Naturalism and Realism in the Red Badge of Courage Research Paper

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Red Badge of Courage

Realism and naturalism are two separate but related literary terms. The former is a term which refers to any art form which endeavors to recreate a true-to-life sensibility even in a fictional work. Naturalism on the other hand refers to the natural laws which give order to human beings and also to the natural world. Works of art which utilize realism and naturalism try to duplicate the emotions and observations that one would experience if the work were a piece of non-fiction. Author Stephen Crane was born in the years following the American Civil War. During his youth, he witnessed the reconstruction of the union and heard the stories of brave men on both sides who fought and willingly died for the principles in which they believed. His most famous author, The Red Badge of Courage, tells the story of a young man fighting in the Civil War who abandons his post and his comrades in arms. This young man is disgusted by his own cowardice. He wishes that he would get wounded and then receive the title "badge of courage" (Crane 55). Such a wound would somehow validate himself both in his own eyes and to the greater population. What sets this story apart from other war narratives, from the Civil War or others, is the realistic tone in which the narrator tells his story. Throughout the piece, the reader is always within the mind of the narrator Henry Fleming which makes the story far more poignant and far more successful than some works in the same genre.

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Stephen Crane was asked often whether or not his story was either pro- or anti- war. Indeed, cases could be made for either argument. Crane never made a public determination of which side the story took. Rather, the story tells about a single young man fighting in a war and how he felt afraid of death far more than he felt patriotism or partisanship. It is important to note that Stephen Crane very rarely provides much details about time or location in which the events of the story are taking place. This effectively gives The Red Badge of Courage a more realistic feel and opens up the potential interpretations of the story. This young man could be fighting the Civil War or any other war in history where young men are asked to put their lives on the line at the behest of their leaders.

When the story begins, Henry is already embroiled in the difficulties of the American Civil War. From the first pages of the story, Stephen Crane makes it evident that one of the major themes of his piece is the discrepancy between fantasy and realism. Crane writes: "He had, of course, dreamed of battles all his life -- of vague and bloody conflicts that had thrilled him with their sweep and fire" (5). This is the fantasy of war and violence that every young man is….....

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"Naturalism And Realism In The Red Badge Of Courage", 08 February 2012, Accessed.22 May. 2025,
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