One of the most prominent themes in The Red Badge of Courage is the realities of war. Early in the book, Henry romanticizes war and sees battle as a “Greeklike struggle,” which accurately depicts how many soldiers during the first few months of the American Civil War viewed battles. However, like Henry, these men quickly realized the brutality and misery of army life and fighting. Many men began to question their place in the world.
Throughout the novel, Crane refers to people by their characteristics and the armies by their colors not by their names. This suggests that the world cares very little for the individual. This is most telling when Henry flees into the woods and sees the corpses of a “man in blue” covered in ants and slowly decaying. This scene forces Henry to really reevaluate his position in the natural world. Henry concerns himself so much with attaining individual glory that this realization shakes him to his core and alters how he perceives war. The violence depicted by Crane in the latter half of the novel reinforces the theme that the natural world is indifferent to the plight of the individual.
I completely agree. In war, just one soldier cannot make much of a difference. In his first skirmish, Henry expresses his desire to have the power to repel all of the advancing confederate troops. It is interesting that after he experiences battle, he compares himself to a finger on a hand but in reality, he is more like one cell that makes up the hand that is the union army. This point of view reflects Henry’s immaturity.
I agree with you completely. The story is showing that it takes more than an individual to win a war. If one acts individually, they will be a coward, but if they act together, they will fight as a well oiled machine.
I think Stephen Crane provided a very accurate description of both the psychological aspect of the Civil War and the reality of war in general. Initially Henry was enthusiastic about enlisting into the Union army, however, later discovers the horror, boredom, and injustice of war. The portrayal of war in this book was so graphic and realistic that made a big impact on it’s readers.
I agree that a major theme in The Red Badge of Courage is the growth from an individual to a part of the group. In the beginning of the book, Henry is entirely looking out for himself but as he goes through his ordeal he learns to work and risk his life for the good of his unit.