Religion in Red Badge of Courage
Arcinas 1
Angela Arcinas
Mrs. Mortenson
English II Honors, Period 7
21 December 2010
What is Stephen Crane’s view on Religion and how does he exhibit this in The Red Badge of Courage?
Religion is a large component of the lives of millions of people across the globe. People utilize religion as a template on how to lead their lives. Though, there are many people that choose to dispose of religion from their lives due to past experiences that altered their views of the traditions that have been installed into them by those around them. One person that exemplifies such behavior is the great American author, Stephen Crane, through his writing. He wrote numerous classic works, one of the most famous being the Civil War novel, The Red Badge of Courage. Stephen Crane incorporates religion to exemplify his experiences and views of religion, also known as Naturalism. Furthermore, Crane utilizes his childhood perception of religion, his adulthood view of religion, naturalistic ideas, imagery, and characters as religious figures to support his views of religion in The Red Badge of Courage.
Stephen Crane’s first taste of religion was initially predisposed by his mother, Helen Crane. Mrs. Crane was a profoundly pious woman. She grew up in a devout home since her father was a clergyman (Davis, 4). Crane’s mother attempted to give crane and Arcinas 2 his siblings a similar education and childhood to the one that she had, she endeavored to drill a religious way of life into their mindsets. Furthermore, Mrs. Crane’s whole entire maternal side was filled with ministers and one bishop that deeply influenced how she was raised (Davis, 5). Also, her family was filled with religious writes that influenced what she read and what she wrote (Davis, 5). All of this influence as a young chilled compelled Mrs. Crane to become a journalist for religious journals and newspapers during her parenting years (Bloom, 11). Also, during her years as a mother of
Angela Arcinas
Mrs. Mortenson
English II Honors, Period 7
21 December 2010
What is Stephen Crane’s view on Religion and how does he exhibit this in The Red Badge of Courage?
Religion is a large component of the lives of millions of people across the globe. People utilize religion as a template on how to lead their lives. Though, there are many people that choose to dispose of religion from their lives due to past experiences that altered their views of the traditions that have been installed into them by those around them. One person that exemplifies such behavior is the great American author, Stephen Crane, through his writing. He wrote numerous classic works, one of the most famous being the Civil War novel, The Red Badge of Courage. Stephen Crane incorporates religion to exemplify his experiences and views of religion, also known as Naturalism. Furthermore, Crane utilizes his childhood perception of religion, his adulthood view of religion, naturalistic ideas, imagery, and characters as religious figures to support his views of religion in The Red Badge of Courage.
Stephen Crane’s first taste of religion was initially predisposed by his mother, Helen Crane. Mrs. Crane was a profoundly pious woman. She grew up in a devout home since her father was a clergyman (Davis, 4). Crane’s mother attempted to give crane and Arcinas 2 his siblings a similar education and childhood to the one that she had, she endeavored to drill a religious way of life into their mindsets. Furthermore, Mrs. Crane’s whole entire maternal side was filled with ministers and one bishop that deeply influenced how she was raised (Davis, 5). Also, her family was filled with religious writes that influenced what she read and what she wrote (Davis, 5). All of this influence as a young chilled compelled Mrs. Crane to become a journalist for religious journals and newspapers during her parenting years (Bloom, 11). Also, during her years as a mother of
Cited: Crane, Stephen. The Red Badge of Courage. New York: Dover, 1990. Print. Davis, Lisa H. Badge of Courage: The Life of Stephen Crane. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin, 1998 Ed. Harold Bloom. Broomall: Chelsea, 1996. 52-57. Print. Sorrento, Paul M. “The Life of Stephen Crane” Student Companion to Stephen Crane. London: Greenwood, 2006 Wolford, Chester. “Fiction and the Epic Tradition: The Anger of Stephen Crane. (1983) pp Ed. Harold Bloom. Broomall: Chelsea, 1996. 54-57. Print.