hospital. Because it was required that one of the cadets -- someone her own age -- go with her, I quickly had to choose whether I wanted to wake up the cadet staff or jeopardize my chance of earning that award by missing crucial opportunities the next morning. Between the choices of what was morally right and what was selfishly ideal, I chose what was morally right. I did not want to take essential rest away from the cadre, nor did I want to leave my peer for the sake of my own self interest.…

    • 330 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Name : Phuoc Vinh Chau ID : 10186514 Class : HIST 7A Professor : Phil Drazic Men Of Steel And The Call Of Responsibility Civil War was one of the most important event that against slavery. It has created a controversial topic how the soldiers have such motivation to join in the war between the nations. There are so many senses that serve as motivation for soldiers in the Union and Confederate Armies. In my perspective, duty has played a significant role in this Civil War.…

    • 1281 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    “I never noticed people who talk a lot about duty find it much of a trouble to them” (56) In war, there are responsibilities: we have to protect, serve, and look out for each other. Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried and Frank O’Conner’s Guests of the Nation both have settings take place during war time. Some aspects of war make them different. However, the aspect of duty is found in both stories.…

    • 1183 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Frederic Henry had major changes throughout the novel. His attitude towards the war, Catherine, and friends had all changed significantly. One could argue that he didn’t pay much mind towards the war he involved himself in at first, but once he did, he became less enthusiastic about it as he became more aware. Eventually, he started to care more about a woman with whom he became increasingly interested in. His feelings towards the war and his feelings towards Catharine had a negative correlation.…

    • 1068 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Most of the irony in The Red Badge of Courage revolves around Henry rather than other soldiers because the story is written third person limited readers don’t see much of what is happening with others. One of the first examples of irony is when Henry wants a Red Badge of Courage so he hopes that he can get wounded and no longer have to fight, but none of the enemy soldiers wound him. Henry is wounded by his own soldier by taking the butt of a rifle to the forehead. Henry is able to pass it off as a war wound, and then actually has a fellow soldier tend to his injury under the belief that it is a bullet that grazed him. In addition to the wound, Henry runs from the fight into the woods and eventually stumbles upon a man only known as the cheery soldier.…

    • 828 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Colonel Roush explains the constraints and principles by which we must live as military personnel. We must not contradict the President’s expressed desires, must follow regulations and laws as well as use the allocated funding properly as ordered by Congress, must act in accordance with judicial rulings, and must follow the supreme law of the land, including anything expressed in the Constitution and international law. Serving the Constitution is done through following the four sequential principles of the Constitutional Paradigm: following the hierarchy of constitution, mission, service, command, shipmate, self; resolving conflicting loyalties; resigning if loyalties cannot be resolved; disobeying if the situation is egregiously offensive. Simply, the Constitution is our highest loyalty. Dr. Hartle explains the importance of military ethics by emphasizing the commitment to the Constitution and the moral basis of a commission.…

    • 482 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    He suggests that no single nation is so corrupt on its own, but it is the country’s men who make it a “theater of war” (Bierce). Many soldiers go to extreme lengths in order show their support for war even if it costs their lives. Murder is the only solution for justice in a world where voices are not heard. Likewise, In the Red Badge of Courage, Henry enlists in the Confederate military against his family’s wishes to support a cause he believes is worth fighting for. He believes a false reality about war and courage, and yearns for a red badge of courage or a symbol of heroism that he could show off with pride.…

    • 1436 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In life, we encounter many dilemmas and often have to determine what is right and wrong for the moral good of ourselves. One person’s morals may completely differ from another 's and this book displays it vividly. Men that dedicate their lives to serving their country sometimes find themselves in difficult debates quite like these. In the book, A Few Good Men, by Aaron Sorkin, Colonel Jessep was faced with the decision to either defend his nation or to let two of his own men take the fall for Santiago’s death. A similar ethical issue is when Corporal Downey and Corporal Dawson have to make the choice between being faithful marines or good people that are aware of right versus wrong.…

    • 761 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays