The Red Badge of Courage
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The Red Badge of Courage is a 1895 war novel by American author Stephen Crane. It is considered one of the most influential works in American literature. The novel, in which a young recruit in the American Civil War is faced by the cruelty of war, made Crane an international success. Although he was born after the war and had not at the time experienced battle firsthand, the novel is considered an example of Realism.
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[edit] Background
By March 1893, Stephen Crane had already published his first novel, Maggie: A Girl of the Streets, at the age of 21. Maggie was not a success, either financially or critically. Most critics thought the unsentimental Bowery tale crude or vulgar, and Crane was forced to publish the work privately after it was repeatedly rejected for publication.[1]
Crane quickly found inspiration for his next novel, however, while spending hours lounging in a friend's studio and having his portrait painted regularly. He became fascinated with issues of the Century that were largely devoted to famous battles and military leaders from the Civil War.[2] Frustrated with the dryly written stories, Crane stated, "I wonder that some of those fellows don't tell how they felt in those scraps. They spout enough of what they did, but they're as emotionless as rocks."[3] Crane returned to these magazines during subsequent visits to the studio, and eventually the idea of writing a war novel overtook him. He would later state that he "had been unconsciously working the detail of the story out through most of his boyhood" and had imagined "war stories ever since he was out of knickerbockers."[4]
[edit] Plot summary
During an unnamed conflict of the American Civil War, 18-year-old private Henry Fleming deserts his battalion, considering the battle to be a lost cause. Escaping into a nearby forest, he finds a group of injured men. One member of the group, the "Tattered Soldier", asks Henry (who is often referred to as "The Youth") where he is wounded. Henry, embarrassed that he does not have any wounds, leaves the group and wanders through the forest. He ultimately decides that running was the best thing, and that he is a small part of the army that is responsible for saving himself.
Henry later learns that his battalion has won the battle, and feels incredibly guilty. As a result, he returns to his battalion. He is involved in a dispute with an artilleryman, who hits Henry in the head when the boy refuses to let go of the gunner's arm. When Henry returns to camp, the other soldiers believe his head injury to be caused by a bullet grazing him in battle.
The next morning Henry goes into battle for the third time. While looking for a stream from which to get water, he discovers from the commanding officer that his regiment has a lackluster reputation. The officer speaks casually about sacrificing Henry's regiment because they are nothing more than "mule drivers" and "mud diggers". With no regiments to spare, the general orders his men forward. In the final battle, Henry becomes one of the best fighters in his battalion as well as the flag bearer, finally proving his courage as a man.
[edit] Other media
The book was made into a 1951 film by the same name, which starred Audie Murphy as Henry Fleming and a miniseries in 1974, starring Richard Thomas as Fleming.
The Veteran, a short story Crane wrote, is considred a sequel by few because Henry returns but ultimately dies. It shows that Henry got married and had one grandson named after Jim Conklin.
[edit] References
[edit] Bibliography
- Davis, Linda H. 1998. Badge of Courage: The Life of Stephan Crane. New York: Mifflin. ISBN 0899199348.
- Linson, Corwin K. 1958. My Stephen Crane. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press.
- Stallman, R. W. 1968. Stephen Crane: A Biography. New York: Braziller, Inc.
[edit] External links
