The Red Badge of Courage: Ch. 20-21

Henry not only gains confidence but also a great ability to lead and inspire confidence in others. The confederate troops, greatly outnumbering and seemingly outmaneuvering the union troops faced a tough 304th regiment that would not retreat because of Henry. Henry bears the flag, which represent all the glory that the regiment stands for and bears it with confidence. He urges the other men to fight even though hope seems to have been lost. Still guided by anger, Henry desperately convinces himself that even if the enemy is destined to win the battle, he would make sure that they do not have an easy fight. Before, Henry had always contemplated and allowed reason to guide him. Now, purely guided by impulse, Henry is showing true courage in battle. Everything that happens in battle happens very quickly. There is no time to think. Rather, a solider just needs to be able to trust his instincts and just react not in order to be a hero but just to survive. This point is conveyed clearly by Henry's actions and corresponding motivations. When the regiment successfully holds back the Confederates, Henry and Wilson are exhilarated. The negativity that had surrounded the war within the two soldiers seem to have disappeared and a revitalized belief in glory is born. It is suggested that maybe the glory that the Ancient Greeks had acquired in battle was not just a myth but actually attainable by mortal men.

Anger seems to have taken a very important role in battle. I had not thought of emotions in this way before. I believed that battle caused emotions to run high, but it seems that this goes the opposite way too. Emotions can also drive the course of a battle. Emotions are natural human impulses that are felt very quickly unlike reason with takes a long period of time to comprehend. They can not only give armies an edge in the fighting, but also ultimately determine the victor of entire wars. I guess the saying "who wants it more" is not completely false. There is some truth to it when dealing with emotions and their effect on high stakes battles. Emotions, however, need to be collective in order for a whole army to gain an upper hand in battle.

The Red Badge of Courage: Ch. 17-19

There is a huge and unexpected shift in Henry's character in Chapter 17. Henry and other Union soldiers wait impatiently for the confederate troops to arrive. It seems that out of nowhere, Henry gains a tremendous will to fight. When the enemy swarms the field, Henry continuing fires and reloads without regard to anything that is happening around him. He is completely focused in shooting the enemy men without regard for his own life. Guided completely by anger, Henry doesn't even stop shooting well after the confederate troops retreat. Inadvertently, Henry becomes the heroic figure that he had wanted to be without even noticing. The fit of anger that guided him like a wild beast had very mysterious sources, but nevertheless gives Henry the image of a hero on the battlefield. At the end of the chapter, the weather clears and the sun shines, symbolizing the clear and resolute heart that Henry has developed in the course of the day.

The insult that Wilson and Henry's superiors only further increases the resolution within the two men, especially Henry. As their regiment, the 304th, charges in to battle, Henry is filled with pride. He sees their flag bearer killed and he and Wilson are the ones who picks it up and continues to charge. This action solidifies Henry's courage, something that only a day before, he was completely devoid of. Carrying the weight of the whole battle and figuratively, the entire union, in his hand, Henry charges valiantly forward against the Confederate troops. Henry's character changes dramatically in his second day of major combat. He had tried so hard to force himself to attain glory and courage before but failed miserably. However, guided by natural emotions, most predominantly anger, Henry is able to exhibit tremendous bravery.

The Red Badge of Courage: Ch. 15-16

Henry is in possession of an envelop that Wilson had told the former to keep in case Wilson was killed in action. He instructed Henry to deliver the envelop to Wilson's family. How, after having survived the initial battle, Henry ponders giving it back, but his feelings of pride and and necessity for self-assurance assert themselves. The envelop, which represents Wilson's weakness, gives Henry the assurance that he needs. It seems to represent his courage as he now does not hold any more fear. Although this could be the result of idealism asserting itself when Henry is not caught in battle, Henry seems to nevertheless gain confidence about himself. Ironically, he even justifies his retreated and dignified while that of the other men as cowardly even though only a day ago, Henry was the one feeling like a coward. When Wilson asks for his envelope back, Henry complies, but he still has the self-confidence that it has brought him. Henry, at this point feels better than his comrade Wilson, even though Wilson indirectly gave him his confidence.

When Henry and a group of soldiers are led to another battle, this confidence again wanes in Henry. It seems that Henry's constant struggle between courage and cowardice is completely dictated by his situation. This suggests that Henry does not truly possess any courage because to be courageous means to be strong regardless of the situation. Henry blames his superiors again for they lack of leadership ability to win battles, but is silenced by another soldier because he suddenly realizes that his "dishonorable" retreat from the battlefield might be revealed.

The Red Badge of Courage: Ch. 13-14

Still worried that he would be labeled as a coward, Henry walks gingerly toward his camp but is greatly startled when another soldier, Wilson, tells him to stop. It is here that the reader is informed that Henry actually did sustain a wound, a minor graze to the head, but still a wound. This suggests that throughout the day's events, Henry was so worried about his initial retreat that he didn't even pay too much attention to his wound. Ironically, it was a fear for his life and well being that caused him to retreat from the front lines. Although the injury was small, it was to the head, a very important are of the body. This suggests that Henry did after all receive a red badge of courage from his time in action that day. After being removed from the thick of battle, Henry finally calms down and attains a sense of self security again when Wilson tends to his wound.

Due to both physical and mental exhaustion, Henry feels terrible when he wakes up the next morning to fighting in the distance. The day is described as gloomy and misty, creating a dark mood and perhaps foreshadowing unfortunate events that are to take place that day in battle. Henry had acquired the lingering feeling of death the day before when he encountered the group of severely wounded soldiers in the field, and this feeling continues to haunt him. Being one of the first people to wake up, Henry sees all his comrades asleep and sees them all as corpses. Only when they rise does the entity of death temporarily leave the air around Henry's surroundings.

The Red Badge of Courage: Ch. 11-12

These chapter's delve deeper into Henry Flemming's internal conflict. Henry is still feeling tremendously guilty about retreating earlier from battle. After the ordeal with the group of wounded soldiers including one of his good friends, Henry witnesses a proud column of soldiers as they march into the battle. This sight very briefly give Henry true courage, but it arose inside him from impulse. Henry almost runs toward the front lines himself, but gives it a thought and decides not to go. Impulse pushed Henry to go, but reason held him back since he was in pain and both hungry and thirsty from the battle. In this bout of inner conflict, Henry's reason prevailed and consequently deprives him of the true courage that he so desperately wants on this occasion. This rationalization is very similar to an idea about human nature in Shakespeare's Hamlet. Hamlet is prevented from acting because of indecisiveness caused by contemplation. In a very famous speech, Hamlet states that too much though weakens the human resolve. Henry Flemming was resolved to charge with who he perceived as valiant soldiers, but after thinking and weighing the consequences and benefits, he decides to stay back and watch instead of risking his life on the front lines.

After deciding to stay behind to watch the battle, Henry again feels guilty about not entering the conflict because he believes that yet another opportunity to prove his courage has slipped him by. He tries to justify his actions with a fabricated excuse but cannot ultimately come up with one, a fact that greatly disturbs him. He even goes as far as to hope that his army looses the battle so that he can convince himself that he is clairvoyant and able to predict the futile attempt to the win the battle. However, he only further feels guilt, which causes him to believe that his comrads will equate his name with the word coward.

The Red Badge of Courage: Ch. 8-10

These chapters focus on an encounter with a group of severely wounded men affects Henry both emotionally and physically. After realizing his "mistake" in running away from teh front line, Henry is frightened by wounded soldier who asks him where he is wounded himself. Because he was not injured, Henry is scared because he believes that revealing that he was uninjured would reveal was he percieves as cowardice for running away. Therefore he tries to avoid the wounded man. Wounds, as Henry sees them, are "red badges of courage" because they are material proofs of courage and valor. Henry wishes that he did not run and instead was wounded so he too could have one.

Jim Cronklin's death, similar to Yossarian's experiences whe he lost friends while flying bombing missions, greatly troubles Henry. It will also be interesting to see if this death has the effect on Henry as Snowden's death had on Yossarian. Henry goes back in line, but at this point, his fear is slightly tempered by his anger that his friend was killed. Accompanying Henry is another heavily injured man, who Henry abandons out of impulse. Once again, Henry feels insecure because he knows that the man will likely die if he is left alone without help. The man seems delusional and irrational. In these few chapters, Henry is futher confronted with the realities of war. This is also the first instance in which the reader is introduced to the concept of a "red badge of courage." Greatly perturbing his emotions, the sight of the wounded men and especially the death of his friend cause Henry to be insecure about his motivations and unable to muster up the courage that he so values.

The Red Badge of Courage: Ch. 4-7

Henry Fleming gets his first taste of the unpleasant realities of war in these chapters and they are nothing like the glory filled combat that he had expected. During the initial charge of the Confederate troops, Henry feels as though he is part of a machine doing his role in the functioning whole. As he continually shoots and shoots, his pride increases and his fears slowly subside. When the enemy retreats, the union regiment lets out a cheer of victory and Henry seems satisfied that he had retained his courage.

During the second charge, the inner struggle between his courage and fear intensifies. When other in his regiment turn and retreat, Henry does not feel that he is part of a whole again because the whole is losing its parts and his fear gains the upper hand. He too decides to run, a decision that he regrets as soon as the battle is over. As he is running, overwhelming fear takes over and he believes that he will be killed at any moment. His negative sentiment toward his superiors are renewed when he runs past the general directing the battle. Henry is stunned that the Union troops hold off the Confederate attack and immediately questions his actions. Tension builds within him as he tries to comfort himself by unsuccessfully telling himself that an army's best interest is the preservation of its soldier's lives. He is pacified slightly when he throws pine cone at a squirrel causing the animal to hurry away because it shows a natural desire to survive. When Henry sees the body of a dead soldier, his comfort is immediately stripped away and his fear quickly engulfs his mind once again.

These chapters offer insight into the concept of true courage. Henry initially believes that he possessed true courage (before he sees battle), but when he experiences the life-threatening situation, he allows his fear to take over and decides to run away from danger. True courage can thus be defined as the ability to overcome fear and perform an action despite knowledge of the consequences of that action. At this point, Henry still does not possess true courage.

The Red Badge of Courage: Ch. 1-3

Taking place almost a century before the events of Catch-22, those of Stephen Crane's The Red Badge of Courage, tell the story of a very different type of war. The book, about the Civil war, centers around a young private in a regiment of the Union army named Henry Flemming, who as of the beginning of the book's events, has not yet seen any combat. One of the major themes of the book that is revealed in these first few chapters is glory. In chapter 1, another soldier named Jim Conklin spreads word that the regiment will see battle the next day arousing both excitement and disbelief. Henry hears the conversations and reflects upon the reason why he joined the union army. He desires the glory of battle that the ancient warriors of antiquity achieved through their battle of valor and questions whether it is realistic to expect this kind of honor. He believes that ordinary life has weakened the human instinctual abilities and the only combat can once again bring those skills to the surface. Although he was driven by valor, Henry's mother did not share this sentiment. She believed that her son was too unrealistic, but allowed him to go to battle without worry of coming home.

Since the many months of inaction, Henry has lost many of his ideals about glory. Life seems so monotonous to him that he begins to question his courage. He even wonders if he would desert a battle just to save his own life, something that his mother specifically told him not to do. When the first battle is finally imminent, Henry again questions his courage. Before, he believed that dying honorably as a war hero was the most coveted honor that a man could hope to achieve. However, when death is likely, Henry wavers. Practicality takes over, which forces his courage to stay resolute because Henry realizes that because of so many other soldiers running around him, even if he wanted to save his own life, he would not be able to in the thick of battle.

In chapter 3, Henry seems to share some of Yossarian's sentiments in Catch-22. When the gunfire gets closer, Henry Flemming starts denounce his commanding officers because he believes that they are leading them into inevitable death. In Catch-22, Yossarian seemed to always think of war in this light, but Henry had a very romantic view of fighting before the actual combat began. It will be interesting to see if Henry becomes more like Yossarian as he experiences more of the realities of war (death, carnage, etc.).