Red Badge of Courage Book Report.
The Red Badge of Courage is a fictional story of a young soldier named Henry Fleming, who finds himself by overcoming his inner fears in a series of events during the Civil War. Henry is an average farm boy from New York, who dreams of being a true war hero. He has enlisted in the 304th New York regiment, which fights for the Unionist forces. The rising action for this novel is of Henry trying to overcome his struggle with courage. This changes when a dear friend, Jim, dies right before his eyes. He obtains a “red badge of courage” by accident when another soldier strikes him in the head with his rifle. Henry gains the confidence to return to his regiment and redeem himself. He develops a close relationship with the loud soldier, Wilson, and they, together, thrive as true war heroes.
The book has 10 chapters in which organized by each event to give the perspective of the young soldier, Henry Fleming, during that point in time. The book contains flashbacks when Henry sits in his tent thinking about what his mother told him, and if his purpose in life was really to be a soldier or not. He also has flashbacks when he remembers his failures during the war.
Literary Analysis:
• The themes in The Red Badge of Courage are courage, duty, respect, warfare, and isolation. • Courage- Courage is demonstrated by the soldiers in the novel. It is unnatural for someone to risk their life for others, and it takes a lot of courage to do so. Henry Fleming displays courage because he has an inner fear of not being able to be a true hero. He is afraid of his reactions to the battles during that point in time. He feels that he cannot be a real man without first proving his valor. Finally, Henry overcomes his fear, and fights with the confidence that he has never felt before. • Duty- The young, Civil War soldier, Henry Fleming, struggles between his duty to himself and the duty to his cause. The duty to himself is the need to stay safe and alive and the duty to his
The book has 10 chapters in which organized by each event to give the perspective of the young soldier, Henry Fleming, during that point in time. The book contains flashbacks when Henry sits in his tent thinking about what his mother told him, and if his purpose in life was really to be a soldier or not. He also has flashbacks when he remembers his failures during the war.
Literary Analysis:
• The themes in The Red Badge of Courage are courage, duty, respect, warfare, and isolation. • Courage- Courage is demonstrated by the soldiers in the novel. It is unnatural for someone to risk their life for others, and it takes a lot of courage to do so. Henry Fleming displays courage because he has an inner fear of not being able to be a true hero. He is afraid of his reactions to the battles during that point in time. He feels that he cannot be a real man without first proving his valor. Finally, Henry overcomes his fear, and fights with the confidence that he has never felt before. • Duty- The young, Civil War soldier, Henry Fleming, struggles between his duty to himself and the duty to his cause. The duty to himself is the need to stay safe and alive and the duty to his