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.