Literary Analysis Essay on The Red Badge of Courage

Introduction

Stephen Crane's The Red Badge of Courage is a story highlighting what transpired during the Civil War. The book begins with the Union Army in a camp along the riverbank where they have been resting for the past seven days. A soldier named Jim Conklin comes up with rumor that they will match soon to war. A recruit with the Union Soldiers called Henry Fleming questions his courage in the battle. Henry's main fear is that if he may run away from the battle leaving the rest behind everyone. From the narration, it is clear that Henry joined the army because of the glory that comes with military victory. The Union Regiments, finally, get order to match, and they spend so many days walking on foot until they eventually approached the battlefield where they could hear roars and battle cries. The enemies, in response, charges towards the regiment. Henry Fleming realizes late that he cannot run because he is sandwiched in between his fellow soldiers. The Union army eventually defeats Confederate soldiers, and the winners congratulate one another. Throughout this ordeal, Stephen Crane uses symbol like color and actions as a subtle representation of characters, perceptions, and emotions of the actors.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

The first instance of the use of color in the novel is on page ten when the author talks about purple to symbolize power. In the gloom before the break of the day their uniforms glowed a deep purple hue (Crane 10). From this excerpt Crane says that before these soldiers went into the battle they stood together in readiness to fight. The purple color the author talks about is a symbol of nobility, mystery, power, and ambition. One concludes that the deep purple color on the page is the same as how powerful the troop is, and the unity in color made the soldier more organized and robust. At first these solders seemed confused whether they will be fighting, but the narrator explains how the excitement changes as they approach the battlefield. First forward to page 63 Crane again uses color purple to symbolizes power when he describes a solder in rage as quite purple with rage. The term purple with rage shows the high level of frustration from a soldier who spills his food as the two picks on him all the time.

In the novel, Henry uses color several times to show how frustrated he was before the battle. Color becomes an important reference point in Henry's conversation in the book as he always mentions color red to symbolize destruction and anger. One evident case in point is the instance Henry Fleming described war in terms of color. He describes war as the red animal and blood-drinking god. By describing the war as red in the book, Henry explains that they are soon facing a destructive battle that no one knows its outcome. On the other hand, the same author uses color yellow to indicate cowardice. The book portrays Henry Fleming as a coward as it is apparent in Stephen Crane's use of color yellow in the novel. The day when the regents are supposed to march to the battle named yellow day. During this period the narrator explains how Henry Fleming was uncertain about what will unfold on the battlefield. Later on, Henry explains that during the battle he saw a yellow cloud hanging in top of the tree, which symbolizes cowardice on his part.

Separately, Stephen Crane applies the use of color in describing the regents' uniforms, which the narrator says is blue. The blue color of the army uniform is used to describe the collective spirit witnessed in a more organized military that the Union soldiers were at the time. The Gold color, on the other, was a symbol of new beginning among the soldiers. On the first page, Crane quotes he adopted the critical air of herald in red and gold. Herald simple means the conveyer of news, and Jim was the messenger in this case. Jim was coming to the camp to inform the Union Army members about the rumor of them finally moving. Unlike some of the soldiers, Jim was exited, meaning that he was hopeful over the oncoming war and instead saw good things as quoted at the end of the chapter where he says he would not willingly run away from the battlefield. Finally, in chapter 14 Stephen Crane affirms the color of gold to symbolize peace and new beginning when he quotes its rays, shining upon the moving mass of troops, brought forth here and there sudden gleams of silver or gold. The Union Army will soon enter into the battle against the Confederates soldiers, coincidentally in the previous night they were all laughing and enjoying each other on who will run away first, and majority of soldiers were confident that they would not run. The quote says that even though most of these soldiers are afraid and scared to die they are ready and willing to fight.

Aside from the colors, Stephen Crane uses other symbols to pass a message in the novel. A visible symbol is the dead soldier that Henry Fleming comes across in the book. The dead soldier's body is decaying and covered with ants that feed on it. From the observation, the dead body is a symbol of futility of mortal accomplishment, which apply nothing once a soldier dies. Both the Confederates and the Union Army fight for a course that they believe is right, but once they die they become futile without proper sendoff. The rain and sun are also used in the novel as symbols. Stephen Crane uses rain to symbolize new beginnings through the character of Henry Fleming. At one point Fleming is captured lamenting on his cowardice behavior and the need for personal success in the battle, but later on it rains. The rain symbolically washes away his transgressions and ushers in a new beginning as he faces the reality of the fight. After the first battle, Henry Fleming is surprised that as usual, the sun is shining, and the sky is blue. The sun and the blue color of the sky is an excellent symbol that Stephen Crane uses to illustrate that nature does not concern itself with the affairs of humanity.

Conclusion

In sum, it is clear that the author uses a number of symbols like color and action in the novel to portray hidden meaning. The meanings of these symbols are open to various interpretations. However, they come out clearly when one reads each in accordance with Crane's main agenda.

Works Cited

Crane, Stephen. "The Red Badge of Courage. 1895." New York: Harper's (1994).