The Red Badge of Courage: An Episode of the American Civil War. By Stephen Crane

The Red Badge of Courage: An Episode of the American Civil War

The Red Badge of Courage was written by Stephen Crane, and published by D. Appleton and Company. It has 162 pages. During this report, I will describe the setting, characters, plot, the main idea the author was trying to prevail on upon his readers, a quote from the book, and an evaluation of the book.

The setting takes place during an unspecified time during the Civil War. The battle described in the novel is most likely a fictional account of the Battle at Chancellorsville, which took place May 2-6, 1863.

The novel's protagonist, Henry Fleming, a young soldier fighting for the Union army during the American Civil War. Initially, Henry stands untested in battle and questions his own courage. As the novel progresses, he encounters hard truths about the experience of war, confronting the universe's indifference to his existence and the insignificance of his own life.

American author Stephen Crane; detail of a paintin...

The Red Badge of Courage (film)

First edition cover of The Red Badge of Courage

Often vain and holding extremely romantic notions about himself, Henry grapples with these lessons as he first runs from battle, then comes to thrive as a soldier in combat.

Jim Conklin, Henry's friend, is a tall soldier hurt during the regiment's first battle. Jim soon dies from his wounds, and represents, in the early part of the novel, an important moral contrast to Henry. Jim has little patience for the kind of loud, knee-jerk criticism or vague abstraction that distracts Wilson and Henry. He prefers to do what duty requires of him and finds a quiet, simple pleasure in doing so.

Henry Fleming, a recent recruit with this 304th Regiment, worries about his courage. He fears that if he were to see battle, he might run. However, since the time he joined, the army has merely been waiting for engagement. At...