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The Red Badge of Courage
by Anna Shirey
The youth was in a little trance of astonishment. So they were at last going to fight. On the morrow, perhaps, there would be a battle, and he would be in it. For a time he was obliged to labor to make himself believe. He could not accept with assurance an omen that he was about to mingle in one of those great affairs of the earth."
Stephen Crane, a master of words, draws you into the action and emotion of The Red Badge of Courage, a skillfully told story. Viewing combat and the battlefield through the eyes of Henry Fleming and experiencing war at his side, the reader is encompassed by the story.
 Crane masterfully depicts battle scenes. With Crane’s young—very young—protagonist standing in the center of an external battle that is out of control, the reader is drawn inward to see an equally turbulent and chaotic conflict within the youth. He suddenly finds himself face to face with the realities of war. Young Henry’s world is yellow. The youth, discovering that he is "an unknown quantity,” becomes concerned that "those qualities of which he knew nothing should everlastingly disgrace him". The terror and conflict he feels internally shades the outside world with sickly yellow hue. In vivid detail Crane describes a wild, ferocious battle. The youth’s only inclination is to run, to escape. The scene unfolding before Henry made him feel that "forceful hands from heaven would not have been able to have held him in place if he could have got intelligent control of his legs." In fear of death, the youth turns his back on those that are dead or dying.
In running from the battlefield and seeking refuge in the forest, the youth finds that his true enemy is himself. First he must battle the fear, shame, and pride within himself. Only then can he have courage in the external world and prevail against the enemy clad in gray.
 The youth returns to the battlefield and Crane leads the reader into another turbulent and bloody battle. This time, the world the youth sees is red. The young soldier has found his courage. The world around him is affected by this change. He is selfless and brave in battle. Henry and his comrades win the battle, but a more important victory has been won. Henry discovers that he has become a man.
The impetus of enthusiasm was theirs again. They gazed about them with looks of uplifted pride, feeling new trust in the grim, always confident weapons in their hands. And they were men.
Anna Shirey is the Dusty Shelf publisher.
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