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Analysis of "The Red Badge of Courage"

Analysis of "The Red Badge of Courage"

As The Red Badge of Courage opens, we meet Henry Fleming, who has signed up for the army against his mother's wishes, full of dreams of becoming a hero. But so far he has done nothing but sit around the camp. With all that time on his hands, Henry begins to worry whether he will be able to fight bravely, or whether he'll run away when the shooting starts. He talks to some of the others about it, but because he cannot really explain his fears, he feels more and more alone. Jim Conklin, a friend from home, thinks he'll do whatever the other boys do; a loud soldier named Wilson is full of boasts. The first sight of battle is terrifying, and Henry feels worse and worse. Even the loud soldier, convinced he's about to be killed, gives Henry some letters for his family.

During the first skirmish Henry fights well, feeling as much part of the regiment as the fingers of a hand. They hold the enemy back. But while they are relaxing, the enemy strikes again. Now Henry is exhausted and terrified. When two men standing near him turn and run, he throws down his gun and races to the rear. He tells himself that the regiment was about to be wiped out, and that saving himself was a responsible act. But he soon realizes that the line had held. Now he is furious at the other soldiers for making him look like a coward when he's sure that he was right.

Feeling awful, Henry walks into the woods, both to hide and to make himself feel better. He throws a pine cone at a squirrel, the animal scampers off, and he thinks to himself, "What I did was only the law of nature; animals protect themselves." But in the heart of the forest, under trees arched like a cathedral, Henry confronts a horrible sight: a dead man terribly decayed, whose face is covered with ants. He stares at the dead soldier, realizing that this is the real law of nature.

Leaving the woods, Henry walks along with some wounded men. He envies them and wishes that he too had a wound, a red badge of courage. One of the men, he realizes, is his friend, Jim Conklin, who is dying. Henry and another soldier, a tattered man,...

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