The Red Badge Of Courage Conflict Essay

Conflict is one of the most basic elements of natural human behavior. Conflict, from a literary standpoint, serves its purpose to create tension within a story, which as a result keeps readers interested and engaged. Whether the conflict is with another person, with nature, or within yourself, it is ubiquitous and unavoidable. In Stephen Crane’s The Red Badge of Courage, the struggles that Henry faces help to give depth and meaning to the story, as well as develop Henry as a character. Throughout the length of the story, Henry deals with conflicts that relate to nature, other men, and even some in particular that lie within his own person. These conflicts are rendered visible in many ways, such as in his innermost thoughts and fears as well as in his actions. In Stephen Crane’s The Red Badge of Courage, conflict is shown through man vs man, man vs nature, and man vs self to show the harsh realities of the civil war. With this in mind, one situation that Henry is repeatedly faced with is man vs man conflict. Men fighting other men is a given occurrence, seeing as the story takes place during the civil war. It seems almost expected that a novel that’s setting is amid one of the most critical battles in American history, but there are more ways to depict this than strictly brutal, hand to hand combat. First off, and most obviously, Henry enlisted to join the civil war and throughout the story he is in involved in battle, witnessing battle, or witnessing the harrowing