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How Does Henry Mature In The Red Badge Of Courage

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Stephen Crane’s novel of the Red Badge of Courage depicts a young union army officer, Henry Fleming, throughout the course of the American Revolution against the British, revealing the truths about the brutalities of warfare. Before enlisting voluntarily into the war, his mother strongly advised against it due to his personality and ignorant views about the events he would endure. Henry progresses through many mental and emotional transitions in the duration of his battles as he is confronted with the harsh realities of war. I believe that Henry’s mother was correct in her assessment as Henry was at first disappointed with war, ran when faced with danger, and his abandonment of a fellow soldier.

During the exposition where Henry and his battalion are camped and preparing for the enemy to present themselves, Henry reveals his ambitions and expectations of war. Henry illustrates his clear incapacity to combat the mental strain war inflicts on its victims through his romanticization of his ‘imagined’ outcome. Henry’s mother’s statement of disapproval and insecurity reinforces his immaturity and vanity as his primary goal for joining in the war is recognition of …show more content…

After witnessing the effects that warfare has to the unfortunate and seeing other soldiers flee, Henry loses all memory of the commitment he´s made to his regiment as he is consumed with fear. Due to the horrors and truth that he had just experienced, Henry abandons his fellow soldiers in order to save himself, only to be worried about how he will be viewed and labelled by others, reinforcing his primary concern of vanity and self glory. As Henry fled, this shows that he was not mentally fit to be enrolled into the army as he could not commit to his position due to personal insecurities and fears that are ultimately common in all

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