Taking place during the American civil War, the novel The Red Badge Of Courage provides an accurate nature of war. The war machine is prevalent throughout the novel, and is represented by the utter differences between the idealized war and the real one. Stephen Crane successfully puts an emphasis on his realistic treatment of war by contrasting the protagonist Henry Fleming romanticized notions of war with the reality that he has to encounter. To begin with, the contrast is discernible when Henry enlists in the army.He had long despaired of witnessing a Greeklike struggle.He had burned several times to enlist. Tales of great movements shook the land. They might not be distinctly Homeric, but there seemed to be much glory in them.In Chapter 1, it seems clear that he has read different
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Instead of the "vague and bloody conflicts" which he longed to see, Henry encounters the "foul atmosphere" of war, with its choking smoke and deafening noise. Henry also discovers that being wounded is not something to be envied. He witnesses the "cursing, groaning, and wailing" of his fellow soldiers and then is wounded himself; he sinks "writhing to the ground" with "numbing pain". Death is also portrayed very realistically, with vivid descriptions of the "ghastly forms" which lay motionless. Henry also experiences the true horror of death as he watches in aguish his friend Jim suffer and die. It still remains controversial whether the novel is anti-war or pro-war. Some believe it is pro-war, for it shows how honorable and brave the soldiers were. Some, however, disagree and argue that The Red Badge Of Courage is anti-war since it depicts the blood and gore and carnage of war and says how bad and evil war is. Nevertheless, one thing is for sure: With his frequent contrasts between romantic vision and brutal reality, Crane clearly portrays the true horrors of
Instead of the "vague and bloody conflicts" which he longed to see, Henry encounters the "foul atmosphere" of war, with its choking smoke and deafening noise. Henry also discovers that being wounded is not something to be envied. He witnesses the "cursing, groaning, and wailing" of his fellow soldiers and then is wounded himself; he sinks "writhing to the ground" with "numbing pain". Death is also portrayed very realistically, with vivid descriptions of the "ghastly forms" which lay motionless. Henry also experiences the true horror of death as he watches in aguish his friend Jim suffer and die. It still remains controversial whether the novel is anti-war or pro-war. Some believe it is pro-war, for it shows how honorable and brave the soldiers were. Some, however, disagree and argue that The Red Badge Of Courage is anti-war since it depicts the blood and gore and carnage of war and says how bad and evil war is. Nevertheless, one thing is for sure: With his frequent contrasts between romantic vision and brutal reality, Crane clearly portrays the true horrors of