The Red Badge of Courage and Selected Short Fiction (Annotated)

by Stephen Crane

The Red Badge of Courage and Selected Short Fiction, by Stephen Crane, is part of the Literary Classics Collection, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features of the Literary Classics Collection:

- New introductions commissioned from today's top writers and scholars
- Biographies of the authors
- Chronologies of contemporary historical, biographical, and cultural events
- Footnotes and endnotes
- Selective discussions of imitations, parodies, poems, books, plays, paintings, operas, statuary, and films inspired by the work
- Comments by other famous authors
- Study questions to challenge the reader's viewpoints and expectations
- Bibliographies for further reading
- Indices & Glossaries, when appropriate

All editions are beautifully designed and are printed to superior specifications; some include illustrations of historical interest. The Literary Classics Collection pulls together a constellation of influences—biographical, historical, and literary—to enrich each reader's understanding of these enduring works.

Hailed as one of American literature's most influential works, The Red Badge of Courage has a young recruit facing the trials and cruelties of war. Stephen Crane's 1895 novel is set in the American Civil War. Private Henry Fleming flees from battle and his battalion, considering all lost. Stumbling upon injured soldiers, he feels the shame of deserting and of not possessing the "red badge of courage", the wounds of war. But later when Henry rejoins his regiment and is ordered into a hopeless battle, he finds a chance to finally prove his courage as a man.

Genres: Classics, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Short Stories, Literature, Historical, War

240 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1895

About the author

Stephen Crane (1871-1900) was an American novelist, poet and journalist, best known for the novel, The Red Badge of Courage. That work introduced the reading world to Crane's striking prose, a mix of impressionism, naturalism and symbolism. He died at age 28 in Badenweiler, Baden, Germany.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Reviews

[Jessaka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Imagine No More Wars

My introduction to Civil War novels was “Cold Mountain” by Charles Frazier. After reading it I kept looking for another and found “Wilderness” by Lance Weller. Yet, neither of these books were really about the war. The first was a book about a man walking home from the war, the second was just a few flashbacks. It was the adventures in these two books that I loved, the walking away, and the walking of a man who was looking for his stolen dog. I never thought that I would actually read a book on the battle itself, but when a friend said that she was reading “The Red Badge of Courage” and that it was a Civil War novel,to t I thought to give it a try. After all, I had always heard of the book. I Just didn’t know what it was about.

The author was never in the Civil War but was born in 1871, after the war had ended, and he didn’t write this book until 1895, a few years before his death. I thought about that: Men were dying in the war at the young age of 18 or round. They never really had a life, and the author died at the age of 28 of tuberculosis. When I think of my living so far to be 77, I think that he never really had a life either.

This book was heart wrenching in so many ways. I wanted to say that this war was futile because so many young men had died, so many laid out in the fields wounded and in pain. So many felt fear in their hearts of what lay before them.

Was it futile? It felt senseless to me. I talked with my husband about this, and he explained to me how it had to be fought because the other side wasn’t going to back down. He is right. Then he said that in Nam, he had seen these words on a wall in an outhouse: “Fighting for peace is like screwing for virginity.” It stayed with him all these years, and he added that war seldom brings real peace because it leaves the losers feeling hostile.

I have always been confused about the Civil War, yes, it freed the slaves, and that was a good thing, a very good thing, but the south is still racist, and after that war they still murdered the freed slaves, they became sharecroppers and were really not free. Nor are they totally freed today. And some in the south desire to have another Civil War, and some out of stupidity still play Civil War games. Blacks are being murdered in the streets by the police, and it just goes on and on. Yet, I know that the Civil War was fought for other reasons as well.

When reading this book, I thought of the young boys being given guns, having to wear their own clothes, and having those clothes fall apart on them. I thought of their being shot and lying on the fields with no medical help. I thought of their dying and having no real life. I thought of their fear, and how some ran away, leaving them with guilt in their hearts. And in time, my mind became numb, and I hardly knew what I was reading anymore. And then I thought of what Jesus had said, if he really said it, and it is as true today as it ever was, “Forgive them Father for they know not what they do.” Last of all I thought of the antiwar songs that were sung in the 60s:

Imagine

Imagine there's no heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today.

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion, too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace.

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world.

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one

written by John Lennon

[R.F. Gammon · Rating 1 out of 5]

Normally I reserve one star ratings for books I DNF'd.

This, being a school book, is an exception. However, I cannot tell you how much I hated it.

The writing style is atrocious. I have never seen such overuse of the past participle in all my life. Everything was "were hanging, was running, was looking, was talking." EVERYTHING. It got so old so fast. The similes are awful (I found only one that made me say "Wow, that's a good simile!") and the rest of it...ugh. Ugh. Ugh.

The one thing that made this book at all enjoyable was the young lieutenant. All he did was swear (the words weren't written out) but he was hilarious and stupid while still being brave on the battlefield.

But that guy isn't enough to take this book up to two stars for me. No, my biggest problem is with the protagonist and the representation.

Henry Fleming, our "hero," is the most irritating jerk of a protagonist I have ever read. I have never in my life wished that an MC would die more. I still can't believe he came through the book completely unscathed. He lied, he mistreated his mother, he didn't care about his fellows, he ran away from the fight, he let himself get hit over the head by one of his OWN men and told his regiment he was valiantly shot by a rebel, he schemes to use a package given to him by his friend (who trusts him and likes him) as leverage AGAINST said friend, despite the fact that this friend is one of the only likeable characters in the book. And then about halfway through he has a sudden change in heart and suddenly thinks of himself as a hero. He leads the charges. He carries the colors. He holds his regiment. AND I DON'T GET IT!

This doesn't even start to deal with how problematic this soldier representation is. Stephen Crane, when I looked it up, was out to write a "psychological picture of fear", but he went overboard. So, so overboard. The soldiers in this book are cowards and fearful, running away when it gets to be too hard and so often refusing to fight. They make fun of each other. They stab each other in the back. And sure, maybe some soldiers are like that, but I've seen enough Civil War movies and read enough books about it (as well as any other war, come on) to know that soldiers are more often than not heroes. They're not perfect, they're not superhuman, but they're selfless and brave. And this book made me angry because it portrayed the entire Union army as a bunch of useless, cowardly idiots.

I don't recommend this book to anyone. I'm not really sure why it became a classic. But oh well. Now I've read it, and hopefully I never have to think about it again.

[Ted · Rating 5 out of 5]

4 1/2

The edition I have is a Signet Classic, published in 1960. My incoming freshman class in college (1962) was assigned to read The Red Badge of Courage prior to matriculating. I did read it, but have no recollection that there was any discussion of the novel that I participated in.

Anyway, this review is about the Selected Stories part of the book, which I never read until recently.

Four stories are included: “The Upturned Face” (5 pp, mildly interesting); The Open Boat (24 pp, hard to forget – unless you have my leaky memory); The Blue Hotel (29 pp, great); and The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky (11 pp, even better).







There’s a little summary of Stephen Crane (some is from Wiki).

Intense, volatile, spontaneous, Stephan Crane lived violently, expending himself in a frenzied search for experiences about which to write. Born in Newark NJ in 1871, 14th child of an itinerant Methodist minister. Attended Hudson River Institute, Lafayette College, and one semester by Syracuse Univ. Wrote first draft of “Maggie: A Girl of the Streets” in college. In 1895 published the work he’s famous for (Red Badge …), never having experienced battle. The book made him famous, and established his reputation as a “war correspondent” (??) In 1896 he received an assignment from the Bacheller-Johnson syndicate to cover the impending Spanish American war in Cuba. While waiting for passage in Jacksonville, he met his future common-law wife, the 31-year old Cora Howorth, who was a nightclub and bordello owner in the town, already married twice still married to her second husband. On New Year’s day, 1897, Crane was shipwrecked en route to Cuba, an experience that inspired Crane to write The Open Boat.
Later assignments took him to Greece (Turkish war) and back to Cuba in April 1898. In January 1899, having returned to England where he and Cora were living, found himself threatened with bankruptcy. He never got out of debt, and plagued by tuberculosis, collapsed and died at Badenweiler Germany in June of 1900.

Writing over. Age 29.

Alfred Kazin (On Native Grounds) has this to say about Crane.

… there emerged at the end of the century the one creative artist who sounded the possibilities open to his generation, though he fulfilled so few of them himself … in the tradition of Chatterton, Keats, and Beardsley – the fever ridden, rigidly intense type of genius that dies young, unhappy, and the prey of biographers. Everything that he wrote in his twenty-nine years seemed without precedent.

Of course the plot lines and the characterization in these stories partake of that unprecedentness. But so also does the narrative style, the materials he selected and arranged to make his strange sentences.

Some examples.

The Open Boat. A story about four shipwrecked men rowing for a distant unseen shore.

As for himself, he was too tired to grapple fundamentally with the fact. He tried to coerce his mind into thinking of it, but the mind was dominated at this time by the muscles, and the muscles said they did not care. It merely occurred to him that if he should drown it would be a shame.

The Blue Hotel. Three men disembark from a train to stay overnight in Fort Romper Nebraska. They enter the Palace Hotel, which “then, was always screaming and howling in a way that made the dazzling winter landscape seem only a gray swampish hush. It stood alone on the prairie, and when the snow was falling the town two hundred yards away was not visible.”

Five characters, not needing an author. The three (a cowboy, an Easterner, and a Swede), the hotel’s proprietor Scully, and his son Johnnie. A card game played for no stakes, paranoia, irrational outbursts, shouts and murmurs; and a blizzard howling outside.

At six-o’clock supper, the Swede fizzed like a fire-wheel. He sometimes seemed on the point of bursting into riotous song, and in all his madness he was encouraged by old Scully. The Easterner was encased in reserve; the cowboy sat in wide-mouthed amazement, forgetting to eat, while Johnnie wrathily demolished great plates of food. The daughters of the house, when they were obliged to replenish the biscuits, approached as warily as Indians, and, having succeeded in their purpose, fled with ill-concealed trepidation.

Yup, "wrathily". Not a typo. But I had to check.

The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky. Potter, the town marshal of Yellow Sky, having married a woman in San Antonio, brings her back to his home in west Texas. He has not consulted the townsfolk on his choice of partner, and feels uncomfortable. Having arrived, he and his new partner suddenly confront Scratchy Wilson, a town ne’er-do-well, shooter, who becomes dangerous only when inebriated – as he now is.

Potter was about to raise a finger to point the first appearance of the new home when, as they circled the corner, they came face to face with a man in a maroon-colored shirt, who was feverishly pushing cartridges into a large revolver. Upon the instant the man dropped his revolver to the ground and, like lightning, whipped another from its holster. The second weapon was aimed at the bridegroom’s chest.

There was a silence. Potter’s mouth seemed to be merely a grave for his tongue … As for the bride, her face had gone as yellow as old cloth. She was a slave to hideous rites, gazing at the apparitional snake.

The two men faced each other at a distance of three paces.



I’m not really a great lover of short stories. Though I do read some on occasion.

Crane is odd enough to recommend himself to me. I’ll pass along that recommendation to others who enjoy the genre.

[Bekka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprise, surprise... I disagree with what the masses have told me about this book. Although, I don't actually know too many of my peers who have read this (it seems the schools near me skipped this classic), the adults I've known have always told me that this was very "DRY" book, hence making it not high on my priority list. I've read Stephen Crane's poetry for many years now and never understood how someone could write such beautiful, bittersweet poetry but boring, dry historical novels. Well, the answer is that his book was not boring or dry. "The Red Badge of Courage" is a short novel, perhaps a novella, brimming with poetic prose and haunting effigies of men at war. It follows the main character of Henry Fleming as the youth experiences the many shifting psychological developments of one at war. It was shocking for me that Stephen Crane published this book when he was 24 years old and especially that he had no experience of war, the military, or anything which could substantiate the very powerful depiction of war and human psychology which this book delivers. Although, I admit to finding many war stories a bit dry at times (because battle movements and war stories are not of interest to me) I feel compelled to share that I found the writing beautiful and devastating. I think overall, this is a war story I would recommend to others; and I will add that it is more than a war story, it is also a coming of age story as well (for both the protagonist and the country).

[Robert Sheard]

Classics Book Club video coming Sunday.

[Kristen (belles_bookshelves) · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Within him, as he hurled himself forward, was born a love, a despairing fondness for his flag which was near him. It was a creation of beauty and invulnerability. It was a goddess, radiant, that bended its form with an imperious gesture to him. It was a woman, red and white, hating and loving, that called him with the voice of his hopes."

When I think about reading The Red Badge of Courage in High School, I think about being incredibly bored. I wanted to reread it as an adult, because it wouldn't be the first time I read a book when I was younger, but didn't appreciate it until I reread it when I was older.

That was not the case here.

I was just as bored now as I remember being then. It could possibly be because war stories are not my thing (this being the first war story I've read since TRBOF and All Quiet on the Western Front - both read in High School to tears of apathy and then immediately forgotten upon graduation). Or it could be because the characters, to me, are all so forgettable. I don't relate to them in any way. And not because I'm not a soldier. I'm not a witch. Or a cancer patient. Or a millionaire. Or an animal. But I relate to a lot of characters in books and stories who are those things, because there's backstory that's relatable, or you empathize with some aspect of them. I felt none of that here.

[Natalie Nimmers · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can appreciate some elements of Crane’s writing style, and found myself laughing at his depictions of human nature, however the book was not a favorite.

[Trevor Seigler · Rating 3 out of 5]

The last couple of years has seen me tick off a lot of the classic books that I'd been meaning to get around, reading them and usually enjoying them if not always loving them. Just this year, I counted "Ulysses" as one which, while acknowledging its literary worth, I didn't necessarily enjoy. And I was blown away by both "To the Lighthouse" and "Wise Blood." It's fair to say that "The Red Badge of Courage" falls into the former.

I've long danced around the prospect of reading Stephen Crane's most famous book; it concerns the Civil War and has long been considered *the* novel about combat during that war, and it's also super short. As someone who had a huge interest in the war as a child (though I've gotten away from reading about it, as Shelby Foote and James MacPherson both sated my thirst for epic retellings of the course of the war), I first came to "Badge" curious about what the battle was that was being depicted, and also how the doings of generals like Lee and McClellan shaped the course of battle. Now I'm more interested in the grunt-level lives of the soldiers who did the fighting and who weren't always privy to their commanders' genius. So reading it now, as opposed to when I was a kid, might be more ideal.

The book concerns the "youth," otherwise identified as Henry Fleming, a young man from New York State who finds himself worried that he won't measure up when he finally comes face to face with the Rebels on the field of battle. And, truth be told, initially he doesn't because he's a typical human being, one who loves life and doesn't want to lose it. He runs away, then is shamed back into standing in as flag-bearer, but not before he earns his "red badge of courage" (i.e., his wound) in a case of friendly fire. He helps lead the charge that decides the battle, and realizes that he has gone thru a profound change.

As a narrative, it's fine. I think somewhere along the way that I got the impression of "Badge" being anti-war, but it's not. It could be *read* that way, perhaps, but I think Crane is guilty of romanticising the nature of war (given that he hadn't seen conflict himself yet, it's not impolite to suggest this, I think). But he does render the moral quandary of Henry very well, in a way that a lesser novel might have ignored. It's not a bad novel, but I don't think it really is a great book. It's been surpassed by more abstract, absurd works about war and the men who fight in it. But it's still worth reading.

This edition also includes some short fiction, most notably "The Open Boat," which is a classic short story for a very good reason: it's great. "The Veteran," though, is the bittersweet conclusion to Henry Fleming's life, and feels a bit forced. I didn't bother with "The Men In the Storm."

So, am I glad that I finally read "The Red Badge of Courage"? Yes; even when a book doesn't quite move you as much as you thought it would, it's usually worth the effort and time put into reading it. I have a copy of "Maggie" by Crane that I'm thinking of picking up soon, we'll see how that goes.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yet another book I loved in high school. I enjoyed it just as much here and found Muller's narration to be perfect (aside from the mic sounds but that's not his fault, it's 1981's). The wild swings of emotion felt by the Youth were a bit extreme until you think of an 18 year old (enough said right there) who's seeing the grim and frightening realities of a war that he has no means of preparing for. A wonderful read and I'll read it again.

[Lucia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, my 14 year old brain was far to immature to understand the gravity and beauty of The Red Badge of Courage. And I should add, the other stories in this collection were equally incredible.
Review broken down by each story below.

The Red Badge of Courage:
What a heart wrenching work of beauty. From reading about this book, it's clear it was a first of it's kind look at the realities of war. It neither glorifies or condemns war, but simply paints a picture of the human experience through a "youth". The depictions of battle are so vivid and the main character's reactions and machinations are so relatable, as the reader you find yourself asking how you would act in real-time.

I know some readers can't get past the colloquial dialogue, but they need to look beyond the form of the words and into the archetypes of the speakers.

10/10 recommend.

The Open Boat:
Another heartbreaker. Red Badge is regarded as a work of realism but Stephen Crane never personally served. This story is a fictionalized retelling of Crane's real survival of a shipwreck. It's somehow managed to feel even more "honest" and painful. I imagine the experience of writing it was cathartic.

If you have 30 minutes to spare and a healthy respect of the ocean - read this.

The Veteran:
Nothing much to write home about. It feels like a short sequel to Red Badge, designed to give the "youth" a fitting end. I won't spoil it beyond that.

The Men in the Storm:
Paints a picture of the human reaction to hardship, perseverance and desperation. Read this so you think next time your upset with an unhoused person's presence.

[Rade · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't think this book was written with people like me in mind. Not that I want to crap on an old story just because it is old, but there is a reason this was so hated in many high schools.

My main issue was the hero of our main story. he is not likeable at all. Not only does he embellish the truth but he is also in a way a coward. Now you might be saying, "Of course he is a coward. It's war, the horrors he has seen are uncomprehending". I am inclined to agree but war is war. You fight for your friends and country, not for yourself. I was never a soldier, so maybe I have no right to say anything but our hero was not a hero. He scraped by and somehow things turned out OK.

Also, while it didn't bother me, the dialogue was written almost as a slang or was shortened. Some people might find this annoying.

Anyway, I didn't have fun reading this book. I am going through some things work wise and this book did not help me feel any better. At least it was short.

R.S

[Nettie Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Red Badge - I really liked this story. It was a little confusing bc I didn’t know which battle this was, nor really the outcome of the story past the one battle, but I enjoyed seeing the character develop and the writing style was good. I liked the flow of the story.

Open Boat - the first time I read this story was in Dr.Potts American Lit class. I really liked it then, and rereading it now confirms that it’s one of my favorites. I love the contrast of nature and man that Crane shows (in this story and Red Badge). I love the inner monologues that he writes and I just really like the story as a whole. It’s interesting to find out too that he wrote this after he had a similar experience.

The veteran - this story was much shorter than I thought it’d be. It was a cool glimpse of the youth from Red Badge though. It was tragic, yet comforting to know how he turned out.

[Mary Montgomery hornback · Rating 5 out of 5]

Crane’s novel certainly isn’t for everyone. It doesn’t have a compelling plot with lots of action or character development. But his accuracy in capturing man’s complex and conflicting thoughts is unmatched. I was amazed to discover how young Crane was when he wrote this book. Equally astounding is that he did not serve in the war.

“...wild and desperate rushes of men perpetually backward and forward in riotous surges”.
“Further off there was a group of four or five corpses keeping mournful company”

Cowardice, pride, shame, empathy and death are poetically revealed through “the youth’s” eyes.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Red Badge of Courage just wasn't my cup of tea. While I did appreciate the disorientation the protagonist felt, and how he never knew weather his side was winning or losing, the constant attacks seemed to lose their effect after a while.

I did enjoy the short stories, at the end, however. Particularly The Open Boat. These we're well written and engrossing.

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

After many decades I figured I’d try to rescue The Red Badge of Courage from my memories of torturous required reading in junior high school. Today I much better appreciate this book’s importance in literature and American Realism, seeing it now as a young man’s two-day psychological journey rather than the story-driven war tale I wanted it to be back when I first read it.

[Marie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This wasn't the worst book I've ever read, but it just didn't move the needle for me. I felt that the author did a good job of exploring the mental/psychological journey of the main character, but that was about it. Nothing too exciting.

[Patty Van · Rating 2 out of 5]

"So it came to pass that as he trudged from the place of blood and wrath his soul changed" Haven't read this since high school. Plenty of action, not much storyline. Spoiler alert from 1895, he enlists after glamorizing being a soldier, finds out it isn't great. That is all.

[Masu · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book started really good but as story goes get kinda boring for me, it wasn't bad book but I could've read sth better.

[Steven Conway · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m a fan of historical fiction, but this book didn’t speak to me. There was too much flowery language for me.

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

Contains the stories:

The Red Badge of Courage -
The Open Boat -
The Veteran -
The Men in the Storm -

[Rafael Musni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Never got this one in school, but I wish I had. Exactly the kind of book I liked to read, and still is. Highly recommend for a light read

[Feargal McGovern · Rating 3 out of 5]

its good, but not great

[Saleh MoonWalker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Onvan : The Red Badge of Courage and Selected Short Fiction - Nevisande : Stephen Crane - ISBN : 1593081197 - ISBN13 : 9781593081195 - Dar 240 Safhe - Saal e Chap : 1895

[Suzy R · Rating 5 out of 5]

The youth, on guard duty one night, conversed across the stream with one of them. He was a slightly ragged man, who spat skillfully between his shoes and possessed a great fund of bland and infantile assurance. The youth liked him personally. "Yank," the other had informed him, "yer a right dum good feller." This sentiment, floating to him upon the still air, had made him temporarily regret war.



A little panic-fear grew in his mind. As his imagination went forward to a fight, he saw hideous possibilities. He contemplated the lurking menaces of the future, and failed in an effort to see himself standing stoutly in the midst of them. He recalled his visions of broken-bladed glory, but in the shadow of the impending tumult he suspected them to be impossible pictures.
He sprang from the bunk and began to pace nervously to and fro. "Good Lord, what's th' matter with me?" he said aloud.
He felt that in this crisis his laws of life were useless. Whatever he had learned of himself was here of no avail. He was an unknown quantity. He saw that he would again be obliged to experiment as he had in early youth. He must accumulate information of himself, and meanwhile he resolved to remain close upon his guard lest those qualities of which he knew nothing should everlastingly disgrace him. "Good Lord!" he repeated in dismay.



In regard to his companions his mind wavered between two opinions, according to his mood. Sometimes he inclined to believing them all heroes. In fact, he usually admitted in secret the superior development of the higher qualities in others. He could conceive of men going very insignificantly about the world bearing a load of courage unseen, and although he had known many of his comrades through boyhood, he began to fear that his judgment of them had been blind. Then, in other moments, he flouted these theories, and assured himself that his fellows were all privately wondering and quaking.
His emotions made him feel strange in the presence of men who talked excitedly of a prospective battle as of a drama they were about to witness, with nothing but eagerness and curiosity apparent in their faces. It was often that he suspected them to be liars.
He did not pass such thoughts without severe condemnation of himself. He dinned reproaches at times. He was convicted by himself of many shameful crimes against the gods of traditions.
In his great anxiety his heart was continually clamoring at what he considered the intolerable slowness of the generals. They seemed con- tent to perch tranquilly on the river bank, and leave him bowed down by the weight of a great problem. He wanted it settled forthwith. He could not long bear such a load, he said. Sometimes his anger at the commanders reached an acute stage, and he grumbled about the camp like a veteran.


As he looked all about him and pondered upon the mystic gloom, he began to believe that at any moment the ominous distance might be aflare, and the rolling crashes of an engagement come to his ears. Staring once at the red eyes across the river, he conceived them to be growing larger, as the orbs of a row of dragons advancing

"the cathedral light of the forest"

"all quiet on the Rappahannock"


The youth had been taught that a man became another thing in a battle. He saw his salvation in such a change. Hence this waiting was an ordeal to him. He was in a fever of impatience. He considered that there was denoted a lack of purpose on the part of the generals. He began to complain to the tall soldier. "I can't stand this much longer," he cried. "I don't see what good it does to make us wear out our legs for nothin'." He wished to return to camp, knowing that this affair was a blue demonstration; or else to go into a battle and discover that he had been a fool in his doubts, and was, in truth, a man of traditional courage. The strain of present circumstances he felt to be intolerable.


Once he thought he had concluded that it would be better to get killed directly and end his troubles. Regarding death thus out of the corner of his eye, he conceived it to be nothing but rest, and he was filled with a momentary astonishment that he should have made an extraordinary commotion over the mere matter of getting killed. He would die; he would go to some place where he would be understood. It was useless to expect appreciation of his profound and fine senses from such men as the lieutenant. He must look to the grave for comprehension



From a sloping hill came the sound of cheerings and clashes Smoke welled slowly through the leaves.
Batteries were speaking with thunderous oratorical effort. Here and there were flags, the red in the stripes dominating. They splashed bits of warm color upon the dark lines of troops.
The youth felt the old thrill at the sight of the emblem. They were like beautiful birds strangely undaunted in a storm.
As he listened to the din from the hillside, to a deep pulsating thunder that came from afar to the left, and to the lesser clamors which came from many directions, it occurred to him that they were fighting, too, over there, and over there, and over there. Heretofore he had supposed that all the battle was directly under his nose.
As he gazed around him the youth felt a flash of astonishment at the blue, pure sky and the sun gleamings on the trees and fields. It was surprising that Nature had gone tranquilly on with her golden process in the midst of so much devilment.


.A dull, animal-like rebellion against his fellows, war in the abstract, and fate grew within him.


At times he regarded the wounded soldiers in an envious way. He conceived persons with torn bodies to be peculiarly happy. He wished that he, too, had a wound, a red badge of courage.



In a defeat there would be a roundabout vindication of himself. He thought it would prove, in a manner, that he had fled early because of his superior powers of perception. A serious prophet upon predicting a flood should be the first man to climb a tree. This would demonstrate that he was indeed a seer.A moral vindication was regarded by the youth as a very important thing. Without salve, he could not, he thought, wear the sore badge of his dishonor through life. With his heart continually assuring him that he was despicable, he could not exist without making it, through his actions, apparent to all men.
If the army had gone gloriously on he would be lost. If the din meant that now his army's flags were tilted forward he was a condemned wretch. He would be compelled to doom himself to isolation. If the men were advancing, their indifferent feet were trampling upon his chances for a successful life.
As these thoughts went rapidly through his mind, he turned upon them and tried to thrust them away. He denounced himself as a villain. He said that he was the most unutterably selfish man in existence. His mind pictured the soldiers who would place their defiant bodies before the spear of the yelling battle fiend, and as he saw their dripping corpses on an imagined field, he said that he was their murderer.
Again he thought that he wished he was dead. He believed that he envied a corpse. Thinking of the slain, he achieved a great contempt for some of them, as if they were guilty for thus becoming lifeless. They might have been killed by lucky chances, he said, before they had had opportunities to flee or before they had been really tested. Yet they would receive laurels from tradition. He cried out bitterly that their crowns were stolen and their robes of glorious memories were shams. However, he still said that it was a great pity he was not as they.




Later he began to study his deeds, his failures, and his achievements. Thus, fresh from scenes where many of his usual machines of re- flection had been idle, from where he had proceeded sheeplike, he struggled to marshal all his acts.
At last they marched before him clearly. From this present view point he was enabled to look upon them in spectator fashion and to criticise them with some correctness, for his new condition had already defeated certain sympathies.
Regarding his procession of memory he felt gleeful and unregretting, for in it his public deeds were paraded in great and shining prominence. Those performances which had been witnessed by his fellows marched now in wide purple and gold, having various deflections. They went gayly with music. It was pleasure to watch these things. He spent delightful minutes viewing the gilded images of memory.
He saw that he was good. He recalled with a thrill of joy the respectful comments of his fellows upon his conduct.Nevertheless, the ghost of his flight from the first engagement appeared to him and danced. There were small shoutings in his brain bout these matters. For a moment he blushed, and the light of his soul flickered with shame.
A specter of reproach came to him. There loomed the dogging memory of the tattered soldier-he who, gored by bullets and faint for blood, had fretted concerning an imagined wound in another; he who had loaned his last of strength and intellect for the tall soldier; he who, blind with weariness and pain, had been deserted in the field.
For an instant a wretched chill of sweat was upon him at the thought that he might be detected in the thing. As he stood persistently before his vision, he gave vent to a cry of sharp irritation and agony.
His friend turned. "What's the matter, Henry?" he demanded. The youth's reply was an outburst of crimson oaths.
As he marched along the little branch-hung roadway among his prattling companions this vision of cruelty brooded over him. It clung near him always and darkened his view of these deeds in purple and gold. Whichever way his thoughts turned they were followed by the somber phantom of the desertion in the fields. He looked stealth- ily at his companions, feeling sure that they must discern in his face evidences of this pursuit. But they were plodding in ragged array, discussing with quick tongues the accomplishments of the late battle.
...
For a time this pursuing recollection of the tattered man took all elation from the youth's veins. He saw his vivid error, and he was afraid that it would stand before him all his life. He took no share in the chatter of his comrades, nor did he look at them or know them, save when he felt sudden suspicion that they were seeing his thoughts and scrutinizing each detail of the scene with the tattered soldier.
Yet gradually he mustered force to put the sin at a distance. And at last his eyes seemed to open to some new ways. He found that he could look back upon the brass and bombast of his earlier gospels and see them truly. He was gleeful when he discovered that he now despised them.
With this conviction came a store of assurance. He felt a quiet manhood, non-assertive but of sturdy and strong blood. He knew that he would no more quail before his guides wherever they should point. He had been to touch the great death, and found that, after all, it was but the
great death. He was a man. So it came to pass that as he trudged from the place of blood and wrath his soul changed. He came from hot plowshares to prospects of clover tranquilly, and it was as if hot plowshares were not. Scars faded as flowers.


---------------------------------------------
the open boat

"If I am going to be drowned-if I am going to be drowned-if I am going to be drowned, why, in the name of the seven mad gods who rule the sea, was I allowed to come thus far and contemplate sand and trees?"
During this dismal night, it may be remarked that a man would conclude that it was really the intention of the seven mad gods to drown him, despite the abominable injustice of it. For it was certainly an abominable injustice to drown a man who had worked so hard, so hard. The man felt it would be a crime most unnatural. Other people had drowned at sea since galleys swarmed with painted sails, but still--
When it occurs to a man that nature does not regard him as important, and that she feels she would not maim the universe by disposing of him, he at first wishes to throw bricks at the temple, and he hates deeply the fact that there are no bricks and no temples. Any visible expression of nature would surely be pelleted with his jeers.
Then, if there be no tangible thing to hoot, he feels, perhaps, the desire to confront a personification and indulge in pleas, bowed to one knee, and with hands supplicant, saying, "Yes, but I love myself."
A high cold star on a winter's night is the word he feels that she says to him. Thereafter he knows the pathos of his situation.
The men in the dinghy had not discussed these matters, but each had, no doubt, reflected upon them in silence and according to his mind.

[Ethan Kauffman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stephen Crane’s critically acclaimed masterpiece tells the story of Henry, a young soldier going to war during the Civil War. Although I found parts of the novel, very repetitive, I thought the vivid imagery of the Civil War was the most interesting part. After finishing the book, I don’t recommend it because of its lack of content. Most chapters say tell the same storyline in different ways. Although I liked how Crane’s writing could be mistaken for a first-hand account of the Civil War because of his accuracy and details, I think there are other Civil War books out there that are a lot better, more informative, and more interesting. I would give this book a 3/5.

[Kristina · Rating 2 out of 5]

War is not a topic I usually choose to read about, but the past several months seem to have thrown a lot of war books my way. Code Name Verity, Rose Under Fire, Ender's Game and now, The Red Badge of Courage have all discussed different military actions. It's a different kind of genre for me, but that's a good thing, right? Good readers should challenge themselves with a variety of texts. While I have generally liked the war books I have read recently, The Red Badge of Courage wasn't a favorite of mine. I feel immature saying this, but I found it to be . . . boring.

The plot follows Henry Flemming, a young soldier in the Civil War. He is fighting for the Union in the battle of Chancellorsville. The novel opens with a brief explanation of why Henry chose to enlist in the army, then focuses exclusively on what happens in the battle for the rest of the book. We read the story through Henry's perspective, which means that we don't get a lot of specifics about what is going on in the battle because Henry doesn't know. What we do get to read about are Henry's feelings throughout the fighting, which range from fear to shame to bravery to pride to anger and back again. This story is a look at the psychological effects of war on a soldier. It is not a plot-driven narrative.

I didn't exactly enjoy reading this novel, but I do fully acknowledge its literary merit. This book has received an abundant amount of praise for its beautiful writing and level of accuracy. It is generally considered to be one of the best examinations of the psychology of a soldier ever written. That becomes even more impressive once you consider that Stephen Crane was only 24 when he wrote The Red Badge of Courage and had never been in any kind of war before. He wasn't even alive during the Civil War. To achieve such acclaim at such a young age is an amazing thing.

While I did appreciate the language and could recognize that I was reading something that was very sophisticated and true, I struggled with the pace of the book. Henry drifts from one part of the battle to the next, experiencing a jumble of emotions each step of the way, but not a whole lot actually happens. It all started to sound the same after a while. Since military fiction isn't exactly one of my interests, I struggled to stay engaged with the text. This was a book I had to make myself finish. I didn't hate it, but I wasn't excited to read it either.

On a positive note, I did learn some very interesting things about the Civil War. For example, I learned that most of the soldiers doing the fighting could barely see what they were shooting at, due to the amount of musket smoke filling the battlefield. Crane describes a lot of the action as appearing faintly through a haze. I also learned that communication was so poor during the battles that most soldiers had no idea how the battle was going, what the plan was, or even if they had won or lost when the fighting was over. It makes sense when you think about it. A lot of the battlefields were vast and they had no radios at that time. People were literally passing orders around by riding horses from regiment to regiment. I had to look up the Battle of Chancellorsville after I finished reading, because at the end of the story, Henry isn't entirely sure how it turned out (and my history was rusty). Not only did Henry's side (the Union) lose, they suffered an astounding defeat. The Union Army lost over 17,000 soldiers in that battle. The talk around Henry at the novel's conclusion indicates that many men felt like they lost, but no one was sure.

The Red Badge of Courage didn't end up being a favorite of mine, but I can still say that I'm glad I read it. The explanation of the psychology of a soldier was interesting and I gained a new perspective on what the fighting was actually like in the Civil War. Anything that broadens your literary horizons is time well spent, in my opinion.

[Alma · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book again (first time was in college.) I think it is an outstanding anti war book without being political and “in-your-face.” Viewed through the thoughts and feelings of an ordinary soldier, the conflict seems random and confused and futile. Crane’s descriptions of battle were so accurate that many Civil War veterans could not believe that he hadn’t been there. Actually, he was born in 1871, six years after the end of the war. The accompanying short stories are vignettes of how war events touch regular folks. One tells of Henry Fleming, the “youth” of Red Badge, as an old veteran. Very interesting.

[Adam Sarlan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Red Badge of Courage interestingly explores a Union soldier’s dilemma as to whether he will bravely stay and fight or run away during battle. Through self-justification, learning from nature, and living out his honest self, he comes to terms with his reality, which shapes his attitude and actions during this war time. The Open Boat, arguably Crane’s most famous short story, is about four sailors stranded after the sinking of their ship. Nature controls their every move, and they must submit to the fierce and roaring ocean, that determines whether they will live or not.

[Niall · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Red Badge of Courage: Running from Pride
The Red Badge of Courage by: Stephen Crane

The Red Badge of Courage, a book by Stephen Crane follows the life of Henry Fleming a youth who wants to prove himself and come back as a war hero. He is just like everyone else, he wants to go to war, but he has a fear of fleeing the fight when the moment comes. As he heads out he wants to prove everyone wrong, even himself, that he can prove his worth. This book show the fear of fighting, the friendships and bonds made within regiments, and the true struggle to come home with with his friends.
The meaning of courage in the heat of battle was a main topic with many ideas to what it could mean. The author (Stephen Crane) made sure you always were part of the book. By using this writing technique made Henry’s decisions very impactful to the plot of the book. While reading the book you feel like your there in the heat of the battle. Henry felt bad about joining the army because he knew he would leave and put the people around him in danger. This thought seemed to linger in his mind. The author always made Henry vulnerable about going to war. While following Henry the author gave the mindset of a real soldier thinking they were going to fight for the Union and come back home within a few months as a war hero. This made the reader open their minds to the thoughts of the soldiers instead of using the information they learned from history classes to piece the book together. By doing this it allowed the author to make you feel like your making the same decisions of running away or staying to fight.
In the book The Red Badge of Courage friends mean a lot to the characters especially to Henry. They gave him power to go to war which made the book interesting and opened up new ideas. He always tried to have a happy mood until they went into battle where he had to show his true “red badge of courage” and help his friends fend off the enemy. Instead Henry decided to run because they were getting overwhelmed. All that preparation was thrown out the door. That courage felt drained from Henry until he went back and saw one of his best friends on the ground dead. That courage he built went to an instant remorse. Henry knew he made a mistake, and this idea touches you in the sense of his best friend dying right in front of him. He didn’t get the red badge instead he fought for himself instead of learning the true fate of courage.
After reading the The Red Badge of Courage I learned more about the everyday life for a youth back during the Civil War. This book was well written and anyone who likes history books surrounding the Civil War will love this book. The writing put you into the story and shows compassion between the characters. I rate this book a 4.5/5.

[Kymberli Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

An Important Message Told The Wrong Way
A Book Review Of The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane
The Red Badge of Courage had a very important message and in some way maybe could have been interesting. But it wasn’t told the right way, thus making it boring and extremely difficult to read. The book tells the story of a young man named Henry Fleming who enlists into the army just for the glory and being able to brag about it. He is a coward and displays terrible behavior in so many parts of the book. He was such a terrible person, he wanted a wound just so that he’d have a “red badge of courage”. His thoughts do change at some point in the book and he handles things differently but so many things about the book were done the wrong way. Crane did a low-quality job of trying to get the audience to root for Henry after him being such a selfish coward. There’s a chance that maybe I didn’t get the complete point but personally, I found it very difficult to start liking Henry at all.
Crane doesn’t make the story easy to read, he often drew out scenes that didn’t need so much detail and didn’t write to excite a reader. The message was nice and helped to understand that people must do things not for glory or fame, but for the sake of being a good person. This is something that took Henry a long time to figure out and he often only cared about how he looked or seemed. Crane often referred to Henry as “the youth” which was slightly annoying for so many reasons.
The book wasn’t even long enough to get into the headspace of the character and analyze, it is honestly a two out of five for rating. There was no way to understand the main character due to the style of writing and everything being so war centered. There was no way to get the reader to want to keep reading due to lack of empathy for the character, which stems from the reader not getting to know him and only being given overly detailed war scenes.
The Red Badge of Courage was a mess due to Crane’s writing style and how the character was not given nearly enough development. He made immature choices at an age where he should have known better and when he finally became better, it was sort of unbelievable. It happened so suddenly and the readers could have easily been confused. Sure, Henry was becoming a man apparently, but he did a poor job of acting his age most of the book. This book is apparently a classic, but not very enjoyable so I am honestly not sure how that works. Maybe I don't have the utmost appreciation for it since I am only 14, but this book really wasn’t enjoyable.