The Red Badge Of Fire Analysis

War is one of those things that as much as one tries, one will never fully understand till one has lived the experience. However, Stephen Crane in his novel, The Red Badge of Courage, and Edward C. Judson in his poem, The Attack and Repulse, thoroughly explain the experience of being on the battlefield from two different perspectives. Crane, specifically in Chapter 5, writes about war seen through the eyes of the protagonist, Henry, and Judson writes about his own experience. Though both standpoints differ in many aspects, they are based mainly on the fact that audacity and courage will lead you to victory. Furthermore, it is obvious that an army’s purpose while attending war is to triumph, but one must not forget that they are sharing their …show more content…
One of the toughest things readers might perceive about war is that one is not only fighting against the enemy, but also against oneself. This is because one knows that the cause one is fighting for is worth the danger, but succeeding sometimes requires leaving one’s dearest past behind. That is why, when closely facing death, one automatically remembers the things in life that one holds on to the most. Crane makes this feeling easily recognizable in his novel through Henry’s mood before the war, since he starts thinking about random childhood memories. Crane states, “There were moments of waiting. The youth thought of the village street at home before the arrival of the circus parade on a day in the spring” (44). Judson also expresses the soldier’s melancholy in his poem when describing how they start reminding of their loved ones at home, he says: “Soldiers sleeping, sweetly dreaming, Of their homes far, far away, Where the loved ones, kind and gentle, Weary wait and watchful pray”. These reactions reflect the anxiety every solider feels during war, but to the lieutenant in The Red Badge of Courage, it only reveals weakness and fear, Crane states: “The youth, turning swiftly …show more content…
In The Attack and Repulse, Judson says, “And the bugle soon will banish sleep from ev´ry soldier´s eye”, and one is able to read how expedite the change is between the soldiers mourning about their past, till they are ready for battle. In both, the novel and the poem, being on the battlefield empowers the soldiers and brings them the extra boost of tenacity they need. Crane deeply focuses on Henry’s transformation from a naïve man to a well determined solider, Crane states: “ He became not a man but a member” (46), also expressing how Henry is able to quickly manage his weapon like an automatic affair, as if he has left the old Henry aside, while a brand new soldier is brought to