The Red Badge Of Courage By Stephen Crane

Man is not meant to be alone, we are meant for relationship and working as one body. The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane tells the story of young Henry in his journey through the war. Henry and his regiment are a good example of the power of the individual as compared to the power of a full fighting force working in harmony. The Red Badge of Courage shows how in war individuals look after themselves, an unorganized and untested group is fragile, and a veteran force is mighty. In the Civil War the men fought for their beliefs on slavery. These men fought their own countrymen for the rights of slaves. Two large groups fought over their opinion on the rights of slaves. Individuals became part of a cause, be it either for, or against the right to liberty. First, the first instinct of a man in war is to always find a way to survive. Men would die all around in the regiment, and some people like Henry would run to protect themselves. This fear of death is shown when the men are halted. “During this halt many men in
When men gather together under one ideal, and form a bond that has been tested, and the men have been pushed closer together they can accomplish a lot more than themselves as individuals. At the final fight of the book, Henry and his friends make up their minds that they will charge the entrenched enemy. “There was new and unexpected force in the movement of the regiment. A knowledge of its faded and jaded condition made the charge appear like a paroxysm, a display of strength that comes before a final feebleness.(209-210)” Though they are tired and angry, they fight on. Energy springs from their hearts full of fire for the cause and hatred for their opposers. They have been formed into one unit dedicated to one task: pushing back the enemy no matter the losses suffered. The formed group became strong through time and