Elizabeth Smith, Top Scholastic Student

IDEA Team A

Score 919.

The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane, although immensely enjoyed by most, was disapproved of by some veterans of the Civil War. They complained that the tale should be of not just one boy, but the entire armies on both the Confederate side as well as the Union. They said the novel should be more factual about the battle scenes and camps, rather than be so nature-oriented and symbolic. The veterans scoffed at the internal emotions of Henry and said that Crane should have been more descriptive of the general's battle tactics instead. These opinions definitely prove that the novel was not well recieved when first published, although it grew in fame later, possibly after all the war veterans had died out.

The Red Badge of Courage focouses on one boy, named Henry Fleming. He is an immature youth full of pride, as well as dreams of becoming a heroic soldier. He enlists in the Union army and is sent off to the 304th regiment. There, he makes friends, such as Wilson and Jim Conklin. Although the novel describes these men and a few others, such as the lieutenant, we never hear detailed accounts of the Union or Rebel armies. This irritated some of the Civil War veterans who expected otherwise.

Because the novel focouses mainly on Henry, we learn a lot about his personal feelings. At the beginning of the book, we find that Henry's worst fear is the possibility of running from the battle, which he eventually does. We read of his impatience with the tattered man, his condescension toward Wilson, and his final feeling, at the end of the novel, that he has finally reached manhood. The old war veterans had no tolerance or respect for such accounts. They wanted descriptions of the general's battle plans, and POSSIBLY even their feelings after winning or losing a battle, as long as they didn't get too emotional.

Another complaint that the old, gruff veterans made was that the novel was too symbolic and that Crane made more reference to Nature than the accounts of what the battle scenes looked like. Crane does make many symbolic references in the novel; for example: the tree under which Henry encounters the dead soldier with ants swarming on his face. Crane alludes to the tree as a "green chapel", with a "religious half-light. The veterans scoffed at this illusion, as well as the many others that are told in this novel.

While the Civil War veterans had many complaints, the book did achieve the credit it deserved at a later time, even obtaining a compliment from the author Ernest Hemingway. I personally enjoyed the novel for what it was: a wonderful, insightful tale of an important period in history. I also look forward to reading some of Stephen Crane's short stories this coming summer.