The Red Badge of Courage is a novel written by Stephen Crane (1871-1900). Short parts of the novel were published in newspapers in 1894, but the full version was published in 1895.
The novel’s main theme is theme is courage and heroism of the soldiers in the American Civil War. In the novel the feelings and actions of the soldiers are explained thoroughly. Even though Crane was born after the Civil War, he was able to explain many small details accurately. It’s believed that the battle taking place in the book is based on the Battle of Chancellorsville. The type of language Crane used in his novel is hard to read for people living in the 21st century. For example he uses words that aren’t really used anymore and the accent of the soldiers vary, since the people fighting for the South spoke in a different way than people who lived in the North.
The main character of the story is Henry Fleming, a young Union soldier who against his mother’s will joined to fight in the war. Throughout the book Henry is trying to convince himself that he is a hero and he has the courage to fight. Wilson, together with Henry they both gain the reputation as the best fighters of their regiment. Jim Conklin, Henry’s friend who dies in the early part of the novel, this affects Henry until the end of the novel. The lieutenant, he is a young commander, who swears a lot during the battles. He and Henry try to motivate the men during rough times.
The novel starts with Henry wanting to join the Union army, his mother is against it but Henry doesn’t obey his mother. Henry has ideals about the war and how the battles go, but when it finally comes to the moment of battle he is shocked. It’s nothing what he thought it would be like. Henry struggles with the idea that maybe he is not a hero after all. But as the story goes on Henry matures a lot and is able to be satisfied with himself.