Reflection: The Red Badge of Courage

"The Red Badge of Courage" was written in the style of Naturalism. The main character was really worried about the amount of courage that he was going to have. He wanted to be a part of the army because he wanted to share in the glory when the army was successful. When the battle actually starts the main character was worried just like he had been the whole time he was in the army. He was really worried! Washington State University listed some characteristics of Naturalism and the very first thing that they said was that the main characters are normally was frequently ill-educated or lower class. I think that in the case of this story, the man was definitely less fortunate in the area of character. He was lacking in the ares of courage. Naturalism came for Charles Darwin. Back in this time people seemed to be really pessimistic. They were not expecting the best possible outcome. He was very much against the odds of something good happening as a result of a human's actions. People in the naturalism time period were controlled by outside forces. They might not have been able to make decisions for themselves. They were influenced by other people or outside forces (Giles).  I am going to have to give this guy some credit though because I would never have to courage to fight in a battle like that in real life. I think that I would be really scared. I think that it is okay that this guy is nervous. I would be nervous too! It is kind of sad though because if he was really in the army of the right reasons, he would not be concerned about dying in the war.  The only reason that he would be in the army in the Civil War is so that he can take all of the glory when his army is successful. I think that is really ridiculous. They guy is not in the army for the same reason.



Giles, James R. "naturalism." In Anderson, George P., Judith S. Baughman, Matthew J. Bruccoli, and Carl Rollyson, eds. Encyclopedia of American Literature, Revised Edition: Into the Modern: 1896–1945, Volume 3. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2008. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?


Campbell, Donna M. "Naturalism in American Literature." Washington State University. Web. 27 Feb. 2012. <http://public.wsu.edu/~campbelld/amlit/natural.htm>.

Crane, Stephen. "Untitled Document." The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane. Web. 27 Feb. 2012.