Monday, February 14, 2011

Realism Project- "The Red Badge of Courage"

Stephen Crane's "The Red Badge of Courage" was written about a young recruit named Henry Fleming, acting in his first battle ("Naturalism" 492). Although Stephen Crane was actually born six years after the Civil War ended, its effect was still great and prevalent in his life; growing up, he saw many people influenced by the war and heard war stories as well as living through the aftermath of the horrific event ("Naturalism" 492). In this excerpt from his story, Crane describes the boy's mannerisms and attitude as he mentally prepares himself for battle. The boy's emotions, thoughts, and actions were vividly portrayed as the opposing army rushed towards him, and readers truly felt his feelings right alongside him (Crane 493). Stephen Crane did an excellent job in correctly portraying emotions that he himself had never even lived through, which I think is an incredible feat.

This excerpt from "The Red Badge of Courage" is most definitely a work of Realism. First of all, the emotions felt by Henry Fleming were very descriptive and correlative to the feelings one would image having in that situation. Though not necessarily characterized by emotional behaviors, Realism can definitely be portrayed through the accurate descriptions and detailed thoughts exhibited by a character (Diamond). For example, on page 493, Crane describes the war atmosphere's affect on Fleming; he says it is "a blistering sweat, a sensation that his eyeballs were about to crack like hot stones" (Crane). This description is helpful to the reader in creating a mindset similar to Fleming's that makes the setting and situation even more realistic. This portion also exhibits realism because of the truthfulness of the situation; if one was in a war atmosphere in which bombs were exploding and nerves were running high, one probably would feel as if he was experiencing those symptoms (Diamond). This description is both accurate and realistic and, therefore, Realism is easily detected (Diamond).

On page 492, it is said that Stephen Crane is thought to be a Naturalism author ("Naturalism). By reading the excerpt from "The Red Badge of Courage," I would agree with that statement. Fleming, a lower class young male, is put into a situation in which he really does not have much control over (Crane). He acts as hero by participating in this event, in which he very well might die. Heroes are typical of Realism and Naturalism; in the Naturalism writing style, that hero typically comes from the shambles and proves himself worthy of achieving more than others thought he would (Giles). Although the ending of the battle is not given in the excerpt, readers can easily see that Henry Fleming is risking his life in order to serve what he thinks is right, and he is using his sheer power and ability to do so (Crane). Since typically characters of Naturalism are not rich or really do not have much money in general, a powerful mindset and physical strength is important, as well as hard work that must be put in (Giles). In the excerpt, Fleming refers to his impotency, and that makes him very angry and more determined (Crane). It seems that even though others might not have found Fleming to be capable of honorary tasks, Fleming took matters into his own hands in order to prove them wrong and actually make something of himself. This characteristic and admirable trait is often shown in works of Naturalism, as the characters are not usually looked upon and are usually thought lowly of (Giles). The fact that Fleming is trying to hard to prove himself is a sign of his heroism, portraying both Realism and Naturalism.

WORKS CITED

Crane, Stephen. "The Red Badge of Courage." American Literature. Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm. Columbus: McGraw Hill, 2009. 493. Print.

Diamond, Marie Josephine, ed. "realism." Encyclopedia of World Writers, 19th and 20th Centuries. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2003. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= GEWW480&SingleRecord=True (accessed January 28, 2011).

Giles, James R. "naturalism." In Anderson, George P., Judith S. Baughman, Matthew J. Bruccoli, and Carl Rollyson, eds. Encyclopedia of American Literature, Revised Edition: Into the Modern: 1896–1945, Volume 3. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2008. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= EAmL1255&SingleRecord=True (accessed February 9, 2011).

"Naturalism." American Literature. Comp. Jeffery D. Wilhelm. Columbus: McGraw Hill, 2009. 492. Print.

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