Tired of life in the rural North, Henry Fleming fantasizes about the thrill of battle during the Civil War. The young Union soldier's illusions are soon brutally shattered as the reality of war's confusion, bloodshed and horrors are unleashed.
Tired of life in the rural North, Henry Fleming fantasizes about the thrill of battle during the Civil War. The young Union soldier's illusions are soon brutally shattered as the reality of war's confusion, bloodshed and horrors are unleashed.
The Red Badge of Courage (1895) is an impressionistic novel by American author Stephen Crane. The narrator tells about a young, 19-year-old boy named Henry Fleming, a recruit in the American Civil War. The story is about the meaning of courage.
The young soldier, Henry Fleming, survives a battle by running away and we are led through his emotional journey, as he tries to make sense of the reality of battle and his own role within it, often reaching rather self-serving and egocentric conclusions. He escapes into the forest and meets up with a group of injured men. The "Tattered Soldier" asks Henry, who is often referred to as "The Youth", where he is wounded and he is embarrassed that he does not have any wounds. Henry wanders through the forest and decides that running was the best thing, and that he is a small part of the army responsible for saving himself.
Henry feels incredibly guilty when he learns that his battalion has won and that it wasn't a suicide mission after all. He returns to his battalion and is injured by another fleeing soldier who hits him on the head with the butt of his gun. When he returns to camp, the other soldiers see his wound and think that he was harmed by a bullet grazing him in battle (because that is what he tells them, even though they think it looks awfully similar to someone hitting him on the head with a club). Afterwards, he goes into battle for the third time the next morning. While looking for a stream to get water from, he finds that his regiment has a horrible reputation from the commanding officer. The officer talks casually about sacrificing Henry's regiment because they are nothing more than "mule drivers" and "mud diggers." With no regiments to spare, the general orders his men forward. In the final battle, Henry becomes one of the best fighters in his battalion as well as the flag bearer. Many listeners -and Henry- have felt that by mastering his fear and eventually leading a charge, young Henry has become a man.
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Red Badge of Courage Audio Book by Stephen Crane
Tired of life in the rural North, Henry Fleming fantasizes about the thrill of battle during the Civil War. The young Union soldier's illusions are soon brutally shattered as the reality of war's confusion, bloodshed and horrors are unleashed.
The Red Badge of Courage (1895) is an impressionistic novel by American author Stephen Crane. The narrator tells about a young, 19-year-old boy named Henry Fleming, a recruit in the American Civil War. The story is about the meaning of courage.
The young soldier, Henry Fleming, survives a battle by running away and we are led through his emotional journey, as he tries to make sense of the reality of battle and his own role within it, often reaching rather self-serving and egocentric conclusions. He escapes into the forest and meets up with a group of injured men. The "Tattered Soldier" asks Henry, who is often referred to as "The Youth", where he is wounded and he is embarrassed that he does not have any wounds. Henry wanders through the forest and decides that running was the best thing, and that he is a small part of the army responsible for saving himself.
Henry feels incredibly guilty when he learns that his battalion has won and that it wasn't a suicide mission after all. He returns to his battalion and is injured by another fleeing soldier who hits him on the head with the butt of his gun. When he returns to camp, the other soldiers see his wound and think that he was harmed by a bullet grazing him in battle (because that is what he tells them, even though they think it looks awfully similar to someone hitting him on the head with a club). Afterwards, he goes into battle for the third time the next morning. While looking for a stream to get water from, he finds that his regiment has a horrible reputation from the commanding officer. The officer talks casually about sacrificing Henry's regiment because they are nothing more than "mule drivers" and "mud diggers." With no regiments to spare, the general orders his men forward. In the final battle, Henry becomes one of the best fighters in his battalion as well as the flag bearer. Many listeners -and Henry- have felt that by mastering his fear and eventually leading a charge, young Henry has become a man.
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