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Henry Flemming And Then Red Badge Of Courage

Fear, worry, anxiety, curiosity, distress, nervousness; all emotions of a young, naïve soldier entering war for the first time. To the reader, this is exactly what Henry Fleming represents. Because Crane never tells us what he looks like, just how old he is, or exactly where he comes from, and usually refers to him as "the youth" (Crane, 12) or "the young soldier" (Crane, 14), Henry could be any young many experiencing war for the first time. Throughout the novel The Red Badge of Courage, Henry Fleming goes through many psychological chances, each having a distinct impact on the novel. These changes can be put into three stages; before, during, and after the war. Due to the ambiguity surrounding the character of Henry Fleming, the novel is not just a tale of Henry's firsthand experiences, but a portrayal of the thoughts, feelings, fears, and development of any young soldier entering any war at any time.
Although Crane leaves much to the imagination when it comes to Henry Fleming, he does however reveal quite a bit about his early life. It becomes apparent that as a young boy, Henry grew up on a farm in New York (Crane, 17). Henry was raised by his loving mother after the tragic death of his father (Crane, 15). The occupants of the farm consist of Henry and his mother, who together tackle the necessary workload to maintain the farm and keep it in good condition (Crane, 17). The life Henry has led up to the point when he enters the draft, has been somewhat quiet, protected and sheltered (Crane, 11). This "wrapped in cotton wool" (Crane, 21) lifestyle could party contribute to Henry's naïvely distorted views of war and later lead to his misfortune (Weisberger, 22).
Crane portrays Henry as a typical young American brought up in the nineteenth century (Weisberger, 22). He has been taught to associate manhood with courage, to dream of the glories of warfare, and to be instinctively patriotic (Breslin, 2). As a result, when the civil war breaks out,...