Character Analysis Of Henry Fleming In The Red Badge Of Courage

In The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane, Henry Fleming registered to participate in the Union during the Civil War. He begins his journey as a Union soldier in a small camp with other soldiers. He begins to realize what he has gotten himself into and what could possibly happen to him in the future. Henry Fleming shows determination, bravery, and doubt, which changes throughout the story. To begin with, Henry is determined. In the battle scenes, he is willing to fight to win and defeat the Confederates. In the novel, it states, “He felt the quiver of war desire. In his ears, he heard the ring of victory” (67). At the beginning, he knew that he was going to win the battles. In addition to defeating his enemies, he also needs to survive. He has struggled with surviving, but his perseverance has pushed him through. Crane writes, “ By this struggle

At the beginning of the novel, Henry was afraid that he might run away from the battle if it was too intense for him. Henry thought, “It had suddenly appeared to him perhaps in a battle he might run” (10). He was very worried that he will not make it far into the war, but he did make it into several fights and survived. At times, he thought that wished he were dead because he was traumatized from the events. Henry pondered, “He now thought that he wished he was dead. He believed that he envied those men whose bodies lay strewn…” (65). He was very paranoid of what would happen to him in the future and he feared that he will become a body on the ground. Although Henry was doubtful at the beginning of the novel, he soon became certain that he could do it. He has realized that he has been through tough situations and became mature about his problems. Crane writes, “He had been to touch the great death, and found that, after all, it was but the great death. He was a man” (139). He has changed for the better, and his doubtful trait has changed