Theme Of Irony In The Red Badge Of Courage

soldiers get scared in The Red Badge of Courage, but learning that others are scared to fight brings Henry a new found drive in fighting: hate. He hates the enemy, he wants to fight, and Henry aims to win. Courage can always be found in the strangest for these soldiers whether in letters or a photo because this is the reality that drives them to return home. Courage is not always an easy thing to come by, especially in war, and Crane does an amazing job depicting this in the realest sense possible. However, having fear is different than not having courage and Crane throws this throughout The Red Badge of Courage. A soldier can be the most courageous person in the entire civil war and walk right up and face the enemy, but still be afraid for …show more content…
Most of the irony in The Red Badge of Courage revolves around Henry rather than other soldiers because the story is written third person limited readers don’t see much of what is happening with others. One of the first examples of irony is when Henry wants a Red Badge of Courage so he hopes that he can get wounded and no longer have to fight, but none of the enemy soldiers wound him. Henry is wounded by his own soldier by taking the butt of a rifle to the forehead. Henry is able to pass it off as a war wound, and then actually has a fellow soldier tend to his injury under the belief that it is a bullet that grazed him. In addition to the wound, Henry runs from the fight into the woods and eventually stumbles upon a man only known as the cheery soldier. The cheery soldier wants to take Henry back to his regiment but Henry is hesitant because he just deserted his friends. It’s ironic, and quite funny, that the cheery soldier happily helps take Henry back meanwhile Henry is utterly devastated about what he had just done my running and feared for what might happen. Crane’s use of irony shows the humorous side to war and show that even the sad dark situations have a comedic side that, in a way, mocks and downplays the situation from it being as bad as it really …show more content…
The idea of courage is given a true realistic meaning because Crane shows how soldiers really are in war and how they interact with everything and certain situations. Crane also portrays the idea of fear and fearlessness to readers by pointing out how soldiers will react in a fearful situation and if a subconscious bravery would kick in. Also, irony is a big part in the story, and Crane’s whole writing style itself. The irony gives the story some comedic relief while mocking the very situations that soldiers, specifically Henry, get themselves into. After it’s all said, Stephen Crane portrays the realism in war by showing the true nature of what war is really