How Does The Red Badge Of Courage Affect An Individual's Life

In life the struggle between one’s power, in other words one’s personal abilities, and the limitations, due to one’s unrealistic expectations as well as societal conditions, play a crucial role in shaping an individual’s life. More importantly one’s reaction to these struggles, such as despair and wisdom will define an individual’s legacy. In the book The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane, the main character Henry Fleming through life’s hardships changes from an immature young man to a proud member of his regiment. In the stories “Indian Camp” “The End of Something” “Big Two-Hearted River” by Ernest Hemingway, Nick Adams learns from a very young age the harsh reality of life. These stories show Henry and Nick as their life unfolds to start
He always dreamt of being someone who would adore the recognition of being a hero and been praised for his hard work. When he got to war, “It had suddenly appeared to him that perhaps in a battle he might run. He was forced to admit that as far as war was concerned he knew nothing of himself” (Crane.10). From being this strong kid that did not want to work on the farm and wanted nothing more than being on the battlefield. Now he has reached a point that all he wants is to run away from the battle. He has reached a mental limit, he really cannot deal with the harsh conditions of the battlefield. Henry had thought his personal abilities would make him a strong soldier. Growing up he had wanted so much to go to the battlefield that he did not realize that there was two sides of going into war not only being a soldier but actually becoming a man. “He felt that in this crisis his laws of life were useless. Whatever he had learned of himself was here of no avail. He was an unknown quantity.” (Crane.11) Here the power of reality had rushed in making him a person that didn’t even know himself. As Crane says “He was an unknown quantity”, no one has an advantage over anyone. There are no limits in which the soldier could be broken apart because each man is a just a soldier who had not experienced war of any
“For days he made ceaseless calculations, but they were all wondrously unsatisfactory. He found that he could establish nothing.”(Crane.14) it seems that his thoughts are even scarier than the war itself. He is now struggling with thoughts of doubting himself, he is now terrified with the thought of not having the courage to stay in the battlefield. He wants to run away, since he does not have the fortitude to endure these harsh conditions and the loneliness of being in the battlefield. He is nothing but a number in the