The Red Badge of Courage

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Professor

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Henry Fleming : A Hero or Not

The novel The Red Badge of Courage ' by Stephen Crane depicts the story of a young man who enlisted to become a member of the regiment during Civil War . Henry Fleming , the young feller ' and the main character of the novel , dreams of becoming a hero of a great battle and be recognized by everybody (Crane , 1997 ,

. 5 . This dream and the desire to experience the taste of victory lead him to enlist in the regiment despite the

objection of his mother . At the regiment , Henry faces the battle not only against the war enemies but also against himself , enabling him to transform from a coward to a fearless hero

Specifically , Henry has to face three major battles . As mentioned , the first battle he had to overcome is his conflict with his mother who was against his enlistment in the regiment . The second battle is the struggle inside himself , reinforced by his fear of fighting in the battlefront . The third battle is the Civil War . By overcoming these battles , Henry becomes the hero he dreamed to be

In to win the war , a real soldier must first decide whether he will fight or will run away from the battle . Thus , Henry must first win the conflict with himself caused by his cowardice and fears . Being young and inexperienced and growing up in an insecure environment , it was only natural for him to be terrified of the war before...