Being A Mature Adult
Throughout the novel, The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane, the main character Henry (young soldier) faces the struggle to prove his courage to himself and the others in his regiment. He was is a young man that left his farm and mother, thinking that he should be doing more with his life. So he enlisted in the Union army. One thing Henry doesn’t expect from the war is the fear that comes with it and the courage it takes. Henry is constantly fighting his inner dragon, but will he defeat it? As the novel goes on, Henry goes through stages in the novel: cowardness, lying, and reflection. By the end of the novel he is no longer the young soldier, but an adult. Henry was thinking about the likelihood of him running away from his fears (being killed in battle) ever since he got there, but no one else shared the same thoughts and emotions as him. He felt like a social outcast. Going into the first battle, “He began to exaggerate the endurance, the skill, and the valor of those who were coming”(Crane 39). Henry ran into the woods, away from the sounds of war. In the woods Henry contemplates what the others would say or think of him when he returned to camp. He sees a squirrel and scares it, making it run away. This comforted him, knowing that running away is a survival instinct and a natural reaction to fear. He realises running away isn’t so bad. It is a natural instinct that anyone would do facing deathly situation. You can’t blame him for being human. Henry, being curious about the war and mangled bodies that it produced, walked back to get a closer look. He was ambushed by others retreating from the battle and was hit in the head with the butt of a gun. Now wounded he wanders through the woods once more. As Henry wanders on, he came upon a group of wounded soldiers. There he meets the tattered soldier, he helps Henry walk back to his regiment's camp. There Wilson (the loud soldier) aided to Henry’s wound. He lied to Wilson, saying that his head wound was from a bullet and that he got it in battle. This lie doesn’t just make Henry look like he fought with courage, it may have erased any suspicions that he ran. Wilson then tells Henry that there has been many returning from the battle that ran. Yes, lying probably wasn’t the best decision and I think Henry realizes that after Wilson tells him that many just like him have been returning and Wilson didn’t seem discussed by them. The little white lie doesn’t make any drastic change. In fact I think the lie was mostly for Henry. By lying he was protecting himself from the taunting of the others and I think he really didn’t want to admit to himself that he was being a coward. Now with his regiment Henry and Wilson go into battle. …show more content…
Henry, turning over a new leaf, turns into a war horse. When facing a confederate regiment that might just end them, Henry and Wilson hold the union flag high and lead their regiment into battle. Pushing them back and giving them an unlikely win. He even stole the confederates flag. Wilson and Henry were recognized by the generals for their leadership and courage during the battle and were said they deserved to be a lieutenant. Leading the regiment into a successful battle and fighting with as much courage as he did, I think that shows how far he has come in overcoming his fear. Later on Henry takes time to reflect on what he has done during the war. Such as running away and lying and he recognizes his faults. He knows that running away and lying were wrong of him and he isn’t happy about that. What he is happy about and should be is him overcoming his fears and fighting like hell in battle. Some might say once a coward always a coward, but you can obviously see that Henry proves this saying wrong. He went from running away from war to being one of its best soldiers. Yes he made mistakes, but doesn’t everyone? Looking back at
Throughout the novel, The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane, the main character Henry (young soldier) faces the struggle to prove his courage to himself and the others in his regiment. He was is a young man that left his farm and mother, thinking that he should be doing more with his life. So he enlisted in the Union army. One thing Henry doesn’t expect from the war is the fear that comes with it and the courage it takes. Henry is constantly fighting his inner dragon, but will he defeat it? As the novel goes on, Henry goes through stages in the novel: cowardness, lying, and reflection. By the end of the novel he is no longer the young soldier, but an adult. Henry was thinking about the likelihood of him running away from his fears (being killed in battle) ever since he got there, but no one else shared the same thoughts and emotions as him. He felt like a social outcast. Going into the first battle, “He began to exaggerate the endurance, the skill, and the valor of those who were coming”(Crane 39). Henry ran into the woods, away from the sounds of war. In the woods Henry contemplates what the others would say or think of him when he returned to camp. He sees a squirrel and scares it, making it run away. This comforted him, knowing that running away is a survival instinct and a natural reaction to fear. He realises running away isn’t so bad. It is a natural instinct that anyone would do facing deathly situation. You can’t blame him for being human. Henry, being curious about the war and mangled bodies that it produced, walked back to get a closer look. He was ambushed by others retreating from the battle and was hit in the head with the butt of a gun. Now wounded he wanders through the woods once more. As Henry wanders on, he came upon a group of wounded soldiers. There he meets the tattered soldier, he helps Henry walk back to his regiment's camp. There Wilson (the loud soldier) aided to Henry’s wound. He lied to Wilson, saying that his head wound was from a bullet and that he got it in battle. This lie doesn’t just make Henry look like he fought with courage, it may have erased any suspicions that he ran. Wilson then tells Henry that there has been many returning from the battle that ran. Yes, lying probably wasn’t the best decision and I think Henry realizes that after Wilson tells him that many just like him have been returning and Wilson didn’t seem discussed by them. The little white lie doesn’t make any drastic change. In fact I think the lie was mostly for Henry. By lying he was protecting himself from the taunting of the others and I think he really didn’t want to admit to himself that he was being a coward. Now with his regiment Henry and Wilson go into battle. …show more content…
Henry, turning over a new leaf, turns into a war horse. When facing a confederate regiment that might just end them, Henry and Wilson hold the union flag high and lead their regiment into battle. Pushing them back and giving them an unlikely win. He even stole the confederates flag. Wilson and Henry were recognized by the generals for their leadership and courage during the battle and were said they deserved to be a lieutenant. Leading the regiment into a successful battle and fighting with as much courage as he did, I think that shows how far he has come in overcoming his fear. Later on Henry takes time to reflect on what he has done during the war. Such as running away and lying and he recognizes his faults. He knows that running away and lying were wrong of him and he isn’t happy about that. What he is happy about and should be is him overcoming his fears and fighting like hell in battle. Some might say once a coward always a coward, but you can obviously see that Henry proves this saying wrong. He went from running away from war to being one of its best soldiers. Yes he made mistakes, but doesn’t everyone? Looking back at