The Heroic and the Red Badge of Courage

The Heroic and The Red Badge of Courage

With Stephen Crane's The Red Badge of Courage, the concept of the heroic figure begins to shift farther away from clearly defined characteristics. The idea of a single individual rising up to heroically conquer in any situation lost favor with the changing views of the nineteenth century leading Crane to address as a theme "the quandary of heroism in an unheroic age" (Beaver 67) by creating in Henry Fleming a figure both heroic and non-heroic all in one. His exploration of the concepts of courage and cowardice shows them to be opposite sides of the same coin as evidenced in the heroic figure.

Through Henry's progression in thoughts, Crane explores this changing view of the hero. As the book opens, "the youth [Henry] had believed that he must be a hero" (Crane 50), as he set out as a newly enlisted man. Awaiting the call of his first battle, Henry reflected that "[s]ometimes he inclined to believing them all heroes" (Crane 75) based simply on their role as soldiers. However, when confronted with the reality of battle, Henry soon noticed that "[t]here was a singular absence of heroic poses" (Crane 86). Trying to cope with his own inadequacy, Henry finds himself always lacking in comparison with those around him. As they marched along he thought that heroes "could find excuses . . . They could retire with perfect self-respect and make excuses to the stars" (Crane 123). Marching among those heroes wounded in battle, "they rendered it almost impossible for him to see himself in a heroic light" (Crane 125). Henry began to despair "that he should ever become a hero" (Crane 126). However, through a new confrontation in battle, Henry found himself functioning in the traditional heroic role. "[H]e was now what he called a hero. And he had not been aware of the process" (Crane 166). Through all this Henry came to realize "that he was very insignificant" (Crane 171) by recognizing that the same person who fled was the same one who stood to fight.

By addressing the specific aspect of heroism in battle, Crane presents the victim as a hero (Beaver 72) or perhaps, conversely, the hero as a victim. When Henry flees the battle he does not do so thinking himself a coward, but rather, a wise person who recognizes overwhelming odds. Later after his head is wounded and bandaged, the wound and bandage become his "red badge" reminding him of his inadequacy when the moment of battle came, his lack of courage, his cowardice. He feels shamed. However, after being reunited with his unit, he finds himself again in battle where to fight against the fear of cowardice and shame he takes on a leading role of bravery. It is as though the shame of cowardice gives birth to the bravery of heroism. "In the end he [Henry] sees that he is neither a hero nor a villain, that he must assume the burdens of a mixed, embattled, impermanent, modest, yet prevailing humanity. He has discovered courage" (Credy 142). Ultimately, his ability to put the sin of cowardice at a distance allowed him to reach the point of conviction that in facing his fear he had won and that "[h]e was a man" (Crane 211); he at least reached the point where "[h]e had rid himself of the red sickness of battle" (Crane 212).

This conflict with man's responses to battle and the concept of heroism is finally laid to rest in the short story "The Veteran." The true heroism of Henry Fleming is revealed when he reaches a point that he has enough courage to acknowledge his lack of perfection (or courage) to those who look up to him as an heroic figure. He admits his original cowardice with the admonition that one failure does not signify eternal failure. By showing the potential of everyman to rise above his shortcomings, Crane establishes the heroic quality of Henry Fleming.

In The Red Badge of Courage, Stephen Crane presents the evolving view of heroism that allows for failure as well as success. In the character of Henry Fleming, Crane created a character who exhibited cowardice and courage both; by overcoming the stigma of his "red badge" of cowardice known only to him, he earned his "red badge of courage." However, the necessity of a turn in character to create the final hero is still evidenced. By showing the close relationship between the negative and positive aspects of a single characteristic--in this case confronting battle with either courage or cowardice--Crane opens the door for an infinite understanding of what makes a hero by demonstrating that perfection is not a necessary characteristic.

Works Cited

Beaver, Harold. "Stephen Crane: The Hero as Victim." Modern Critical Interpretations: Stephen Crane's The Red Badge of Courage. Ed. Harold Bloom. NY: Chelsea House Publishers, 1987. 65-74.

Crane, Stephen. The Red Badge of Courage. Intro. Pascal Covici, Jr. NY: Penguin Books, 1985.

Credy, Edwin H. Stephen Crane. Rev. Ed. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1980.