Red Badge of Courage

Crane, Stephen. Red Badge of Courage. 1895. 170p. Available both at FIC CRA for the actual novel and at FIC WIN for the graphic novel version.

As the American Civil War rages on, every man on the battlefield is confronted with a fundamental dilemma. Am I courageous enough to stand in the thick of battle, or am I a coward who runs away at the first sight of fighting?

Henry Fleming enrolled in the Northern army despite his mother’s wishes, but now that he is on the eve of his first battle this is the question that preoccupies him the most. As the battle finally begins, Henry discovers that he is a coward by deserting his regiment and what he thinks is a lost cause and hiding deep in the woods. He finally reconnects with a column of wounded soldiers.

Rejoining his regiment, he finds out that it was victorious and triumphed against the enemy. Having been injured in a scuffle with another Northern soldier, everyone thinks he was grazed by a bullet. Upon learning that officers consider his regiment to be made up of mule drivers and mud diggers, he decides to prove them wrong.

Finally, his regiment is thrown into battle once again the following morning, and this time Henry redeems himself by joining the fight and even carrying the flag when the flag bearer is shot and killed. Henry is not a coward after all, but just a conflicted youth facing life or death.