The Red Badge of Courage: Ch. 22-24

Armed with new self-confidence, Henry is full of energy as he prepares for what is the final battle described in the book. Henry is still angry at the officers who described his regiment as a group of "mule drivers." In this case, Henry is describing what he believes is a hypocrisy. The officers decide to send the men of the 304th regiment into a dangerous battle but also insults the men, which suggests that they are not skilled fighters. It would be very unwise to send these "unskilled" soldiers into an important battle. In the heat of the decisive battle for both the Union and Henry himself, the latter carries the flag valiantly. He is also completely caught in the moment that he cannot even sense what is happening around him. This exemplifies an unwavering concentration that no one would have thought would characterize Henry during his initial experiences in combat. Henry's actions before were completely dictated with superfluous thought and contemplation. His motivations were all determined by reason and logic. However, now Henry has the characterises of a good soldier. He acts on impulse and allows feelings and emotions to control his actions. Focused solely on winning the battle, Henry does not notice the men dying around him and the weakness of the regiment after so many men fall. When Henry finally notices, he only further strengthens his confidence by disregarding death. Death would only be Karma for the officers because they sent the regiment into the charge.

All seems lost as Henry's regiment rapidly shrinks. However, in a final burst of effort, the union troops burst through the confederate defenses. In a symbolic event, Wilson retrieves the enemy's flag from a dying soldier. this both signifies the victory of the Union troops and Wilson and Henry's victory over their initial fears. Henry reflects back on his actions in this and previous battles. Although he still criticises his "cowardly" actions from previous engagements, Henry is satisfied at his accomplishment in recent battles in which he exhibited the courage that he has so coveted since joining the Union Army. The weather plays an important role near the end of the story as Henry ponders. It is raining hard when Henry's mind is in conflict, but when he sees a glimmer of hope and imagines a utopian-like society, one ray of sunshine appears signifying the possibility of such a life for Henry after the war is over.

Throughout this novel, Stephen Crane portrays war in a neutral light. Unlike the blatantly negative portrayal of World War II by Joseph Heller, Crane expresses both the horrors of war and the glory that is possible during battle. The author believes that people who have not been involved in combat before usually have a overly positive stance on war but in reality this is a very romantic image. War is hard and death omnipresent and gruesome instead of honorable. However, war also allow people to gain courage through combat. The main character, Henry, is one who changes tremendously over the course of a few battles. At the end of the book, after Henry had won a decisive battle, he is proud of his actions. However, in his initial engagements, Henry was fearful of his life and decided to run instead of fight, a decision that he greatly regrets even after he gained his "courage."