Home Page Author and Title Author and Title Setting Main Character Main Character Theme Summary Tone/Mood The Conflict The Conflict Prevalent Themes Prevalent Themes Personal Reflection Personal Reflection Climax About The Author About The Author

The Red Badge Of Courage By: Stephen Crane

Setting The setting of this novel takes place during the Civil War and its famous battles. 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.Civil

Main Character The main characters name was Henry Fleming. He was a young private in one of the Union’s battalions. He was eager to experience the feel of a battle. As the book goes on Henry’s courage improves.

Theme The theme of this book is that Henry Fleming has to experience courage, manhood, honor and self-preservation.

Plot Summary Henry Fleming first battle that he awaited for so long has started everything. His first battle was good enough because he survived, but when he realized that a second wave of the Rebel soldiers are coming he was terrified and he ran away. He wanders around for a bit, and then happens to overhear a general saying they’re going to win. He retreats into the woods feeling sorry for himself, and to his horror stumbles over a dead body. Henry comes upon a line of wounded men who are retuning from battle. Among them is his friend Jim Conklin. They walk together for a while, and out of nowhere Jim starts running away into cornfields and then dies. Henry headed for the general direction he encounters a large force coming from the opposite direction they start running towards him, and when he tries to stop a man to find out what happened, the man bashes him over the head with his rifle. He staggers around for a while, his head bleeding, a strangers leads him back to his regiment. Everyone assumes he’s been wounded, and treats him with respect. The next morning they move out, and march around seemingly at random until the Rebels attack. Henry fights like a wild man, continuing to blast away even after the enemy is repulsed. During the lull in the fighting, Henry and a friend go back to look for water and they overhear their general and an officer talking: their regiment is about to be sacrificed in a charge. They go back and tell about the charge, though they keep the impending doom a secret. Their comrades react in various ways some disbelieving, some looking forward to action, some fearing death. They do the charge and it’s a success for Henry because the colonel who was watching the battle has singled out Henry for bravery.

Tone/Mood The tone throughout the story changes dramatically when Henry is being a coward everything seems black and dull when Henry is being heroic in the final battle the tone is tense because he might die. After Henry is singled out for bravery everything happy and nice.

The Conflict The conflict of this is novel is Henry Fleming finding his courage within him and the will to fight against the Rebel army.

Prevalent Themes Traditional versus realistic conceptions of courage, honor, and manhood; the human instinct to survive as pitted against the universe’s grand indifference; the struggle between self-interest and group obligation; the psychological effects of realizing one’s own mortality; development from innocence to experience

Climax Henry Fleming and Wilson lead the 304th Regiment to an unlikely victory over the rebels, seizing the enemy’s position and their flag

Stephen Crane Before dying of tuberculosis at age 29, he published several essays, novels, and even a volume of poetry. He also worked as a newspaper journalist for several different publications, including for William Randolph Hearst. Crane's most famous novel, The Red Badge of Courage (1895), is a Civil War tale. At the time, Crane had had no war experience. That changed, however, when he became a foreign war correspondent, first in Greece, then, during the Spanish-American War, in Cuba. He had many adventures in Cuba, including surviving the sinking of his ship, witnessing first-hand several battles, and the reaction in Havana after the conflict ended. His accounts and opinions are drastically different from Twain's.Cuba