War has many different concepts and ideas. The Red Badge of Courage seems to express most of these themes of war. The difficulties of war, the toll war takes on soldiers, rigorous battles, and a triumph of an army are only some of the themes in Stephen Crane’s novel. All these themes make it feel so diverse and interesting. Yet, it does not go in depth on the emotions of the soldiers, which is very important. A soldier’s psychological state greatly affects their performance on the field. If a soldier is deeply afraid he will run away in the face of battle, but if he is courageous he will stand and fight. This is just one example of emotions relating to a soldier's actions. Further analyzing the emotions and troubles soldiers have to go through
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Fear, nostalgia, sadness but also the sense of bravery and satisfaction are the emotions soldiers mainly have. The most emphasized in the book are fear, nostalgia, and a sense of bravery. Fear is most likely the most influential and critical to the story's basis. In the first battle Fleming has, he runs away from the battle due to the thought of dying. We can support this because in the film he writes a letter to his mother concerning what would happen if he died. We can also see Wilson give Fleming letters for his family before the battle commences (through fear of death). Another symbolism of fear, relating to thanatophobia, is the dead soldier Fleming encounters before arriving at the battlefield. It states in the book that, “The youth gave a shriek as he confronted the thing. He was for moments turned to stone before it. He remained staring into the liquid-looking eyes. The dead man and the living man exchanged a look. “(Crane,46). Fleming was paralyzed and filled with a sense of death when he first looked at the soldier. The way Fleming depicts and view the soldier shows that he was deeply traumatized by the result of death. I think the most important part in this section is the exchanged look. From my perspective, this symbolizes that death and life are not far apart. This idea that life and death are close, fits perfectly into the war setting. In a split second a soldier could be fighting and then fall into the hands of death. Henry could have thought that he would one day become this soldier, which could have instilled within him even more worry and fear. This complicated fear of death, with the worry of losing to the enemy, most likely lead Henry to run away from the battlefield. The fear of death was one of the most persistent concepts in the story, but it made the book have a different perspective on war. In the beginning of the book we can see Fleming's mother with
Fear, nostalgia, sadness but also the sense of bravery and satisfaction are the emotions soldiers mainly have. The most emphasized in the book are fear, nostalgia, and a sense of bravery. Fear is most likely the most influential and critical to the story's basis. In the first battle Fleming has, he runs away from the battle due to the thought of dying. We can support this because in the film he writes a letter to his mother concerning what would happen if he died. We can also see Wilson give Fleming letters for his family before the battle commences (through fear of death). Another symbolism of fear, relating to thanatophobia, is the dead soldier Fleming encounters before arriving at the battlefield. It states in the book that, “The youth gave a shriek as he confronted the thing. He was for moments turned to stone before it. He remained staring into the liquid-looking eyes. The dead man and the living man exchanged a look. “(Crane,46). Fleming was paralyzed and filled with a sense of death when he first looked at the soldier. The way Fleming depicts and view the soldier shows that he was deeply traumatized by the result of death. I think the most important part in this section is the exchanged look. From my perspective, this symbolizes that death and life are not far apart. This idea that life and death are close, fits perfectly into the war setting. In a split second a soldier could be fighting and then fall into the hands of death. Henry could have thought that he would one day become this soldier, which could have instilled within him even more worry and fear. This complicated fear of death, with the worry of losing to the enemy, most likely lead Henry to run away from the battlefield. The fear of death was one of the most persistent concepts in the story, but it made the book have a different perspective on war. In the beginning of the book we can see Fleming's mother with