The Red Badge of Courage is a realistic novel written by Stephen Crane that takes place during the Civil War in the battle of Chancellorsville. It was one of the riest realistic novels about the civil war and was a precedent to many other realistic books. It contains many styles of writing: impressionism, naturalism and, realism. Impressionism is when the literature “seeks to capture a feeling or experience rather than to achieve accurate depiction. It describes rather than interprets, the impressions, sensations and emotions of a character’s mental life using descriptions using color and symbolism” (impressionism). This novel is impressionistic due to its multiple color references and symbols that describe feelings and the setting rather than
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In battle, the flag “was a creation of beauty and invulnerability. It was a goddess, radiant, that bended its form with an imperious gesture to him. It was a woman, red and white, hating and loving, that called him with the voice of his hopes.” (Crane, 164), or how from the “distance the many fires, with the black forms of men passing to and fro before the crimson rays, made weird and satanic effects" (Crane, pg 23). The flag in battle was Henry’s motivation to keep going, and became his goal to protect his country, the fair maiden that was fragile, yet a goddess, and the night was Henry’s fear and doubt of his courage in battle. He saw the gloomy distance because he was fighting his own demons in his head and was constantly afraid of the future. However, these, like the other times before, offer no additional explanation about the plot and are relating to Henry’s feelings and his surroundings.
Therefore, The Red Badge of Courage should be categorized as impressionism because it contains all the key aspects of the style, especially with colors. Crane’s use of impressionism throughout the novel adds a layer of depth and feeling to the story, and it paints a picture in the reader's mind. The short episodes in the novel and the detailed descriptions of Henry’s feelings. Though The Red Badge of Courage contains many other styles of
In battle, the flag “was a creation of beauty and invulnerability. It was a goddess, radiant, that bended its form with an imperious gesture to him. It was a woman, red and white, hating and loving, that called him with the voice of his hopes.” (Crane, 164), or how from the “distance the many fires, with the black forms of men passing to and fro before the crimson rays, made weird and satanic effects" (Crane, pg 23). The flag in battle was Henry’s motivation to keep going, and became his goal to protect his country, the fair maiden that was fragile, yet a goddess, and the night was Henry’s fear and doubt of his courage in battle. He saw the gloomy distance because he was fighting his own demons in his head and was constantly afraid of the future. However, these, like the other times before, offer no additional explanation about the plot and are relating to Henry’s feelings and his surroundings.
Therefore, The Red Badge of Courage should be categorized as impressionism because it contains all the key aspects of the style, especially with colors. Crane’s use of impressionism throughout the novel adds a layer of depth and feeling to the story, and it paints a picture in the reader's mind. The short episodes in the novel and the detailed descriptions of Henry’s feelings. Though The Red Badge of Courage contains many other styles of