OBJECTIVES: DEFINE VOCABULARY WORDS FROM UNIT ONE. CONNECT CRANE’S LIFE TO HIS WORK. EVALUATE THE TEXT AS AN EXAMPLE OF REALISM. ANALYZE THE DEVICES CRANE USES TO CONSTRUCT THE RED BADGE OF COURAGE Friday, September 7 th 1.When you come in, take a vocabulary book off of the front table. 2.Make sure your put your name in your book. 3.Place your writing assignment on the stool.

Today’s Activities: Vocabulary Unit One  Book exercises due on Wednesday, 9/12  Quiz on Thursday, 9/13 Start background information and literary analysis of The Red Badge of Courage

Stephen Crane and The Red Badge of Courage

Get out your notebooks Label this page The Red Badge of Courage Listen carefully as give the directions...

“A Man Said to the Universe” Poem from War is Kind & Other Lines by Stephen Crane A man said to the universe: "Sir I exist!" "However," replied the universe, "The fact has not created in me A sense of obligation." In your notes, create a paraphrase of this poem. Why is it important for the man to state that he “exist[s]”? How is that declaration an essential part of our lives? Think about the “big” questions people have about life. Use three adjectives to describe nature’s response to the man’s statement. What point is Crane making with this poem?

Our Author Born in 1871 in Newark, New Jersey Son of a Methodist minister Did not embrace the religion, but was affected by Christian ideas Most notably, he was aware of the insignificance of human beings in the universe and the guilt and fear that the thought of sin could inspire Interested in moral issues focused on personal responsibility, conscience, and life as a spiritual journey

Realism “I decided that the nearer a writer gets to life, the greater he becomes as an artist, and most of my prose writings have been toward the goal partially described by that misunderstood and abused word, realism.” – Stephen Crane Worked part-time as a journalist and explored slums and police courts and fraternized with the poor, prostitutes, and homeless Lost his reputation, however, for socializing with and defending prostitutes free/pdf?res=F30F16FF DDDAB0894D9415B8685F0 D3 free/pdf?res=F30F16FF DDDAB0894D9415B8685F0 D3 Wanted to emphasize “truth and nature” in his writing Had one law while writing: “be true, not to the objective reality, but to the objective reality as the author sees it.”

The Novel & Realism Many readers were impressed by RBC’s unflinchingly honest portrayal of war (even though Crane had never seen a battle, readers insisted he must be a Civil War veteran) Most war novels by American writers at the time were simply adventure stories or romance Crane focused on the violence and confusion of the battlefield AND the effects of war on the human mind Crane said The Red Badge of Courage is a “psychological portrayal of fear.” BUT is it a war novel after all?

The Novel and Impressionism A term borrowed from the arts Highly personal way of seeing Writer shows the objects or events as they seem or feel to an individual at a precise moment in time Emphasized the “drama of thought” rather than action Radically new style of writing

The Novel’s Setting Unnamed battle Never mentions the Civil War Devote relatively little space to the physical setting Many critics believe the real setting of the novel is Henry Fleming’s mind

My Novel Questions What is nature’s role in this novel? What does Henry want nature’s role to be? To what extent is Henry self-aware? How does his consciousness change throughout the novel? With what question(s) does Henry struggle? How does Crane present Henry? Why? Is this a Civil War novel? Is it anti-war? Pro-war? What is the ultimate irony (presented in the novel) in our quest to find a place in the universe?

How to Read Like an English Teacher Guide for close reading Style Tone Theme Diction POV Time Setting Motifs Symbols Mood

Close reading passage from RBC Look at the notes I made on this passage from Chapter 1 Let’s discuss why I made the notes I did