What Is The Red Badge Of Courage

Although Stephen Crane had never fought in the American Civil War, most of those who interacted with him assumed otherwise. With his immense attention to the detail of emotions over the detail of war, Crane was able to craft tales so convincing one would have thought him a soldier. In fact, he pioneered a way of Naturalistic writing that told a story primarily through strong emotions; a style quite like his was seldom seen before he popularized it. While the novel’s plot may or may not seem to be relevant and relatable today, the lessons that lie beneath the surface are far from outdated. Crane left a large mark in literary history with his themes and realistic portrayal of the emotions of war and slum life. (more? more.) Crane, in the same fashion as every other author, started in extraordinarily humbling beginnings. Crane was born in Newark, New Jersey, on November 1 in 1871. He was the youngest
Crane wanted to explore an old theme, but give it a new and realistic twist; thus was born The Red Badge of Courage. The old theme was courage in adverse circumstances, one that was common throughout literature. The new spin was something shocking and real: the horrors of war. Rather than speak about what was truly going on in a war zone with great detail, Crane focused his story through an emotional lens. He showed the reader not what was happening to the soldier only on the battlefield, but also in his mind— the conflict between fear and bravery became real to readers. The true terror of war was something that had been commonly removed from war stories; instead, battlefield glory and weak heroism filled the pages. Crane’s depiction of battle was a shock to his readers, since he satirized the heroism typically found in novels and replaced the romance of war with the truth.