The Red Badge Of Courage Book Report

The main character in The Red Badge Of Courage is Henry Fleming. Henry thinks that he will become a hero in war and he wants to go to war. By the end of the book, although with many distractions, Henry learns that courage comes in many forms, sometimes it's fighting, but sometimes it is standing up for what you believe.

In the beginning Henry's mom tells him that he should not go to war because he is a better use on the family farm, but Henry believes that if he goes to war then he will become a hero and everyone will remember him in the future. Although his mom wants him to stay, he decides to go and is very excited and thinks that war will be fun.

In his first battle, he soon discovers that he is scared and overwhelmed by all the people dying around him. He sees people that he knows dying right in front of him. He then runs from the battlefield and sees dead people lying around. Then he sees a man that is called '' the tattered soldier'' who he befriends and they walk together talking. Even though the tattered soldier is badly injured, they take a while. But he still feels overwhelmed by all the people that are injured and dying. So Henry leaves the man to die beside a tree and after he leaves, he feels …show more content…
The biggest change that has happened in this book was his courage. In the begging of the story he was very confident that he was going to be a hero, but then in his first battle, he gets frightened by all the people dying in the battlefield so he then runs from battle as fast as he possibly can. This shows that he was not very courageous then. In the end of the book he then fights with great courage and honor and leads his regiment. This might affect the character in the future because he will probably be a very courageous leader for the rest of his life. In the end of the story the theme becomes clear: courage comes in many forms, sometimes its fighting, but sometimes it is standing up for what you believe