Commentary on The Red Badge Of Courage Essay

The Red Badge of Courage, by Stephen Crane, follows Henry Fleming, a young Union Army Private through his experiences during the Civil War. It focuses on the changes he goes through from first being excited about fighting, then his feelings of fear, and finally coming into his own and becoming a courageous soldier.

Henry Fleming is a 15 year old boy who dreams of joining the army because he thinks it will be exciting and will bring him honor and glory. Once he joins, he is stationed in Virginia and it is nothing like he expected. His biggest fear is being attacked by the enemy and the thought of deserting occurs to him more then once. Eventually he becomes friends with two soldiers, a tall man named Jim Conklin, and a loud man named Wilson. When they hear rumors that the Confederates are attacking, Henry asks Jim and Wilson how theyll do. Jim isnt worried and believes they wont be the best, but certainly not the worst of the regiments. Wilson says he would never run under any circumstances. When Henry gets caught in the middle of the charging soldiers, he realizes there is no where to run even if he wanted to. Then Henry passes a dead soldier, which really affects him. Henrys regiment successfully fends off the first wave of Confederates. But when the second wave comes right after that, many soldiers panic and flee, including Henry. When he meets up with some soldiers and finds out that the Union won the battle, he regrets running. Later he meets some wounded soldiers and tags along with them. A tattered soldier constantly asks Henry where he was wounded. Henry is ashamed and wishes he had a wound, or red badge of courage. Eventually Henry runs into his old friend Jim Conklin who was badly hurt, and eventually dies in front of Henry. As Henry continues to wander, he runs into a regiment going into battle in a grove. A rifle accidentally hits him in the head and opens a large wound. A soldier finds him, and leads him back to his regiments camp. They believe Henry was wounded in battle and he doesnt tell them the truth. His wound actually gives him courage. Over the next few days, there are more battles and Henry fights with valor. He even picks up the regimental colors when another soldier is wounded, and leads a charge. Henry overhears the officers of the regiment saying he and Wilson are among the best fighters in their company. As the fighting continues, Henry finally proves to himself that he deserves to wear the union blue after all.

Although the book is centered on the Civil War, it is really about how the war affected one young man. The story was written fairly well, but some parts tended to drag on, mostly segments about the army marching and preparing for battle. And sometimes it was hard to understand the language and the way people talked in the 1800s. But I enjoyed the change of pace from focusing entirely on the war, to reading about one soldiers feelings throughout his experience in the army. Although he is fictional, Henry probably represents many Union and Confederate troops with his fear of fighting and possibly dying. Jim Conklin serves as Henrys conscience in a way. When he finds Jim again after the first battle, he is badly wounded. Henry realizes that could have been him and maybe would have been if he hadnt run from the fighting. The tattered soldier is probably one of the biggest influences on Henry because he makes him feel guilty. When he continually asks Henry where his wound was, it reminds Henry that he was a coward who ran from the fighting. After watching Jim die, the soldier asks Henry again where his wound is and finally Henry leaves without giving him an answer, trying to run away from his guilt, and leave it behind once and for all. Wilson, becomes Henrys best friend, and gives him courage. The two fight bravely, and the officers say that they are among the best soldiers in the regiment. What I enjoyed most was seeing Henry change throughout the story. Henry starts out as a quiet, afraid boy who is scared of real fighting. But he becomes a brave, courageous soldier by the end of the book. Wilson is the opposite, starting out as a loud, overconfident soldier, but becomes quiet, but still a brave soldier. It forced me to consider how I would handle myself if I were ever drafted into the army. I would probably feel the exact same way as Henry. Its difficult to say what I would do in that situation, but I hope I would go through the same type of transformation as Henry and come out more of a man than when I entered. I would highly recommend The Red Badge of Courage because it seems like a very realistic portrayal of how war can transform a boy into a man.