"The Red Badge of Courage" by Stephen Crane describes the journey of one man's experience in the American Civil War. Crane wrote this short story in the midst of something he called "static idealization" which was a part of t he human condition (Shanahan). He is a part of the Union army, fighting against the idea of slavery and secession (Crane). While in his regiment, the main character experiences anticipation and a yearning to fight. It seems that he will never get the chance to show his battle wounds because he and his troop have yet to participate in battle. When he eventually is able to fight, he begins to have many thoughts running through his head about the war. He is scared that he will coward out of the fight, but then quickly realizes even if he wanted to run and hide, he would not be able to because he was surrounded by other soldiers (Crane). I find it interesting that the man did not want to fight necessarily because he wanted to serve his country, but wanted to have the personal honor and gain that he did serve and would be left with stories and wounds to tell for generations to come. This idea is portrays the ideas demonstrated in the Realism period. I think it can be said that not every man who served in the Civil War actually wanted to be there for the purpose of abolishing slavery, but rather to have the honor of serving and being able to tell others they were veterans of something extremely important in society. In relating these ideas to that of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, the idea of slavery becomes consistent between the two. Even though the man probably did not fight for all of the right reasons, he still joined the army with the thought of putting an end to slavery in his mind. I think that slavery is widely seen throughout realism because the corruption and degradation portrayed through the violence was finally being exposed to society shortly during and after the Civil War. It was real. It was horrifying. And it was a part of American history many historians classify as brutal and unlike the portrayal of the "American Dream".
Crane, Stephen. "The Red Badge of Courage." Glencoe American Literature. comp.
Wilhelm, Jeffery. McGraw Hill. Columbus, OH. 2009. pg. 493.
Shanahan, Daniel. "The Army Motif in The Red Badge of Courage as a Response to Industrial Capitalism." Papers on Language & Literature 32, no. 4 (Fall 1996). Quoted as "The Army Motif in The Red Badge of Courage as a Response to Industrial Capitalism" in Bloom, Harold, ed. The Red Badge of Courage, Bloom's Modern Critical Views. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishing, 2003. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts on File, Inc.
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