Last The Red Badge Of Courage Literary Analysis

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Throughout American history, the Civil War has been one of the most devastating and intriguing wars. May scholars and students of history have studied in depth this war, but it has been said that none have been able to portray it as accurately as Stephen Crane. Daniel Hoffman about Crane’s life wrote, “Crane 's life was brief; he was dead of tuberculosis before his thirtieth birthday. His career as an author lasted only from 1892 to 1900. Yet he wrote the greatest novel of the American Civil War, perhaps the best fictional study in English of fear The Red Badge of Courage” (Hoffman). The Red Badge of Courage according to James Woodress in his review of the novella said, “It is the most famous of all novels written about the Civil War” (Woodress). …show more content…

The Red Badge of Courage was a novella all about an emotional journey from boyhood to manhood via war. Stephen Crane did an excellent job of taking the reader on a journey into the past and into the mind of Henry Fleming who went to war to become a hero and moreover a man. In chapter twenty-four, Crane summarized Henry’s manhood by saying, “He found that he could look back upon the brass and bombast of his earlier gospels and see them truly. He was gleeful when he realized that he now despised them. With this conviction came a store of assurance. He felt a quiet manhood, nonassertive but sturdy and strong of blood.” The emotions Henry felt clearly transformed him and caused him and the reader to grow with him, This change through the course of the novella intrigued readers and caused them to feel for the characters. This emotional sense was also present in An Episode of War toward the end of the story on page five hundred and thirteen when it said, “When he reached home, his sisters, his mother his wife, sobbed for a long time at the sight of the flat sleeve, ‘Oh well,’ he said, standing shamefaced amide those tears, ‘I don’t suppose it matters so much as all that.’” That last scene was one that was very powerful for it conveyed the sense of hurt pride that the lieutenant had for the loss of his arm. It also showed the remorse felt by his family members for letting him even go to war. During the time that was written, war was still a very sore subject that affected nearly everyone. In conclusion, emotions really were the realistic and intriguing parts of the

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