Henry Fleming's Romanticized Notions of Heroism

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The Red Badge of Courage was witten by Stephen Crane. It is his best known novel about a soldier’s experiences in the Union Army during the Civil War. In this paper I am going to concentrate on Henry Fleming's romanticized notions of heroism. That is the reason by which I want start talking about who is Henry Fleming. Henry is the main character, and the novel is told from his perspective. He is enlisting in the Union Army dreaming of battle as something glorious and romantic. In nineteenth century, Young men dreaming with becoming a war hero and behaving with honor in war. Many parents and communities expected young men to go off to war and fight; it was something a young man did as part of growing up. Soldiers also attached great importance to their regiment’s flag. It was always carried at the front of the regiment in battle, and carrying it was a great honor even though doing so often meant death. At the beginning of the novel, Henry imagined himself in a war in which he was the hero. He expects that war "must be some sort of play affair". Henry does not envision himself in a project involving the liberation of slaves. For him it is a good opportunity for personal aggrandizement. The reality of a war hit him when a soldier is hit by a bullet. “He blanched like one who has come to the edge of a cliff at midnight.” “He is caught unaware by the death in war and as he had feared, runs from his first battle while his comrades are still facing the enemy. Fleming initially goes through a period of denial after he flees from battle. At one point, he attempts to justify his flight by throwing a pinecone at a squirrel, which then runs away.” During his run away, Henry Fleming see a dead Union soldier with ants crawling across his face, and begins to understand the reality of death
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