Symbolism is when a person, place, or thing represents something bigger than what a story, or book says it does. These symbols can be the tiniest objects in the smallest of places. In the two novels, The Red Badge of Courage, by Stephen Crane, and A Separate Peace, by John Knowles, there is symbolism to represent and help show the theme for each of their stories. In Crane’s novel, the main character, Henry Fleming goes to war looking for his own red badge of courage. When he does receive his own red badge Henry, feels accomplished and more mature. In Knowles’ novel, the main character, Gene Forester goes back to his old boarding school to remember his youth, and all the times he spent there with his old friends. Gene goes to a certain tree
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Henry’s red badge is not a real badge, it is a battle wound. It represents coming of, age and overcoming fear. When Henry enters the war, he is apart of a group called “the youth,” which he is called many times in the novel. This was because of his age, and how young he was. Henry sees all these soldiers with their red badges and is envious of them. He wishes to gain his own red badge, but when he sees his friend, Jim Conklin, with his red badge Henry was terrified of what he saw. Jim’s body was gory and he was close to death, but Jim still managed to keep a small smile on his face. Henry was afraid of the blood covered man, who had scars and scratches, that he once knew to be his friend, but “The youth put forth anxious arms to assist him, but the tall soldier went firmly …show more content…
While Gene was going to Devon boarding school during the time of war, he and his friends jumped out of, what was at the time, the tallest and scariest tree. This tree symbolizes coming of age, and overcoming fear as well. In the beginning of the novel, Gene is going back to Devon to reminisce over his childhood. When he is looking for this tree, he realizes all the trees are the same height, but when he was in school, he never noticed they were all the same. “There were several trees bleakly reaching into the fog. Any one of them might have been the one I was looking for. Unbelievable that there were other trees which looked like it here” (Knowles 13). Gene has grown up more since he had been in this school. Now that he is older, he sees now that all of the trees are the exact same, and is not afraid of it. Gene starts sharing the entirety of his Devon experience, and says that he did not want to jump out of the tree at all, but he did it anyway. “I hated it. I never got inured to the jumping. At every meeting the limb seemed higher, thinner, the deeper water harder to reach. Every time, when I got myself into position to jump, I felt a flash of disbelief that I was doing anything so perilous. But I always jumped” (Knowles 34). Gene is afraid of jumping out of the tree every night. But Gene overcomes his fear slowly by doing it over and over
Henry’s red badge is not a real badge, it is a battle wound. It represents coming of, age and overcoming fear. When Henry enters the war, he is apart of a group called “the youth,” which he is called many times in the novel. This was because of his age, and how young he was. Henry sees all these soldiers with their red badges and is envious of them. He wishes to gain his own red badge, but when he sees his friend, Jim Conklin, with his red badge Henry was terrified of what he saw. Jim’s body was gory and he was close to death, but Jim still managed to keep a small smile on his face. Henry was afraid of the blood covered man, who had scars and scratches, that he once knew to be his friend, but “The youth put forth anxious arms to assist him, but the tall soldier went firmly …show more content…
While Gene was going to Devon boarding school during the time of war, he and his friends jumped out of, what was at the time, the tallest and scariest tree. This tree symbolizes coming of age, and overcoming fear as well. In the beginning of the novel, Gene is going back to Devon to reminisce over his childhood. When he is looking for this tree, he realizes all the trees are the same height, but when he was in school, he never noticed they were all the same. “There were several trees bleakly reaching into the fog. Any one of them might have been the one I was looking for. Unbelievable that there were other trees which looked like it here” (Knowles 13). Gene has grown up more since he had been in this school. Now that he is older, he sees now that all of the trees are the exact same, and is not afraid of it. Gene starts sharing the entirety of his Devon experience, and says that he did not want to jump out of the tree at all, but he did it anyway. “I hated it. I never got inured to the jumping. At every meeting the limb seemed higher, thinner, the deeper water harder to reach. Every time, when I got myself into position to jump, I felt a flash of disbelief that I was doing anything so perilous. But I always jumped” (Knowles 34). Gene is afraid of jumping out of the tree every night. But Gene overcomes his fear slowly by doing it over and over