Stephen Cranes Red Badge of Courage Essay - 1237 Words

Stephen Cranes Red Badge of Courage When reading the Red Badge of Courage, it is necessary to understand the symbolism that Stephen Crane has created throughout the whole book. Without understanding the true intent of color use, this book loses a meaningful interpretation that is needed to truly understand the main character, his feelings and actions. Crane uses very distinct colors in his text to represent various elements that the main character, Henry or â€Å"the youth†, is feeling along his adventure of enlisting into battle. Red, yellow and gray are the main colors Crane uses consistently in the majority of the chapters to describe Henry’s inner conflicts and feelings. The color purple is mentioned very briefly but reflects†¦show more content†¦Chapter 2 is where Crane begins to really use the color red. The fires were described as being red as well as the eyes of the enemy, symbolizing that battle is in the near future as well as presenting an image of rage that the enemies posses. In chap ter four Crane uses the color red to represent a would that the lieutenant had just received. Henry, who had hoped for a ‘red badge of courage’, is surprised to witness the lieutenant trying to avoid the blood from getting on his uniform because it was not a true battle wound. In the incidence when Henry is running from battle, he mentions hearing a â€Å"crimson roar from the distance.† This signifies that he is running from battle, the thing he fears most at that moment. When Jim is found lying on the ground, Henry realizes that red wounds could equal death and are not as glorious as he had once thought. There is a red sun setting during the moment when Henry realizes that war is â€Å"hell†. In the final chapter of the book, Henry completes his journey of courage content that he is finally a man and feels that he had been released from the red sickness of battle. Gray is used consistently throughout the book to represent a sense of the unknown and death for Henry. In chapter three, the vivid colors used previously now slightly shift to become dark and dreary, they become gray. Crane often makes a point to describe the smoke and fog as being veryShow MoreRelatedInfluences on Stephen Cranes The Red Badge of Courage1445 Words   |  6 Pageshave on the world. Stephen Crane was greatly impacted by the time period in which he lived. One such influence was the popular literary style of Realism. Realism is the trend in which literature is based on the true nature of everyday occurrences devoid of any fantasy or romance. It is the raw depiction of what life and society is actually like. This literary style can be found in many of Stephen Crane’s novels. Religion also had a significant impact on the way Stephen Crane wrote his novelsRead More Stephen Cranes The Red Badge of Courage Essay1596 Words   |  7 PagesStephen Cranes The Red Badge of Courage War forces young soldiers to grow up quickly. In Stephen Crane’s Civil War novel, The Red Badge of Courage, Henry Fleming is no exception. He is faced with the hard reality of war and this forces him to readjust his romantic beliefs about war. Through the novel, the reader can trace the growth and development of Henry through these four stages: (1) romanticizing war and the heroic role each soldier plays, (2) facing the realities of war, (3) lying toRead More Stephen Cranes Red Badge of Courage as Bildungsroman Essay1256 Words   |  6 PagesStephen Cranes Red Badge of Courage as Bildungsroman  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚   In the Red Badge of Courage, by Stephen Crane, the main character Henry Fleming joins the army as a young fledging and ultimately matures to a courageous soldier ready for battle. The Red Badge of Courage is considered a Bildungsroman since the reader traces Henry’s development morally, psychologically, and intellectually. Henry progresses from a feared youth who in the course of a couple of days, in the line of fire, has crossedRead More Expectations versus Reality in Stephen Cranes The Red Badge of Courage809 Words   |  4 PagesExpectations versus Reality in Stephen Cranes The Red Badge of Courage The notion that war is an exciting, romantic endeavor full of glory and heroism has existed for centuries.   Stephen Crane set out to demystify war through his novel The Red Badge of Courage, which traces the experiences of a young soldier in the American Civil War. Crane shows the true nature of war by contrasting Henry Flemings romantic expectations with the reality that he encounters. This contrast between romanticRead MoreA Critique Of Stephen Cranes Use Of Symbolism In Red Badge Of Courage And An Episode Of War1194 Words   |  5 Pages(A critique of Stephen Crane’s use of symbolism in Red Badge of Courage and An Episode of War) A tortured man who wrote beautifully tortured tales, Edgar Allan Poe, wrote in his one and only novel, â€Å"...words have no power to impress the mind without the exquisite horror of their reality†. No writer creates reality better than Stephen Crane (1871 -1900). Crane is greatly commended for his naturalistic style of writing, which has the goal of writing the most realistic representation of events withRead MoreEssay about Stephen Crane and The Civil War895 Words   |  4 PagesStephen Crane and The Civil War One year after the publication of The Red Badge of Courage Crane released a continuation to the narrative in the form of a short story.   â€Å"The Veteran† characterizes an elderly Henry Fleming who recalls his first exposure to the experience of war.   Of the battle he remembers, â€Å"That was at Chancellorsville† (Crane 529-531).   While Crane never explicitly states the name of the battle in The Red Badge, the incidents mentioned in â€Å"The Veteran† indicate that the protagonistRead MoreStephen Crane: The Literary Red Badge871 Words   |  3 Pageswithin The Red Badge of Courage once said: â€Å"The men dropped here and there like bundles. The captain of the youths company had been killed in an early part of the action. His body lay stretched out in the position of a tired man resting, but upon his face there was an astonished and sorrowful look, as if he thought some friend had done him an ill turn.† (Source insert correct citation in final draft†¦from http://www.shmoop.com/red-badge-of-courage/warfare-quotes-3.html). The quote, from The Red BadgeRead More The Red Badge of Courage: A Coming of Age Novel Essay1652 Words   |  7 Pagesfeelings as he faces battle for the first time? Stephen Crane shows us in The Red Badge of Courage, a character, Henry Fleming, an average young recruit in the Civil War. Fleming comes to realize that when it comes to war what he expects is different from what he must come to except. Stephen Crane was born shortly after the Civil War which may have influenced his writing of The Red Badge of Courage, which some critics view as a coming of age novel. Stephen Crane was born shortly after the Civil WarRead MoreCritical Review of The Red Badge of Courage1013 Words   |  5 PagesStephen Crane’s The Red Badge of Courage, talks about a young boy becoming a man, through the ways of war. In the story Henry joins the war in search of adventure and courageousness. Henry comes face to face with new friends and foes in the story, along with looking death in the eye on more than one occasion. Stephen Crane does an excellent job in writing this book. After reading this story one general stated that â€Å"he recalled fighting in the war with Crane† (Overview). On November 1, 1871 StephenRead More Red Badge of Courage Essay: Isolation751 Words   |  4 PagesIsolation in The Red Badge of Courage      Ã‚   Stephen Cranes literary technique has long been a matter of analysis and speculation. In The Red Badge of Courage Crane takes us into the life of a young man named Henry Fleming, who wants to enlist in the Army and fight in the war against the South. By using irony, similes, and symbols, Crane paints a vivid picture of what life was like for the fragile Henry Fleming. He opens our eyes to the vast reasons of separation for Fleming, and why he lived