The Red Badge of Courage

The novel that I chose for this book review was The Red Badge of Courage, by Stephen Crane. Henry Fleming, a raw Union Army recruit in the American Civil war, is anxious to confirm his patriotism and manhood – the earn his “badge of courage”. Before enlisting, Henry’s thoughts of war and battle are those of valiant struggles for life and death; the possibility of cowardice does not arise in his initial thoughts of battle. However, his mother’s speech leaves much more room for interpreting his own future struggles. The naive boy expects war to be just like the classics he has read of the ancient world. Little does he know, it is quite different.

Courage is the main theme in this story. Given the novel’s title, it is no surprise that courage – defining it, desiring it, and, ultimately, achieving it – is the most important element of the narrative. As the novel opens, Henry’s understanding of courage is traditional. Henry’s understanding of courage has more to do with the praise of his peers than any internal measure of his bravery. Within the novel’s first chapter, Henry recalls his mother’s advice, which runs counter to his own notions. She cares little whether Henry earns himself a praiseworthy name; instead, she instructs him to meet his responsibilities honestly and squarely, even if it means sacrificing his own like. This kicks starts the use of the theme throughout the novel. At the end of the novel, as the mature Henry comes away from battle, he has a more subtle and more sophisticated thought of what courage really is.

Instead of being written in first person from Henry’s perspective, as some may assume, the novel is written in third person, which gave opportunities for the reader to see things from a larger perspective. This allowed the read to find out what other people were thinking of doing.

There was one significant piece of symbolism in this novel. The red badge – The red badge, a bloodstain, was a symbol of courage for other soldiers, however, for Henry, it becomes a sign of cowardice since he received his from a fight with another union soldier after deserting.

Overall, I really enjoyed reading this novel. It is an exhilarating novel, and really gives a sense of realism to the reader and the novel itself.