RED BADGE POWER GUIDE 2007 DEMIDEC RESOURCES IVY CHANG

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2 RED BADGE POWER GUIDE I. WHAT IS A POWER GUIDE?... 2 II. AUTHOR S NOTE ON USAGE...3 III. CURRICULUM OVERVIEW... 4 IV. RED BADGE: BACKGROUND INFORMATION...5 V. CHAPTER SUMMARIES...20 VI. CHARACTER ANALYSES VII. POWER LISTS VIII. POWER TABLE...55 IX. ABOUT THE AUTHOR BY IVY CHANG BROWN UNIVERSITY 11 NORTH HOLLYWOOD HIGH SCHOOL 07 DEDICATED TO THE DECATHLETES AT NOHO: GOOD LUCK, GUYS! 2007 DEMIDEC RESOURCES

3 RED BADGE POWER GUIDE PAGE 2 OF 58 DEMIDEC RESOURCES 2007 WHAT IS A POWER GUIDE? Hello there, Decathletes and alpacas alike! My name is Dean Schaffer, and as this year s Power Guide Coordinator, I ll be a tour guide of sorts for your visit to the strange and exotic land of DemiDec. Today we ll be observing the Power Guide. Veteran Decathletes and past visitors will know that the Power Guide is a relatively new species that evolved not long ago from a need for a more concise, fact-oriented study guide in the Decathlon world. The creature is still in relative infancy, but all Power Guides are written in bullet form. Each bullet generally contains one testable fact. DemiDec Resources (a distant cousin of the Power Guide in the same genus) will help you learn a subject; Power Guides will help you review and master it. Because the nature of the Power Guide can make it unruly, they are written only by current or former Decathletes who scored at least 8000 points in competition. These authors are all highly qualified to tame the beast so that it best serves you. At first glance, Power Guides often appear bigger, fiercer, and more intimidating than the USAD Resource Guide (another of the Power Guide s relatives, but in a different genus), but don t be fooled: the Power Guide s format makes it look bigger than it actually is. Bullets take up more space than prose, and Power Guides have large margins to facilitate note taking. Further, the Guide s posterior portion (otherwise known as its latter half) is chock full of nutritious study tools that will help you digest the material as efficiently and quickly as possible. These tools include lists, tables, and timelines. Veteran Decathletes know that the Language and Literature test can be a lot like a warzone questions can come from just about anywhere (even from behind that inconspicuous-looking bush). So as you hunker down in eager preparation for the big day, you ll need the best protection you can get. With the help of seasoned pro Ivy Chang, this Power Guide will give you the confidence not to pull a Henry Fleming and run screaming from the testing room. 1 The chapter summaries, character analyses, and other study tools in this guide will help you stock up on all the necessary provisions (namely, facts, facts, and more facts) so you ll be properly outfitted when the time finally comes to prove your mettle with just a number two pencil and a Scantron. As I leave you with Ivy, make sure to lead your alpaca carefully through the crossfire. Enjoy your stay! Sincerely, 1 Trust me I ve seen it happen, and it s not pretty. Dean

4 RED BADGE POWER GUIDE PAGE 3 OF 58 DEMIDEC RESOURCES 2007 AUTHOR S NOTE ON USAGE Greetings, Decathletes. I m Ivy Chang, an Academic Decathlon veteran. I joined the North Hollywood High AcaDec team in my freshman year and stuck with it until senior year. Since I was able to snag a gold medal in Language and Literature every year I competed, I m here now to share my big Lit secrets with you by writing this Power Guide. By the time you finish this guide, you ll probably have a very good idea of what The Red Badge of Courage is about. Hopefully, you ll also understand all the intricacies of the novel because having an understanding of what you re reading will help you retain what you ve learned. In this guide, I ve outlined the entire USAD Language and Literature Resource Guide as well as the novel. In order to help you out, I ve bolded important terms you ll probably have to know for the USAD test. Concerning footnotes, DemiFootnotes containing humorous comments are signed (for example, Ivy ) while serious footnotes containing potentially testable information are not. The Power Guide is quite detailed, which distinguishes it from the shorter Cram Kits and other study materials. It will help you learn all the important parts of the novel without even opening the book once. However, I m not saying that you shouldn t read the novel at all. The Red Badge of Courage isn t very long, so it s probably not that hard to read through it at least a hundred times and memorize every word just kidding. But if you read it at least once, your reading of this Power Guide will be even smoother. The USAD guide portion of this guide is divided by topic; the novel portion is divided by chapters. Thus, it ll be easy to go through the Power Guide in the weeks before competition and read the sections that you remember least. The end of this guide features the Power Lists, which include some short one-to-two line summaries of every chapter and character if you re really pressed for time or need a quick review before a test. The Power Table organizes important about the battles for your convenience. Good luck, and happy studying! -Ivy

5 RED BADGE POWER GUIDE PAGE 4 OF 58 DEMIDEC RESOURCES 2007 CURRICULUM OVERVIEW Questions about the novel and its background information from the USAD guide make up about 40% of the USAD Lang/Lit test questions. That means that you really can t get a decent score if you either skip reading all the background information in the USAD guide or don t read the novel. The novel this year is one of the shortest ones in USAD history, so there s almost no excuse for not being able to read it at least once. In addition, reading the USAD guide is crucial to understanding the novel, for USAD provides historical background information, textual analysis for hard-to-understand passages, and descriptions of literary devices. Since USAD writes the AcaDec tests, it s best to memorize their analyses of the information rather than struggling with it on your own. If you re really pressed for time and are tired of slogging through the book and USAD guide, you can use this Power Guide to review the chapters and sections with which you are less familiar. Critical Reading 20% Shorter Selections 40% The Red Badge of Courage 40%

6 RED BADGE POWER GUIDE PAGE 5 OF 58 DEMIDEC RESOURCES 2007 STEPHEN CRANE S THE RED BADGE OF COURAGE BACKGROUND INFORMATION POWER PREVIEW This section contains biographical information about Stephen Crane, along with some background information relating to what inspired him to write the novel. It also describes the contemporary reception of the novel and outlines a few of the literary devices used by Crane. POWER NOTES About 40% of the test (20 questions) will be based on this information The USAD practice test includes 6 questions about this section This section covers pgs of the USAD Resource Guide Crane s Life and Work Early life The Red Badge of Courage was first published as a newspaper serial in 1894 and then as a novel in 1895 Its historical accuracy and striking realism caused readers to believe that it was written by an elderly Civil War veteran However, Stephen Crane was not even born during the Civil War He was a young newspaperman in his early 20s and had never been in the military He wrote the novel in just ten days The Red Badge of Courage was not even his first novel he wrote Maggie: A Girl of the Streets in 1893 and some newspaper articles Stephen Crane was born in 1871 in Newark, New Jersey He was the 14 th child of a Methodist minister and his wife His mother helped found the Women s Christian Temperance Union Crane rebelled against the family religion and was even expelled from both Lafayette College and Syracuse University for showing no interest in school He began writing at the age of 11 His brother ran a newspaper reporting agency and gave him some experience by letting him report on vacation news When asked about how he developed his writing skills, Crane cited this early experience He also sold some pieces to the Detroit Free Press while he was in college In college, Crane wrote his first novel, Maggie: A Girl of the Streets In June 1891, he went to New York to experience life on the Bowery and gather some background information for his novel Crane couldn t find a publisher, so he borrowed money from his brother and printed the book privately under the pseudonym of Johnston Smith The novel was a naturalistic tragedy which told the story of a prostitute It did not sell well, but it caught the attention of Hamlin Garland and William Dean Howells These prominent literary figures helped him find future employment

7 RED BADGE POWER GUIDE PAGE 6 OF 58 DEMIDEC RESOURCES 2007 Crane suffered from tuberculosis for the rest of his life, which he probably caught as a result of his irregular lifestyle 2 in the Bowery Howells encouraged Crane to continue writing, and Crane produced George s Mother, The Red Badge of Courage, and a poetry collection called The Black Riders in 1894 The Red Badge of Courage Crane read many books about the Civil War to gain background information for writing The Red Badge of Courage but found all of them disappointing He commented, I wonder that some of these fellows don t tell how they felt in those scraps! They spout eternally of what they did but they are as emotionless as rocks! Crane made up for what these books lacked by writing his novel through the viewpoint of an ordinary soldier When asked where he found out about the emotions involved in war and fighting, Crane admitted that his source was his experience playing college football 3 Crane s publishers, D. Appleton & Co. didn t seem interested in Red Badge, so he edited it drastically to sell as a serial to the Bacheller-Johnson newspaper syndicate In December 1894, an 18,000 word version appeared in installments in 750 newspapers and in a Sunday issue of the New York Press The last three chapters and some significant episodes, such as Henry s last conversation with his mother, were omitted in order to condense the novel These changes make the novel much less complex and ironic D. Appleton & Co. published the full 50,000-word novel in 1895 It was well received in Britain but not in the United States Since Crane sold the rights to his book to his publisher, he made very little money despite its popularity He was forced to write constantly for the rest of his life in order to have enough money to live Red Badge was published nearly 30 years after the end of the Civil War However, the war was still widely discussed and considered a prominent event in U.S. history Writers constantly romanticized it We don t really know why Crane chose the era of the Civil War as the setting for his novel His motives may have been financial: the theme was very popular at the time He once said the book was a pot-boiler A main source for the novel was a series called Battles and Leaders of the Civil War that was published in Century magazine Crane may have borrowed a description of soldiers enlisting and an incident in which one soldier touches another and realizes that his comrade is dead He could also have been inspired by Matthew Brady s photographs of soldiers Life and work after Red Badge Various newspaper companies gave Crane the opportunity to cover various wars in the exotic locations of Cuba and the Balkans Young American writers did not previously have such chances In 1895 and 1896, Bacheller-Johnson sent Crane to the American West and Mexico as a correspondent In the West, Crane met Willa Cather 2 Ahhh, political correctness. Dean 3 I too have learned about emotions through college football namely, disappointment after the Stanford team won just one game last season. Dean

8 RED BADGE POWER GUIDE PAGE 7 OF 58 DEMIDEC RESOURCES 2007 Cather later promoted interest in his work 4 He returned from Mexico in 1896 Upon his arrival, he learned that he was a celebrity thanks to The Red Badge of Courage He also found out that The Black Riders had been published In 1897, Crane reported on Cuba for Bacheller-Johnson In Jacksonville, Florida, he boarded the Commodore, a ship carrying weapons to the Cuban rebels The boat sank, and Crane was one of only three survivors He wrote about his experience in his short story, The Open Boat, and in a newspaper article Crane continued to pursue his newspaper career and covered the Greco-Turkish war for the Hearst newspapers His novel Active Service is set during the war Now that he had finally observed fighting firsthand, he concluded that his account of the Civil War in Red Badge was accurate He was accompanied in Europe by Cora Taylor, his common-law wife They settled in England, where he had always been popular, and rented the historic Brede Place mansion His close friends in England included Joseph Conrad, Henry James, and H.G. Wells Crane wrote profusely in order to earn money His famous short stories include The Monster, The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky, and The Blue Hotel During the Spanish-American War in 1897, Crane became a correspondent for the World The stresses of his assignment weakened his health and he developed malaria He stayed in a hospital in Virginia Later, he sent stories from Havana to the New York Journal He returned to England and wrote more poems and short stories His health worsened, and his wife Cora took him to the Black Forest in Germany to help him recover Ironically, he died during his strenuous journey to a health resort He died on June 5, 1900, in Badenweiler and was buried in Elizabeth, New Jersey Contemporary reception of The Red Badge of Courage The Red Badge of Courage sold well in the United States and hasn t yet been out of print It received good reviews from prominent newspapers It is certainly an unusual war novel It does not include any acts of heroism It does not discuss the ideological or historical causes of the war The narrator never mentions military strategies Crane s realistic style influenced later war novel writers, including Ernest Hemingway and Norman Mailer Respected critics from multiple countries praised the novel Red Badge was the first American impressionist novel to gain widespread popularity in both Britain and the U.S. Crane s experience as a journalist helped him see and describe events in detail It also fine-tuned his ability to discern irony British critics compared him to Émile Zola ( ) and Tolstoy ( ) 4 USAD isn t clear as to whether Cather kept Crane interested in writing or she stirred public interest in his works.

9 RED BADGE POWER GUIDE PAGE 8 OF 58 DEMIDEC RESOURCES 2007 Critic George Wyndham praised Crane s novel for showing the point of view of a typical young soldier rather than that of a lofty general Wyndham viewed Henry Fleming as more compelling and creative than his fellow troops English critic Ford Madox Ford was a friend of Crane and declared him to be the first truly American writer In Ford s estimation, all American writers before Crane focused on Europe Ford stated, They may have aped Anglicism in their writings, or, like Mark Twain, they were chronic protestors against Europeanism. At any rate, the Old World preoccupied. No, he was the first American writer because he was the first to be passionately interested in the life that surrounded him and the life that surrounded him was that of America Controversy arose in America over disputes about Crane s patriotism The Dial magazine, owned by retired General McClurg, said the novel was unpatriotic because Henry is a cowardly hero General McClurg was also angry that English and American reviewers praised the novel He thought the British were merely ridiculing American soldiers He declared it a vicious satire upon American soldiers and American armies as a plot to undermine confidence in the armed forces 5 McClurg wanted to ban the book in the United States Sydney Brooks, an English critic, ended the controversy by suggesting that the general s opinions were a form of censorship Other works In addition to The Red Badge of Courage, Crane is also famous for his short stories The Open Boat, The Blue Hotel, The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky, and The Upturned Face He wrote most of his stories while living in England His other novels include George s Mother, The Third Violet, Active Service, and O-Ruddy, which he never finished Poetry Crane s first volume of poetry, The Black Riders, was published in 1895 His second volume, War Is Kind, was published in 1899 His subjects and structures were different from those of his contemporaries Many criticized his themes and language as blasphemous Crane chose brutal images and intelligent metaphors His verses did not have rhyme or meter His themes contradicted the popular optimistic and sentimental topics of the time Critics often compare Crane s poems to those of Emily Dickinson for their brevity, simplicity, and irony However, their subject matter and language differ Structure of the Novel Chronological structure The novel is chronological, save for a few flashbacks Henry remembers swimming with friends, saying goodbye to classmates, and seeing a girl in a window who watches him leave for the army 5 Some things never change Dean

10 RED BADGE POWER GUIDE PAGE 9 OF 58 DEMIDEC RESOURCES 2007 An outside narrator states that Henry often thinks of the girl, but such thoughts do not resurface for the rest of the novel The most notable flashback is Henry s last conversation with his mother The novel is divided into five parts Chapters 1 3 build up to the first battle Chapters 4 5 focus on the fighting before the battle proper Chapters 6 11 focus on Henry s desertion Chapters 7 14 center on his wound and return to the regiment Chapters again focus on fighting The novel does not have a clear narrative line Rather, it describes a series of sometimes unconnected episodes Crane usually makes connections through a repeating motif rather than through continuous narrative For example, four chapters conclude with descriptions of the sun Point of view The novel is written in third-person central Readers view the characters and situations as they appear through Henry s eyes For most of the novel, the readers is only able to know what Henry knows Only after the last battle does the novel present another point of view Another soldier reports the lieutenant s praise of Fleming and Wilson His feelings run the gamut from fear to impatience to complacency to gratitude He often misjudges other characters and their motives He initially views the young lieutenant as a mere brute, one who had no appreciation of fine minds Later on, Henry has more friendly thoughts about the same character His view of his military experiences is limited and often inaccurate because he is young and inexperienced He never knows which side is winning a battle He often doubts his motives in enlisting As he prepares for one of the battles, it occurred to him that he had never wished to come to the war. He had not enlisted of his free will. He had been dragged by the merciless government. And now they were taking him out to be slaughtered The reader knows that Henry was influenced by a newspaper report of a great Union victory and the ensuing celebration of the twisted news, both of which were false reports born of Union hopes to win the next battle Readers must decide for themselves about Henry s honesty and self-awareness Time span The novel has a short time span that covers Henry s enlistment, training, desertion, and three days of battle The first few days describe Henry s decision to enlist, his parting from his friends and mother, and the boredom of early training Preparations for battle include abandoning some of his items in order to travel light and building small earth fortifications that are soon abandoned The three-day battle is presented as a series of impressions rather than in a strict narrative sequence

11 RED BADGE POWER GUIDE PAGE 10 OF 58 DEMIDEC RESOURCES 2007 Characters The youth (Henry Fleming) Henry is the novel s protagonist He matures as the novel progresses At the beginning, Henry is naïve and easily swayed by glowing newspaper accounts and celebrations of victory He still reveres fierce Greek heroes and medieval knights, thinking, Men were better, or more timid [nowadays]. Secular and religious education had effaced the throat-grappling instinct, or else firm finance held in check the passions Henry repeats this thought to himself during military training, as though to remind himself that the current world is gentler than that of the past Although he knows these notions of valor are no longer relevant, he is still disappointed that his mother didn t ask him to return with his shield or on it as ancient Greek mothers did He begins to feel superior to his friends when they admire him after he enlists He is excited at the attention he receives during his trip to Washington: the troops are given a hero s welcome at every stop Henry finds his early weeks of training to be monotonous, a vast blue demonstration that will make him lose his identity He worries a lot about how he will react to a real battle At first, he feels courageous because his regiment is successful But when the enemy attacks, he panics and runs like a rabbit He blames his fear on what he thinks was an incorrect move by his generals and convinces himself that he was right to flee Upon returning and hearing that his regiment won the battle, he is surprised and angry Borrowing one of Homer s techniques, Crane uses Henry s dialogue with minor characters to reveal his character Most minor characters are stock characters: the true friend, the hostile enemy, the veteran soldiers, and the inexperienced recruits Crane stresses his characters universality by referring to them as the youth, the tall soldier, and the loud soldier Henry Fleming is the youth Jim Conklin is the tall soldier Wilson is the loud soldier Most of the soldiers remain nameless, save for the young lieutenant Hasbrouck He rarely mentions characters real names Henry s experiences are recounted in a series of episodes He encounters a dead man in a chapel-like setting He increasingly distrusts the decisions of his generals He acquires a head injury, which he terms a red badge of courage Unlike the wounds of his fellow troops, however, Henry s wound is a false honor because it was inflicted by a fellow soldier rather than the enemy in battle Henry often attempts to rationalize his behavior as sensible and correct After fleeing a battle, he compares himself to a squirrel who runs from a falling pine cone and believes that his choice saved his life He later feels ashamed and disappointed, such as in the scene with the tattered man When he decides to return after his desertion to find his regiment cheering about their victory, he doesn t know how he ll explain himself At one point, he hopes the enemy wins so his comrades would be in his situation

12 RED BADGE POWER GUIDE PAGE 11 OF 58 DEMIDEC RESOURCES 2007 He encounters a group of deserters and asks them questions, but one irritated deserter hits Henry on the head with his rifle Upon gaining this red badge of courage, Henry is escorted back to his regiment by the cheery soldier His reentry into the regiment allows him to strengthen himself for the battlefield with the help of his friends Half of the regiment was lost the day before, so Henry is able to return without anyone discovering that he deserted The loud soldier helps Henry receive medical attention for his head injury and gives him his blanket The next day, Henry does not fear battle His desertion taught him that retribution was a laggard and blind He now believes he can leave his life to chance His experience causes a little flower of confidence to grow in him He fights bravely in the day s battle, loading and firing his gun with speed He concentrates so hard that he does not even realize that he is sometimes the only one firing The lieutenant is elated, wishing that he had ten thousand soldiers just like Henry Reflecting on the fight, Henry feels that he has fought like a pagan who defends his religion He wakes up the next morning and feels like a knight These similes remind us of Henry s thoughts of ancient warfare during training After the bloodshed of the previous day s battle, the sun is ironically bright and gay in the blue-enameled sky Upon his return to the regiment, one of Henry s first tasks is to help Wilson, the loud soldier, find some water for a dying friend They accidentally overhear a conversation between the general and another officer in which the regiment is termed a lot of mule drivers, most of whom will not survive the battle Henry and Wilson tell the lieutenant what they have heard, but the lieutenant doesn t believe them The information becomes an ironical secret : they do not tell the other troops for fear of damaging morale In the next day s battle, they were surrounded by the noises of the monstrous altercation between the two armies. The world was fully interested in other matters Only the youth and his friend understand the strategy The men fight bravely but hesitate when they are wounded The lieutenant curses at them with the facility of a maiden who strings beads The youth feels a temporary but sublime absence of selfishness as he runs through the battlefield Despite the battle s chaos, he thinks that everything is clear He cannot, however, remember why he is there in the first place He discovers that the color guard has been killed and takes the flag with his friend to lead the soldiers back into battle A fellowship develops between Henry and the lieutenant as Henry stands firm with the flag In the last chapters, Henry observes the enemy regiment Neither sides seems to have a specific battle plan No one is sure which force is winning

13 RED BADGE POWER GUIDE PAGE 12 OF 58 DEMIDEC RESOURCES 2007 Henry suddenly has an urge to capture the Confederate flag: Its possession would be high pride He is still holding the Union flag, and His own emblem, quivering and aflare, was winging toward the other; it seemed there would shortly be an encounter of strange beaks and claws, as of eagles At the end of the battle, Henry concludes that his soul changed He had been to touch the great death, and found that, after all, it was but the great death. He was a man Minor characters The tall soldier, Jim Conklin, is Henry s friend and mentor He appears at the beginning of the novel as a herald in red and gold who reports a rumor of the regiment s likely movement He contributes to the realism of the novel by washing his shirt Henry has known him since childhood and views him as a trustworthy confidant Conklin is comforted by eating to the point that his spirit seemed to be communing with the viands He disappears halfway through the book but is important in the development of Henry s character Henry consults him about many things, such as how the other troops will behave in battle Conklin answers that the soldiers will imitate the others in the regiment He makes Henry feel more confident and assured Conklin s behavior before battle is cool and obedient When he returns after deserting his regiment, Henry meets a fatally wounded Conklin In his final hours, Conklin is called the spectral soldier due to his emaciated appearance Conklin is in pain but wants to be alone Crane inserts Biblical references in Conklin s death scene The language of the passage, the nature of his wounds, and his initials reference the crucifixion of Jesus Christ The passage ends with this sentence: The red sun was pasted in the sky like a wafer Varying interpretations see the wafer as a reference to the Eucharist, a judicial seal, or the closing of an envelope Crane probably read Rudyard Kipling s The Light That Failed, which has a similar simile Critics agree that the simile is the most significant sentence in the novel They also consider it the book s most modern sentence because of its symbolism, impressionism, and naturalism We must remember, however, that this famous simile represents Henry s interpretation, not the author s The loud soldier, Wilson, is another of Henry s fellow troops He is initially confident and enthusiastic about the impending battle and expects the regiment to perform valiantly However, he remembers that the rebels have won every battle so far He begins to express doubt when he has forebodings about the future As the battle approaches, he is convinced that he will die in the action He hands Henry a yellow envelope to give to his family Henry meets Wilson again after returning to the regiment and finds the latter a changed man Wilson displays kindness and inner confidence

14 RED BADGE POWER GUIDE PAGE 13 OF 58 DEMIDEC RESOURCES 2007 His tinsel courage has disappeared He helps Henry find medical aid and gives him coffee, a bed, and a blanket Henry feels superior to Wilson because of the yellow envelope and acts patronizingly toward his friend Since no one discovered Henry s desertion, he feels he is still a man, as opposed to Wilson When Wilson humbly asks for the envelope back, Henry returns it and makes no comments about his friend s previous fears Henry then congratulates himself on his sensitivity The narrative tone in this section is heavily ironic despite the third-person central point of view The two characters new bond becomes important later in battle The cheery soldier appears in the novel just after Henry s head has been injured as he attempts to return to his regiment The soldier seems to possess a magic wand He quickly finds his way through the forest and back to the regiment while talking about his friends and family Henry realizes later that he never looked at his mysterious helper s face The tattered man appears late in the novel as a wounded soldier who helps Henry take care of the dying Jim Conklin He strikes up a conversation with Henry and bombards him with questions, eventually inquiring sympathetically about his head wound Henry feels terribly guilty and eventually deserts the tattered man, an action about which he is later ashamed The tattered man s conversation about his neighbors and children humanizes him Lieutenant Hasbrouck is introduced early in the novel He is described as young and baby-faced A gunshot injures one of his hands during a battle Throughout the story, we witness him swear heavily Before the battle, he criticizes the men for talking He plays a large part in the final battle by offering support and encouragement for his men He stands with his soldiers when they hesitate and urges them on, even when the bullets are flying thick He is not aware of the plans of higher officers and is quick to defend his men against criticism by the colonel He names Henry and Wilson to the colonel as heroes, which greatly pleases the two men Jimmie Rogers is one of Henry s friends He is shot through the body near the end of a battle Henry and Wilson go in search of water to ease his pain, which leads them to overhear the officers calling them mule drivers Henry s mother appears in one of his flashbacks She is a widow who has to take care of the family farm She tries to persuade Henry not to enlist, offering sensible arguments such as his importance on the farm She milks a cow while Henry tells her about his choice to enlist, and four more cows remain, waiting to be milked She calmly gives Henry advice about how to take care of his socks She tells him to choose his friends wisely and avoid drinking and swearing

15 RED BADGE POWER GUIDE PAGE 14 OF 58 DEMIDEC RESOURCES 2007 She takes the time to knit eight pairs of socks and make Henry his favorite blackberry jam Henry s last glimpse of his mother is of her tear-stained face While he is wandering around with a wounded head after his desertion, he thinks of his mother, and especially of how she cooked his favorite food The officers are a nameless group of higher-ranking men They have many more privileges than Henry and his fellow soldiers and seem to take their time in making their decisions Henry angrily thinks that They seemed content to perch tranquilly on the river bank, and leave him bowed down by the weight of a great problem They call the 304 th regiment a bunch of mule drivers and recommend it for the next day s battle as though the men are disposable Henry and Wilson overhear this plan and tell the lieutenant, who can hardly believe his ears However, they do not share this information with their friends When the day of the battle draws near, the officers act much more quickly, organizing the regiment s alignment like critical shepherds struggling with sheep After the first day of battle, the general complains to the colonel that the regiment fought like mud diggers because of their slow advancement The lieutenant stands up for his men The colonel requests the names of the two brave soldiers (Wilson and Henry) The negro teamster is the only evidence we get of the varied racial make-up of the Union army He appears on the first page of the novel and is entertaining his fellow soldiers He finds himself deserted when the tall soldier announces rumors of an approaching battle Setting Setting of the action Two armies are camped on opposite sides of a river Each force can see the other They observe the red eyes of each other s campfires and even have conversations across the river Crane makes the setting universal to all battles by leaving out a specific name The battle described in the novel is probably the Battle of Chancellorsville, which took place May 2 4 in 1863 A jesting soldier mentions the Rappahannock River The narrator describes the river, wooded landscape, and pontoon bridges used for crossing the river He also mentions names of regiments that were actually present in the battle Henry s regiment (New York 304 th ), however, did not actually exist One soldier comments that the Union army had not yet won a battle All of these elements are clues that lead to the Battle of Chancellorsville Crane chose Chancellorsville because it was the first battle of 1863 and the first battle for many Union recruits Crane s descriptions of the river, the house calm and white amid bursting shells which served as General Hooker s quarters, and the troops cabins could have been adapted from the illustrations in Battles and Leaders of the Civil War Crane s short story The Veteran, published in 1896 is a deciding factor

16 RED BADGE POWER GUIDE PAGE 15 OF 58 DEMIDEC RESOURCES 2007 An elderly Henry Fleming reminisces about his first experiences in battle, saying That was at Chancellorsville The narrator of Red Badge doesn t mention the name Chancellorsville because none of the characters would have known the name of the battle in which they fought Themes Coming of age (Bildungsroman) Henry Fleming and the other recruits are fresh fish, so the growth of a boy into a man is an important theme Some chapters end with the phrase and they were men or he was a man when they involve Henry These lines are sometimes ironic They can represent a coming of age or the transition from beastly to human behavior The nature of warfare The concept of war and the nature of heroic behavior are themes that run throughout the battle scenes The young recruits have difficulty understanding war even after fighting in battle The battles of the Civil War are not like the Greek myths in which mothers tell their sons to come back with this shield or on it The reality of war is that many will die, and most in an unromantic fashion Henry encounters dead soldiers three times He and his companions see a dead soldier on the road They examine his body and notice that his bare foot is exposed due to his thin shoes Although all are curious, no one asks about the nature of death or the afterlife Henry s second encounter is foreshadowed by a scene in which an animal catches a fish He finds a chapel-like structure in nature It appears to have green doors and a religious half light Henry stumbles upon a corpse that has open eyes that seem to stare at Henry Its mouth is open Ants crawl over the body The man s uniform has faded from blue to green Henry gives a shriek upon looking into the dead man s eyes Henry s third encounter involves the tall soldier, Jim Conklin Jim has been mortally wounded and appears to be looking for a place to die His spare figure was erect; his bloody hands were quietly at his side. He was waiting with patience for something that he had come to meet. He was at the rendezvous The passage s diction ( passion, ceremony, rite ) lends it a religious tone Jim s wounds and final moments are described in detail The last sentence includes novel s most famous simile: The red sun was pasted in the sky like a wafer The nature of courage Henry constantly worries about whether or not he will prove himself courageous in battle He cannot find answers from other soldiers or even the experienced veterans because he has to find them on his own

17 RED BADGE POWER GUIDE PAGE 16 OF 58 DEMIDEC RESOURCES 2007 Although he fights bravely in the first rebel attack, he deserts when the second attack starts While in the woods after his desertion, he discovers many things about himself He returns to the regiment with many other deserters His newfound courage aids him in the next battle He finally realizes that courage is the absence of selfishness Henry s bloody head wound allows him to return to his regiment without much suspicion and earns him sympathy from the other soldiers Henry becomes eager to prove his worth when he hears the officers calling the recruits mule drivers and mud-diggers He and Wilson retrieve the Union flag from the dead flag bearer to encourage the men The next day, the two are even able to capture the rebel flag The indifference of nature 6 Henry finds nature to be very unfriendly to human beings As he flees from his regiment, the forest s swishing saplings seem to get in his way Insects and birds make noise as he is trying to hide The dead soldier s uniform fades to fit nature s green colors Nature programs the self-preserving instincts of animals, but it has no sympathy for the feelings of humans This school of thought is related to Social Darwinism Henry attempts to rationalize his fleeing from the battle as a wise act of selfpreservation, rather than a simple animalistic instinct This false reasoning is due to his limited and self-interested point of view Readers can see through his thoughts and understand that his flight was basically an act of cowardice Naturalistic novels show that animals react instinctively However, nature is completely indifferent to the plight of humans The attribution of emotions to natural or synthetic objects is pathetic fallacy 7 Imagery The natural imagery in the novel is usually ambiguous The colors of nature dominate but are mixed with the light of the sun and the darkness of smoke The narrator mentions the sun several times, usually to signal the beginning or end of a day It can also serve dramatic or symbolic purposes Its presence can demonstrate nature s indifference to humans The red, wafer-like sun that appears after the tall soldier s death has been darkened by smoke Its color relates it to the images of blood in the novel At the end of the novel, the sun has returned to its usual color, which symbolizes that Henry has finally understood himself, that the battle has ended, and that the novel itself has also ended 6 In my tenth grade English class on American literature, we read a few works by Crane. In quizzes on Crane s pieces, my teacher would often ask about the major theme of a specific passage. The indifference of nature was the answer so often that it eventually became the default random guess for any question on any work for the next two years. Dean 7 Pathetic fallacy: the endowment of nature, inanimate objects, etc., with human traits and feelings (Dictionary.com).

18 RED BADGE POWER GUIDE PAGE 17 OF 58 DEMIDEC RESOURCES 2007 Style Overview Critics viewed Crane s style as unique and strange Red Badge focuses more on internal psychology and subjective impressions than on history Additionally, Crane s repertoire of literary devices is highly eclectic Realism Realism is a literary term usually used to describe the subject matter and technique of 19 th - and 20 th -century novels and dramas It is a rejection of Romanticism Realistic works depict characters and situations as they are, not as they could be Realist novels provide detailed descriptions and include commonplace events The Red Badge of Courage has many scenes in which ordinary people do ordinary things Soldiers wash their shirts or borrow blankets A woman peels potatoes and milks cows The narrator does not ask or motivate the reader to act Naturalism Naturalism was founded in France The novels of Émile Zola are particularly important examples of naturalist works The fates of the characters are dependent on heredity and environment Poverty, disease, war, and unfriendly surroundings can defeat characters ambitions While Romantic poets emphasized the healing quality of nature, naturalistic novels portray nature as cold and indifferent When Henry is trying to find his way back to his regiment, he [feels] a flash of astonishment at the blue, pure sky and the sun gleaming on the trees and fields. It was surprising that Nature had gone tranquilly on with her golden process in the midst of so much devilment Impressionism Impressionism is a school of thought usually associated with art Late 19 th -century painters such as Monet and Renoir are considered impressionists The music of Debussy is also impressionistic Writers of the 19 th century would adopt the term to indicate that they were focusing on the psychology of their characters rather than the outside, objective reality The novel focuses on Henry s emotions rather than his actions Figurative language Simile, metaphor, and personification are abundant in the novel Tents sprang up like strange plants. Camp fires, like red, peculiar blossoms, dotted the night By using figurative language, Crane gives emotions to simple objects The narrator calls the columns of men marching uphill monsters, reptiles, and dragons Crane also uses such unusual literary tools as transferred epithets 8 and pathetic fallacies The men crouched among the trees and pointed their restless guns out at the fields The guns squatted in a row like savage chiefs. They argued with abrupt violence. It was a grim pow-wow While the narrator gives guns human characteristics, he dehumanizes soldiers and calls them methodical idiots and machinelike fools 8 Transferred epithet: an adjective modifying a noun which it cannot logically modify, yet which works because the metaphorical meaning remains clear (home.cfl.rr.com).

19 RED BADGE POWER GUIDE PAGE 18 OF 58 DEMIDEC RESOURCES 2007 Crane uses synaesthesia 9 in phrases like a crimson roar and a blue demonstration War is described as the red animal, the blood-swollen god Color symbolism The title of the novel hints at the use of color throughout the novel War is represented by and associated with red Henry views battles as crimson blotches on the pages of the past Green and brown often represent nature The first paragraph in the novel includes a description of the landscape changing from blue to green with the sunrise The Union army has blue uniforms The dead soldier s uniform turns from blue to green in the forest chapel to signify a change caused by nature The Confederates uniforms seem dazzlingly new to the Union soldiers As Henry thinks over his actions in the final chapter, he associates human traits with colors He thinks of the gilded images of memory He remembers that he had been where there was red of blood and black of passion He is ashamed that his two desertions (of the regiment and the tattered man) darken his purple and gold deeds 10 of valor Dialect The modified form of dialect used for the soldiers dialogue contributes to the novel s realism The use of dialect is indicated by spelling Soldiers refer to the hull [whole] rebel army Soldiers declare that er a right dun good feller ( you re a right darn good fellow ) Jim Conklin often remarks, b jiminy Notably, Henry often speaks in standard English rather than in dialect Irony Henry s head wound is one of the main instances of irony in the novel The wound was inflicted by a deserting Union soldier, rather than by the enemy However, Henry s regiment believes it to be a battle wound They welcome him with sympathy rather than shame The phrase and they were men is often repeated, but it is often ironic and ambiguous Sometimes it refers to a coming of age, but it can also refer to humanity triumphing over bestiality Even the closing paragraphs of the novel can be considered ironic Literary critic Daniel Marder states that the tranquil skies are much too idyllic to be taken seriously. Whenever Henry is shocked or in low spirits, the sky seems to be against him; when he feels heroic, the sky is with him In addition, Henry s memories of his false red badge of courage and his desertion of the tattered soldier will always dampen his courageous moments Title Theories about its origin The novel s original title was supposedly Private Fleming Hits Various Battles 9 Synaesthesia (also synesthesia): the description of one kind of sense impression by using words that normally describe another (Dictionary.com). 10 Go Lakers! Dean

20 RED BADGE POWER GUIDE PAGE 19 OF 58 DEMIDEC RESOURCES 2007 The final title probably came from Crane s own phrase in Chapter VI, when Henry wishes for a little red badge of courage When he changed the title, Crane also took out the names of the soldiers and substituted them with the tall soldier and the loud soldier These changes and the alteration of the book s title both suggest a universalization of the work as a whole Crane s Later Reputation Crane s novels Not all of his work was appreciated during his life, but after his death his reputation greatly increased Both Willa Cather and Amy Lowell praised and promoted his work Crane paved the way for novelists like Theodore Dreiser 11 and Frank Norris with his sociological approach in novels such as Maggie: A Girl of the Streets Crane s Red Badge changed the literary portrayal war forever It impacted the novels of Ernest Hemingway and Norman Mailer Crane s poetry Critics at the time disliked Crane s poetry, but he did have some loyal supporters His poems impacted the Imagist poets of the early 20 th century The poet John Berryman declared Crane s War is Kind to be one of the major lyrics of 19 th -century America 11 If you can tolerate long books (in the neighborhood of 800 pages), I highly recommend Dreiser s An American Tragedy. It s easily one of the best books I ve ever read, and it s well worth the read. Dean

21 RED BADGE POWER GUIDE PAGE 20 OF 58 DEMIDEC RESOURCES 2007 THE RED BADGE OF COURAGE CHAPTER SUMMARIES POWER PREVIEW This section includes all potentially testable details from the novel. It has a play-by-play summary of each chapter. POWER NOTES About 40% of the test (20 questions) will be based on this information The USAD practice test includes 14 questions about this section Chapter 1 Daybreak The nighttime fog and cold retreat as the sun rises The muddy roads are drying up The enemy fires across the river have gone out during the night The soldiers are excited to hear rumors that they are going to move tomorrow The tall soldier (Jim Conklin) starts this rumor when he returns from washing his shirt He heard the news from his friend, who heard it from a cavalryman, who heard it from his brother at the division headquarters He tells his fellow soldiers that they will move upriver, cut across the river, and then attack the enemy from behind All the soldiers react to the news The men stop encouraging a negro teamster dancing on a cracker box and rush off to discuss the rumor The loud soldier argues with the tall one about the validity of the rumor A corporal swears he hears about the impending march because he just installed a costly new floorboard in his house The men energetically debate and compete for the attention of the crowd The tall soldier walks around self-importantly as the herald of the news His disdainful manner of replying to questions about the rumor makes it all the more convincing The youthful private, Henry Fleming, goes alone to his hut to ponder the news Henry s hut is sparsely furnished Cracker boxes serve as furniture A picture from the illustrated weekly hangs on the wall Three rifles hang on pegs and other equipment hangs from projections The roof is a folded tent The chimney is made of clay and sticks He is excited but frightened about the upcoming battle He has dreamt of fighting in a battle all his life, but he has trouble believing that he will soon participate in such a conflict The newspaper accounts he read of current battles have filled his impressionable mind with images of glory He is also a bit hesitant to believe the tall soldier s report He refers to war as one of those great affairs of the earth However, he is a bit less enthusiastic about the Civil War than he is about the battles of the ancient Greeks and medieval knights

22 RED BADGE POWER GUIDE PAGE 21 OF 58 DEMIDEC RESOURCES 2007 Greeklike struggles involving fierce warriors and much bloodshed seem to be a thing of the past (3) He repeats to himself several times, Men were better, or more timid. Secular and religious education had effaced the throat-grappling instinct, or else firm finance held in check the passions (3, 7) Henry s flashback Although he is very anxious to enlist, his mother tries her best to persuade him to stay She is a widow and needs his help on the farm She looks with as much contempt as she can at his excitement to participate in the war He knows that arguing against his mother will be difficult However, Henry still decides to enlist He goes the morning after he hears a great celebration for a supposed Union victory His mother reacts nonchalantly to his announcement When he tells her of his enlistment, she is milking the brindle cow with four more waiting to be milked She merely says, The Lord s will be done, Henry, after a short pause and continues to milk The day Henry leaves home, his mother also reacts calmly Henry hopes for a scene out of the Greek myths in which she will ask him to return with his shield or on it 12 She quietly tells him that she has packed his necessities into his bag along with his favorite blackberry jam She also advises him to stay away from bad men in the army and never to avoid his duties (5) Henry is a bit irritated about his mother s reaction but becomes ashamed when he turns back one last time and sees the tears on his mother s face She has been trying to hide her true feelings from him After leaving home, he goes to a seminary to say goodbye to his classmates He feels separate from his friends, who crowd around him and admire him He and many of his fellow soldiers are treated like kings on their last day in town A light-haired girl jokes about his going to war, but another dark-haired girl makes more of an impression on Henry She looks very serious and sad at the sight of his uniform She shifts her gaze when she notices him staring at her He thinks often of her afterward On the way to Washington, Henry s regiment is lavished with special treatment at every station With all the praise and adoration he receives, Henry s spirit swells and he feels as though he can accomplish many brave deeds in battle However, after all of the special treatment comes months of monotonous training in a camp Henry has always imagined war as a bunch of glorious battles with little time in between for sleeping and eating He is soon proved wrong, for the army does nothing but sit and wait in camp He then thinks again of how the men of his age are not as fierce as the ancient Greeks He feels like a nameless face in a sea of new recruits 12 This line reminds me of the movie 300. If you haven t seen it, I really recommend it. I don t think any other movie has made me want to fight another human being so badly on my way home from the theater. Dean

23 RED BADGE POWER GUIDE PAGE 22 OF 58 DEMIDEC RESOURCES 2007 His first glimpse of his foes is of some pickets 13 along the river The narrator describes them as a sun-tanned, philosophical lot (7) They sometimes shoot at the Union pickets and claim that it was an accident when they are reprimanded Henry actually befriends one of the rebel soldiers, which makes him sometimes regret the war The Union army veterans tell him exaggerated tales about the rebel side They describe the rebel side as relentless, tough, and ferociously hungry Henry imagines them with red, live bones sticking through their uniforms (7) However, Henry knows that most of the veterans are only trying to scare him Many of them yell, Fresh fish! at him (7) Henry s thoughts on fighting Henry senses the reality of the impending battle He begins to panic He knows that he has to fight his foes, no matter what they look like He worries about whether or not he will run from the battle He has never seriously considered the question before Now that the moment has finally arrived, he realizes that he truly knows nothing about how he will react As he thinks about the upcoming battle, he cannot seem to imagine himself bravely facing his enemies His visions of Greek heroes and medieval knights suddenly seem very unrealistic After a while, the tall soldier and loud soldier enter, still arguing about the rumor Henry nervously asks the tall soldier whether or not he believes that some of the regiment will flee from the battle The tall soldier answers that a few of the fresh fish will probably run because it is their first battle, but he adds that most come of good stock and will fight like sin after they oncet git shootin (10) After hearing this answer, the loud soldier renews his argument with the tall soldier Henry interrupts to ask if the tall soldier would run from battle and laughs to hide his nervousness The tall soldier replies that he would probably run if he saw others running, which comforts Henry a bit Chapter 2 The false rumor Henry discovers the next morning that his tall friend s rumor is untrue: they have not started to march Many of the recruits scoff and sneer at the tall soldier, but he wins a fight with one of the recruits from Chatfield Corners Although the battle is no longer imminent, Henry does not feel any better about his predicament His worries have only been prolonged He wishes that he can again be a nameless face in the crowd and forget about the rumor He ponders for days whether or not he will run from his first battle to no avail 13 According to Dictionary.com, a picket is a soldier or detachment of soldiers placed on a line forward of a position to warn against an enemy advance.

24 RED BADGE POWER GUIDE PAGE 23 OF 58 DEMIDEC RESOURCES 2007 In the end, he realizes that the only way he will get an answer is to wait for the experience itself After reaching this conclusion, he is dying for an opportunity to prove himself He compares himself to the other soldiers to feel better about his fears The tall soldier is calm and confident in the face of the upcoming battle He is Henry s childhood friend Henry believes the tall soldier incapable of doing anything better than himself However, the tall soldier might be faceless in times of inaction, only to shine in the midst of battle Henry hopes to find another soldier with doubts like his own He secretly examines his regiment, for he is afraid that he will be mocked He sometimes considers all his fellow soldiers to be heroes Their nonchalant demeanor only conceals the courage within This thought makes him very nervous At other moments, he imagines them all to be secretly fearful like himself This view obviously makes him feel more comfortable When he hears other men talking with excitement about the upcoming battle, he feels strange and tells himself that they are liars As he waits for the day of battle to arrive, he feels tormented by the apparent slowness of the generals He wants to settle his doubts as soon as possible Finally marching One morning, Henry begins to feel that something is about to happen His regiment is prepared to move, and the soldiers are whispering about the old rumors The enemy fires on the other side of the river glow menacingly The colonel sits on his horse, silhouetted against the rising sun Henry can hear the marching of feet in the darkness He feels that the wait for orders is intolerable Finally, a horseman arrives and gives the colonel orders The horseman also mentions something about a box of cigars The regiment begins to move As the regiment marches, Henry imagines it as a giant reptile or monsters wending with many feet (13) The day breaks, and Henry then views his marching regiment as two serpents crawling from the cavern of the night (14) The tall soldier and his supporters congratulate themselves on believing the rumor while dissenters continue to argue Henry pays no attention to them, being too busy with his own thoughts about the battle, and feels that he will hear firing at any moment He observes his comrades faces, hoping to see some that are as nervous as himself His search proves fruitless, for the veteran commands are joyful and the rest of the regiment is very excited Henry feels excluded A fat soldier attempts to steal a horse from a farm and is thwarted by the young girl who lives there The soldiers seem to forget the war as they cheer for the girl They loudly ridicule the fat soldier when he leaves empty-handed When night falls, the regiment sets up camp Henry avoids talking to his companions

25 RED BADGE POWER GUIDE PAGE 24 OF 58 DEMIDEC RESOURCES 2007 He lies in the grass by himself and wishes with all his heart that he could be back at home doing his chores He feels unfit to be a soldier The loud soldier (Wilson) wanders near and Henry calls out to him The loud soldier notices that Henry looks troubled and asks him about it, but Henry brushes off the inquiry The loud soldier then happily and confidently talks about the battle, but he admits that the Union army has lost every single one so far Henry replies bitterly to all of the loud soldier s happy observations and finally finds a way to offhandedly ask him about whether or not he will run from the battle The loud soldier replies that he will try his best and laughs at the mention of running When Henry asks him how he knows that he won t run, he replies confidently and makes Henry even more bitter and angry The loud soldier leaves in a huff After the loud soldier is gone, Henry feels worse than before The loud soldier s confidence is the exact opposite of how Henry feels No other soldier in the regiment seems nervous about the battle He goes to sleep next to the snoring tall soldier with his mind still in turmoil He envisions his fear as a monster at his back that will make him run from the battle while the rest of the regiment bravely serves the Union cause He hears some other men making bets about tomorrow s battle He finally falls asleep after being exhausted from his worries Chapter 3 Another night The regiment crosses the river Henry can see a dark and mysterious range of hills He feels as though the regiment will be attacked at any moment, but they make camp uneventfully More marching Early the next morning, the regiment marches deep into the forest During the quick march, the troops become less naively excited about the battle and begin to complain They begin to lighten their loads Some toss their knapsacks and others hide them as though they hope to return for their equipment later They soon carry nothing but the essentials: Clothing Blankets Haversacks Canteens Arms and ammunition The tall soldier tells Henry, You can now eat and shoot. That s all you want to do (19) After shedding the extra weight, the ponderous infantry of theory becomes the light and speedy infantry of practice (19) Although the regiment is more veteran-like in mentality, it is still lacking in its appearance

26 RED BADGE POWER GUIDE PAGE 25 OF 58 DEMIDEC RESOURCES 2007 Henry s regiment sticks together in a column, prompting derision from some passing veterans Veteran regiments usually separate into small groups as they march The hats in the new regiment are all relatively new and of a similar color The hats in a veteran regiment are varied in appearance due to the different headgear distributed each year These aged hats sport letters of faded gold The flag bearer oils the flag pole The army sets up camp again Henry feels as though he is again part of a monotonous blue demonstration (20) The pine trees give off a peaceful odor (20) He hears the steady sound of axe blows The insects sing Preparations for battle One morning, the tall soldier wakes Henry with a kick in the leg The regiment runs down a wood road Henry can hear the confused inquiries of the other men He feels like part of a mob As the sun fully rises, Henry can clearly see the entire regiment, looking like armed men just born of the earth (21) He feels as though his day of judgment has come he will soon know how he will perform in battle He feels as terrified as a newborn baby Henry looks around and realizes that he cannot flee from the regiment The many men around him enclose him like a box There are iron laws of tradition and law on four sides (21) He wishes that he had never come to war He believes that he did not choose to enlist but was rather forced by the government This thought makes us question Henry s self-awareness and self-deception The regiment climbs over a hill to the sounds of artillery fire Henry s fear is temporarily replaced by curiosity, and he runs up the back, expecting a battle scene He sees lines of skirmishers winding through fields surrounded by forest The skirmishers run around firing at the landscape A battle line lies in a clearing A Union flag waves in the breeze Other regiments run up the bank as well The brigade re-forms on the battle line and then follows the skirmishers into the forest The skirmishers seem to be constantly busy and fully concentrated on their small attacks In his desire to observe everything, Henry forgets to watch where he is going and stumbles over rocks and trees He feels as though the regiment stands out like a red target in this natural environment of green and brown (22) He is fascinated by the skirmishers ahead Their shots into the trees represent mysterious tragedies At one point during the march into the forest, the regiment encounters a dead Confederate soldier The corpse is on its back and appears to be looking at the sky He wears a yellowish-brown uniform

27 RED BADGE POWER GUIDE PAGE 26 OF 58 DEMIDEC RESOURCES 2007 The soles of his shoes have been worn to the thinness of paper It seems as though fate had betrayed the soldier by exposing to his enemies the poverty (indicated by his worn shoes) he probably tried to hide from his friends (22) The column discreetly separates to march around the corpse Henry stares at the dead man s face and attempts to find the answer to the Question of what happens after death As the regiment marches through the woods, Henry s enthusiasm fades His curiosity would have lasted if he had seen an intense battle scene once he reached the top of the bank He has time to think some more about his fears The landscape becomes threatening His clothes feel as though they do not fit He thinks that the generals are fools who are unwittingly leading the regiment into a trap He expects to be killed at any moment As he panics more and more, he feels as though he is the only soldier in the regiment who is sound of mind He wants to warn the other soldiers He is ready to step up and make a passionate speech However, as he looks about him, he notices that the other men seem very engrossed in the march He realizes that they will laugh at his warning speech, even if they themselves are truly afraid During his contemplations, Henry calls war the red animal Henry gives up and assumes the demeanor of a doomed man who knows his fate The young lieutenant startles him out of his reverie by beating him with his sword He tells Henry to hurry up and get into the ranks Henry hates him and believes him to be a brute with no appreciation of fine minds (23) The regiment stops in a cathedral-like forest The skirmishers are still busy shooting The men begin building small barricades in front of them with sticks, stones, and dirt As they build, they begin to discuss the merits of such shields Some of the men believe that the soldiers should stand like duelists and without any barricades The builders answer by pointing to the veterans, who are digging deep trenches in the ground However, the regiment is required to move again as soon as the defenses have been completed Henry is indignant and complains to the tall soldier The tall soldier gives a detailed explanation despite the fact that he himself spent a lot of effort constructing a barricade The regiment moves from place to place, leaving a series of barricades behind at each spot Henry and the loud soldier both complain, and the tall soldier begins arguing with the loud one again As the tall soldier eats his pork and cracker sandwiches, he becomes happier and less irritable He is able to accept being moved in what seems like aimless patterns He stops arguing with the loud soldier

28 RED BADGE POWER GUIDE PAGE 27 OF 58 DEMIDEC RESOURCES 2007 In the afternoon, the regiment walks over the same land that it had traversed in the morning The place becomes less threatening and more familiar to Henry Each time the regiment reaches new terrain, Henry s old doubts and fears return to assail him He ignores these thoughts in desperation At one point, he even hopes he ll be killed instantly He is surprised at himself for viewing death so casually He believes that his profound and fine senses will only be understood after death by the brutish commanders (26) 14 Henry can see the skirmishers running, followed by the sounds of gunfire The roar of battle becomes louder and louder The brigade ahead of Henry s charges right into the action Henry forgets his flowery thoughts of death and stares open-mouthed at the battle The loud soldier, is overcome with the moment and is sure that he will be killed He gives Henry a yellow envelope for his family if he dies Chapter 4 Glimpses of the first battle The brigade halts in a grove The men aim their guns toward the field and try to look through the smoke Men run out of the smoke and give scattered information about the state of the battle to brigade in the grove The men then discuss the information among themselves Hannises battery was defeated because the enemy drove it into a swamp The wounded Carrott was sent to the hospital The men would rather desert than be under Carrott s command Lieutenant Hasbrouck makes a good officer because he is very courageous A soldier accidentally stepped on the hand of another, named Bill The men stop gossiping and are stunned into silence as the noise of battle swells to a tremendous chorus (28) Soldiers run across the fields A shell flies over the reserves and bursts in the grove Bullets begin to hit the branches, and the men constantly have to duck and dodge 15 The lieutenant is shot in the hand and begins to swear profusely The men relax a bit at hearing the swearing It sounds as if he had just hit his fingers with a hammer at home The captain uses his handkerchief to bind the lieutenant s wound, and the two argue over the best way to do so The battle flag seems to jerk about in a cloud of smoke Men flee from the cloud The flag sinks down The veteran regiments jeer at the fleeing men However, the new regiment is horrified at the previous one s defeat Henry notices that they are standing like statues 14 Stephen Crane s lost manuscript includes a paragraph describing how Henry then proceeds to apply eyeliner, wear skinny jeans, and push his bangs over one eye. Ivy 15 Those are two of the five d s of dodge ball: Dodge, Dip, Duck, Dive, and Dodge. Dean

29 RED BADGE POWER GUIDE PAGE 28 OF 58 DEMIDEC RESOURCES 2007 The color guard stands with his feet apart, as though expecting to be thrown on the ground The next brigade comes running out of the battle smoke The officers seem to float on their horses They wave their swords and punch every head they can reach The commander of the brigade has rumpled clothes and is missing his hat He looks like a man who has just woken up and fled from his house because of some disaster The running men seem to be deaf They pay no attention to the officers who swear furiously at them The veterans make grim jokes that are ignored by the fleeing men Upon viewing the terrified faces of the men, Henry feels as though he would surely flee if he had intelligent control of his legs (30) For the time being, the composite monster that scared the other men has not yet gotten to Henry (30) He is sure that he will run once he sees it Chapter 5 Next up the 304 th regiment As Henry waits to join the fray, he recalls childhood memories When he was a young boy, he waited in the village street near his house to see the circus parade in the spring He followed the dingy lady upon the white horse and the band in its faded chariot (30) Henry can remember the yellow color of the road, the lines of people, and the soberlooking houses One old man used to sit on a cracker box and pretend to dislike the display This is Henry s most prominent memory Someone cries, Here they come! (30) The men all rush to prepare their guns The tall soldier finishes with his rifle and begins meticulously knotting a red handkerchief about his neck The warning call is repeated The battle begins The rebel army pours across the field and runs toward the regiment Upon seeing them, Henry becomes so scared that he cannot remember whether or not he loaded his gun A general talks to the colonel of the 304 th regiment and shouts, You ve got to hold em back! (30) The colonel stutters and scolds in agitation, looking at his men resentfully The captain repeats his orders like a schoolteacher The men should hold their fire until his orders As Henry begins to fire at the Confederates, he suddenly forgets all his fears He feels like part of a machine He can see the other men s guns going off like clockwork He pictures the ground littered with the wounded He feels a brotherhood between him and the rest of his regiment that is born of the dangerous situation After the initial excitement, Henry begins to feel the painful effects of battle

30 RED BADGE POWER GUIDE PAGE 29 OF 58 DEMIDEC RESOURCES 2007 He is hot and sweaty His ears are roaring He wishes he could push the entire army back, but he cannot because he is only one man with a rifle He realizes how small he is and how little he can do He directs his anger at the enemy and at the smoke and dust that chokes him Every man in the regiment quietly snarls or growls at feeling insignificant in the huge arena of battle The men s poses are not romantic at all The soldiers awkwardly rush to fire their rifles The officers run about barking orders and encouragement The lieutenant of Henry s regiment is talking to a terrified soldier who fled at hearing the first shots fired by his comrades The man appears to still be in shock while the lieutenant punches him The lieutenant drives him back into the ranks with blows, and the man mechanically agrees His eyes are described as animal-like (34) The man s hands shake so much that the lieutenant has to help him load his gun Many of the men in the regiment die The dead captain s body looks like that of a man asleep, but his face wears an expression of surprise and sorrow He looks as though he were betrayed by a friend The babbling man behind Henry is grazed on the face by a bullet and runs from the battle Another man is struck in the stomach and sits down to inspect the wound A man standing behind a tree is wounded in the knee and begs for assistance while desperately clinging to the trunk Finally, a victory yell is heard throughout the regiment The enemy retreats, leaving only bits of debris on the ground Some of the regiment cheers loudly while others seem to be taking time to collect their thoughts after this stressful first battle Now that the adrenaline rush of battle has left, Henry becomes aware of his grimy, suffocating surroundings He experiences the happiness felt by a man who at last finds leisure in which to look about him (35) A few corpses litter the ground They look as though they have been dropped from the sky The bodies are twisted into unbelievable contortions A battery is tossing shells from the rear of the grove Henry is startled by the explosions and feels as though the guns are firing at him The process of loading and firing seems complicated A small group of the wounded heads toward the rear It is the flow of blood from the torn body of the brigade (36) When Henry sees the Union flags waving from the battleground, he feels a rush of pride He is surprised to hear sounds of fighting coming from many different areas As his regiment was fighting, it felt as though all the battle was directly under his nose (36) He looks up and is surprised to see the beautiful sky and scenery He wonders how Nature could go tranquilly on with her golden process in the midst of all the bloodshed (36)

31 RED BADGE POWER GUIDE PAGE 30 OF 58 DEMIDEC RESOURCES 2007 Chapter 6 Victory Henry snaps out of his trance He adjusts his clothes and wipes his face He is happy that the supreme trial has passed (37) He feels very self-satisfied He has exceeded his expectations for himself Henry beams tenderness and good will (37) The other soldiers cheerfully make casual remarks about the weather They exchange handshakes and speeches A second attack Suddenly, cries go up along the line as the men realize that the enemy is returning The men complain and stare reluctantly at the rushing enemy Some remark that they need reinforcements, for they will never be able to hold back this second wave Henry stares in disbelief, as if this second onslaught is a mistake He waits as though expecting the enemy to stop running, apologize, and retreat bowing The firing that has begun again assures him that, indeed, there is no mistake Henry cannot handle this sudden attack His eyes take on the look of those of a jaded horse (38) His neck and arms hurt His hands and knees feel awkward He begins to think of the other soldiers complaints and thus exaggerates the strength of the enemies he has to fight The regiment needs supports They will never survive this second attack The enemy is very persistent and must be composed of machines of steel (39) Henry s flight Henry sees other men around him begin to run These men previously wore expressions of bravery and pride They seem to feel no shame as they throw down their guns and flee like rabbits At seeing the other men desert, he begins to run as well He feels threatened from all sides There seems to be no place of safety He runs wildly, losing his cap and rifle The lieutenant threatens him with his sword, but he does not stop Now that he has begun to run, the danger he imagined becomes more real He feels as though death will choose the men who are nearest, so he runs to get ahead of the other men as though it were a race (40) As he runs past a battery, he labels them methodical idiots and machinelike fools for not following his lead (41) He believes himself very smart for running from certain death All the men who do not flee are fools Henry slows down when he reaches a quiet place He sees a general of division sitting on a horse (42) Other horsemen come and go Henry creeps around this spot and tries to overhear what the man is saying He wants to dash out and tell him to tell his men to retreat to save them from certain death

32 RED BADGE POWER GUIDE PAGE 31 OF 58 DEMIDEC RESOURCES 2007 The general orders reinforcements for Henry s regiment However, the general soon hears that the regiment is victorious and has a little carnival of joy on horseback (43) Chapter 7 Shame Henry cannot believe that the machinelike fools who remained to fight the invincible enemy have scored a victory He feels betrayed He ran only because death was inevitable If he saved himself, he was saving part of the army If none of the soldiers were wise enough to save themselves from annihilation, no army would be left His choices had been full of wisdom He is angry at his foolish comrades for holding their position In shame, he runs through the forest to hide Every step seems to bring sounds of Nature s protests Branches swish, twigs crack, and creepers catch on his legs Finally, the sounds of gunshots grow faint Nature continues on its course and pays no heed to the war The squirrel He throws a pine cone at a squirrel and is happy to see that it runs away He feels that this instinctual reaction is Nature s proof that he was right to run The squirrel flees at the first sight of danger, rather than standing to face it He walks through a swamp and sees a small animal catch a fish The corpse in the chapel He reaches a chapel-like group of trees He enters the chapel A religious half light illuminates the area (45) However, he stops in horror when he sees a dead man seated against a tree The corpse s uniform has faded from blue to green The man s eyes are the color of a dead fish 16 His mouth has changed from red to yellow Ants crawl all over the man s face Henry shrieks at the terrible sight He remains rooted to the spot, staring at the thing for a few more moments He slowly retreats without turning away He feels that if he turns his back on the corpse, it will get up and stealthily follow him As he stumbles over branches and brambles, he feels that Nature is suggesting to him to touch the corpse At last, he regains full control of his legs and sprints away He imagines a terrible voice squawking at him from the dead throat Chapter 8 Henry s wanderings As Henry walks through the forest, he suddenly hears a tremendous roar of battle sounds 16 I m allergic to fish, so I m still trying to figure out exactly what color this would be. Dean

33 RED BADGE POWER GUIDE PAGE 32 OF 58 DEMIDEC RESOURCES 2007 He runs toward the sound He finds it ironic that he is running toward the danger that he had tried so hard to flee He justifies this choice by thinking that if the earth and the moon were about to clash, many persons would doubtless plan to get upon the roofs to witness the collision (47) The forest becomes silent, as though it can hear the noise Henry feels as though the battle in which he participated was nothing compared to the one raging right now He finds it humorous that he and the rest of his regiment considered their battle a very serious affair that would decide the fate of the war He decides that these delusions are helpful otherwise, every soldier would flee He rushes hurriedly through the forest to see what is going on Nature seems to be trying to kill him Branches and trees block his way He finally reaches a part of the battleground that is littered with dead men He feels as though he is invading their space and hurries away He meets a crowd of wounded men One man has been wounded in the foot and hops along while laughing hysterically Another blames the general for his arm wound One sings a morbid song about the costs of victory to the tune of Sing a Song of Sixpence A man stumbles through his last throes of death, his face twisted in contortions The scene as a whole is markedly gruesome The tattered man Henry falls in with these wounded men and meets a tattered man The tattered man is listening, open-mouthed, to a sergeant s tales of the battle He retreats and begins to walk with Henry when the sergeant makes fun of him He has wounds on his head and arm Henry tries to avoid the man because of his guilt, but the tattered man stubbornly walks with him The tattered man praises the soldiers, lingering especially on that fact that they did not run at the first sounds of gunfire He turns and asks Henry in a brotherly tone if he has any wounds (51) At this simple question, Henry stammers something unintelligible and rushes away through the crowd The tattered man stares at him in astonishment (52) Chapter 9 Jim s death As Henry walks in the company of the wounded, he begins to envy those with the red badge of courage (52) He wishes that he were wounded too: a wound would be an outward sign of the courage he wishes he had He suddenly recognizes the spectral dying soldier who has been walking at his side as his friend, Jim Conklin (the tall soldier) (52) Henry is horrified and tries to help his friend in his last moments, but Jim only waves him away

34 RED BADGE POWER GUIDE PAGE 33 OF 58 DEMIDEC RESOURCES 2007 The tall soldier suddenly changes his approach and admits that he is afraid his body will be run over by the artillery wagons after he dies He begs Henry to take him to the side of the road Overcome with grief, Henry cannot speak and can only gesture to show his loyalty However, Jim changes his mind again and begins to walk He refuses Henry s aid The tattered soldier appears to help Henry take care of his friend The tall soldier begins to run through the grass, to the shock of Henry and the tattered man They chase him and beg him to stop or tell him where he s going, but he pleads for them to leave him alone He stops and stands in one spot, as if waiting for someone to meet him His legs shake so terribly in his last struggle that he appears to be dancing a sort of hideous hornpipe (56) 17 At last, he stretches to his full height and then falls to the ground dead Henry goes closer to inspect his friend s body and sees that the corpse s mouth is twisted into a smile Jim s blue jacket has fallen open, revealing a horrible side wound Henry becomes furious at the loss of his friend and shakes his fist at the sky The chapter ends with the book s most famous line: The red sun was pasted in the sky like a wafer (56) Chapter 10 Henry s desertion of the tattered man While the tattered soldier soberly discusses Jim s last moments, Henry feels too griefstricken to speak The tattered soldier mentions that he himself does not feel so well, and Henry is startled back into awareness at the thought of witnessing another death scene However, the tattered man says that he is not really going to die He just wants some pea soup and a warm bed Henry walks with his tattered companion for a while The man talks about how he was wounded and how his friend Tom Jamison stopped him from fighting so he could get treated He declares that he would still be fighting if his friend hadn t gotten worried and sent him off He announces that his two wounds are beginning to bother him He then turns to Henry to inquire about the latter s wounds Henry feels terribly guilty and uncomfortable, and he rudely asks the tattered man to leave him alone Henry finally leaves his well-meaning companion The tattered man begins to look desperate He seems a bit delirious and calls Henry by the name of Tom Jamison Tom was the man who sent him to the hospital He begs Henry to stay and let him take care of him The tattered man wanders about the field alone Henry wishes he were dead 17 For those of you not in the know, the hornpipe is a delightful kind of folk dance, done entirely with the legs. Just imagine one of those absurd Irish dancing girls only tall and in a blue uniform and male. Peter

35 RED BADGE POWER GUIDE PAGE 34 OF 58 DEMIDEC RESOURCES 2007 The kind questions of the tattered man are like knife thrusts to him (60) He feels that he cannot possibly hide his secret from the world if everyone inquires about him in such a manner Chapter 11 Tormented by guilt Henry gets closer to the major source of battle noise The road is filled with wagons and soldiers that seem to be driven by fear Henry feels better about his running away at seeing these men retreating An infantry forcefully pushes its way through this fleeing mass The troops pay no heed to the complaints of the teamsters They only care about whether or not they will get to the battlefield on time The men s faces are all very serious with the importance of their purpose Henry s guilt returns at the sight of these soldiers They are chosen beings carrying weapons of flame and banners of sunlight (61) He searches desperately for something or someone to blame for his cowardice He is the most jealous of the soldiers haste to get to the battlefield This eagerness is more praiseworthy than mere stout fighting (62) He wonders what has made the men so ready to fight He becomes so envious of their bravery that he wishes to exchange lives with one of them He imagines himself valiantly leading a charge and getting calmly killed in front of all the others (62) He thinks of the magnificent pathos of his dead body (62) His daydreams of bravery inspire him to get up and rush to the front When he realizes that [throttling] the witch of calamity will actually be a lot more difficult, he hesitates (62) He has no rifle Finding his regiment seems impossible He finally decides that he will fight with any regiment As he walks, he imagines the jeers of his comrades when they see him again He tries to comfort himself by thinking that they will probably not care about what happens at the rear of the infantry This thought is overcome because he is sure that at least one man will inquire about where he was He then imagines himself nervously lying to his suspicious companions These fearful thoughts and some physical discomforts begin to dampen his enthusiasm He is terribly hungry and thirsty His face is dirty and dry His muscles hurt, and his feet are sore He cannot see very well due to his weakness He dejectedly decides that he will never be a hero However, he lingers around the battlefield because he wants to know what is happening Although he desires a victory, he cannot help but think that a defeat would be very helpful for him The courageous men of the regiment would be forced to flee just as he did It would support his idea that running for the sake of self-preservation was a good choice

36 RED BADGE POWER GUIDE PAGE 35 OF 58 DEMIDEC RESOURCES 2007 A general would probably have to suffer criticism back at home, but the army had encountered great defeats before These memories of disaster usually vanish with a new victory Hoping for defeat Henry wants a moral vindication above all (64) He does not wish to go through his whole life with his shame If the army marches forward to victory, they will destroy his chances to get on with his life He feels very guilty for even thinking about the benefits of a defeat He again wishes he were dead and envies the corpses on the field Maybe they were killed by lucky chances before they even had the chance to flee or prove their bravery (65) Trying to invent an alibi He comes to the conclusion that his side will not lose, so he begins to think of a good story to tell his companions He fears their jeers so much that he cannot seem to think of a tale that is good enough to fool them He also worries that they will begin to make fun of him before he can even get a word out Then in the next battle, they will watch him to see if he will run They will never let him forget that he ran He imagines bystanders mockingly saying, There he goes! as he passes by Chapter 12 Henry and his red badge of courage The column of brave men that Henry had previously seen marching stoutly to the front line of battle suddenly begins to trickle back Some deserters can be seen running through the forest toward him Henry tries to find out what is going on from these running men, but all are too consumed with panic to talk to him He finally grabs one by the arm His nervousness causes him to stammer When he does not let go of the soldier s arm, the man angrily hits Henry on the head with his rifle and continues to run Henry falls dizzily to the ground A long time passes before he can walk again He walks slowly for fear of agitating his wound He feels a bit frightened that the pain has receded He begins to remember his mother cooking his favorite meals at home He also thinks of swimming with his school friends A cheerful soldier comes along and leads him back to the camp The soldier happily goes on and on about the battle and his life He seems to possess a wand of a magic kind, for he navigates over branches and bypasses officers with ease (71) He happily shows Henry to his regiment and heads off whistling Only then does Henry realize that he never saw the man s face

37 RED BADGE POWER GUIDE PAGE 36 OF 58 DEMIDEC RESOURCES 2007 Chapter 13 Reunited As Henry walks into his camp, he is stopped by a seemingly menacing figure However, Henry soon recognizes the figure as his friend Wilson (the loud soldier) The two greet each other Wilson expresses his joy at seeing Henry alive again Henry feels very faint and quickly produces a lie that explains his absence from the regiment He tells the loud soldier that he was fighting in the right side of the battlefield and became separated from the rest of the regiment He adds that he was shot in the head and sprinkles his tale with declarations that he has never see[n] sech fightin (73) Wilson is very concerned about Henry s wound and goes to look for Simpson, the colonel Simpson angrily begins to criticize Wilson s patrolling, but he changes his tone when he sees Henry Henry and his friend explain their situation to Simpson, who promises to take care of Henry Medical attention The loud soldier gives Henry his blanket and canteen full of coffee He says he will be over to check on Henry when he is relieved of his post The colonel investigates Henry s wound He concludes that Henry has been grazed by a bullet, although the queer lump (74) suggests that someone bashed him on the head He tells Henry that the only symptom will be that his head will feel quite swelled in the morning and he will feel feverish Henry stares blankly into the fire for a while after the corporal leaves He eventually begins to look at the soldiers around him They all appear very exhausted and look like drunk men One officer sleeps while sitting straight up against a tree His dreams cause him to bounce and sway His face is grimy and his mouth hangs open He is the picture of an exhausted soldier after a feast of war (75) He fell asleep holding his sword but has since dropped it Henry sits in a forlorn heap until Wilson arrives with two canteens, one filled with coffee and the other with water (76) Wilson stirs up the fire and gives Henry a canteen The cold coffee soothes Henry s dry and blistered throat Wilson then puts water from the other canteen on a handkerchief and creates a makeshift bandage for Henry Henry feels extremely grateful for the coffee and the cold cloth that feels like a tender woman s hand (76) Wilson praises Henry for accepting his clumsy doctoring He tells him that other men would have been in the hospital long ago Wilson says, A shot in th head ain t foolin business (76) Henry is too ashamed to reply and instead fumbles with his clothes Ready for bed Wilson leads Henry to bed and gives him his own blanket Henry happily lies down on the ground and makes himself comfortable He suddenly springs up when he realizes that he has Wilson s blanket

38 RED BADGE POWER GUIDE PAGE 37 OF 58 DEMIDEC RESOURCES 2007 However, Wilson reprimands him, and Henry has no choice but to go back to sleep As he hears sounds of gunfire in the distance, he wonders if those men ever sleep (77) He then finally falls asleep himself Chapter 14 The next morning The grey light of dawn makes the other sleeping men appear like corpses Henry fearfully starts awake, believing himself to be in the charnel house However, he soon realizes that this somber picture was not a fact of the present but a mere prophecy (78) Drumbeats in the distance hint at an imminent battle Henry s head feels as swollen as a melon Wilson clumsily fumbles with the bandage and Henry snaps at him However, Wilson mildly responds to Henry s irritation by telling him to get some breakfast Conversation with Wilson Henry notices that Wilson seems to be a changed man He takes good care of Henry by getting him coffee and making him food He is no longer a confrontational, loud young soldier (79) He has an inward confidence that allows him to disregard the depreciating comments of other soldiers Henry seems a bit jealous of his friend s change of character and snidely tells him that just yesterday, it seemed as though Wilson believed he could lick the hull kit-an -boodle himself (80) However, at hearing his friend s humble reply, Henry quickly changes his tone Wilson declares that he used to be pretty foolish, as though it has been several years since he first uttered his boasts Wilson and Henry discuss the state of the war Wilson believes that they have gotten the rebels in a pretty tight box (80) Henry counters that the army seemed to be getting a pretty good beating from what he saw on the right His comments are attempts to justify his desertion of the regiment Henry is clearly still less mature than his friend Wilson Henry suddenly remembers Jim Conklin s death and informs Wilson Wilson responds with detached sympathy Wilson breaks up a fight between three soldiers, saying that they should fight the rebels rather than their own men After some arguing, the three become friends again At seeing this incident, Henry mistakenly makes another comment about how belligerent Wilson used to be Wilson responds the same way he did earlier After a pause, Wilson remarks that the regiment lost over half of its men during yesterday s battle Most of the men wandered back during the night They had all been fighting with other regiments Henry replies as calmly as he can to this remark: So? (82)

39 RED BADGE POWER GUIDE PAGE 38 OF 58 DEMIDEC RESOURCES 2007 Chapter 15 The yellow packet Henry remembers Wilson s yellow packet Wilson had given Henry the envelope in a moment of fear before the first battle Henry was previously afraid that Wilson would question him about where he went during the battle Now that he has the packet, he can laugh and shoot the shafts of derision (83) Henry feels immensely superior to Wilson, but decides to adopt an air of patronizing good humor (83) Since he had performed his mistakes in the dark and he doubts that anyone will ever know that he deserted, he is still a man compared to Wilson (83) Henry begins to feel more confidence about the upcoming battle He has learned that many obligations of a life [are] easily avoided (84) He now knows that the formerly fearful monsters of war do not sting with precision (84) He feels like a chosen man because he escaped the dangers of war He mocks the other men who deserted for making a spectacle out of their fear while he himself did so with discretion and dignity (84) Wilson flushes with embarrassment as he asks for his packet back Henry is proud of himself for returning his friend s packet without any comments He thinks of himself as an individual of extraordinary virtues (85) As he watches Wilson suffer with shame, he feels even better 18 He pictures himself telling battle stories to family and friends back at home He will disprove his mother and female friends beliefs that heroic deeds can be completed without danger Chapter 16 More waiting The sound of gunfire is constantly in the air Henry s regiment marches to relieve another regiment that has been waiting for a long time in some trenches The men calmly await their turn to fight The loud shooting of the skirmishers and roar of the cannons causes Henry to make a joke about it being all quiet on the Rappahannock, but the battle is too loud to hear anything (86) When the guns stop, the men begin to discuss rumors and become discouraged The regiment marches carefully through the woods The enemy passes by in plain sight, celebrating their victory Henry s complaints Henry becomes angry and begins to complain about the stupidity of the Union army generals Although he realizes that he should not thoughtlessly berate other men, he is too full of bitterness to stop As he rails against the generals, his friend sadly declares with stooped shoulders and shifting eyes that perhaps the Union army is destined to be defeated (87) 18 I think now is the perfect moment for Wilson to stop acting so self-righteous and just give Henry a good punch in the face. This footnote isn t even especially hilarious or important, but I just find Henry extremely annoying and feel the need to vent. Ivy

40 RED BADGE POWER GUIDE PAGE 39 OF 58 DEMIDEC RESOURCES 2007 Henry passionately declares that the men fight like the devil and do all that men can, but feels secretly guilty of his bold statement (87) He is quickly brought back to earth by a man s sarcastic statement: Mebbe yeh think yeh fit [fought] th hull [whole] battle yesterday, Fleming (88) The man means the remark as a joke, but Henry s guilt causes him to take it very seriously He suddenly becomes very modest and wants to be as unnoticeable as possible The marching regiment is very sullen Many men turn to glare at a soldier who has let out a loud laugh The regiment finally halts in a clearing They turn around and organize to face the pursuing enemy infantry The enemy, with a loud and joyous burst, begins to attack just as the sun rises (88) Henry begins to complain again about the injustice of being made to fight to no avail while his friend offers mild replies When Henry angrily answers his friend s placating response, the lieutenant steps in and breaks up the conversation The exhausted men stand and wait for the enemy to approach them like men tied to stakes (90) Chapter 17 A small battle and a small victory Henry is greatly angered at the enemy s relentless advancing He feels that he deserves time to meditate upon yesterday s adventures He tells Wilson in a dangerous voice that the rebels better watch out (91) Wilson s mild reply makes Henry even angrier He crouches behind a tree with an angry snarl on his face His tousled hair spills over his bloody bandage His open jacket and shirt expose a young bronzed neck (91) 19 His throat gulps visibly He feels small and powerless, as he did when confronted by the enemy in his first battle His rifle feels too small and weak to do much damage He thinks his regiment is being taunted, and he is angry for feeling so helpless His hatred and the passion of battle possess him when the regiment begins to fight He becomes unaware of his own body and the rest of his regiment All he knows is the location of the enemy He fights like a ferocious animal, tirelessly reloading and firing When the enemy seems to be retreating, he advances towards them and is reluctant to back up when the rest of the regiment retires He becomes so engrossed in crushing the enemy that he does not even notice that the rest of his regiment has stopped firing Someone brings him back to his senses by telling him that the enemy has left Henry turns to find the men staring at him in awe The lieutenant proudly says that if he had ten thousand wildcats like [Henry, he] could tear th stomach outa this war in less n a week! (93) Wilson worriedly asks Henry if he is sound of mind, and Henry hoarsely tells him that he is fine Henry as hero Henry begins to reflect on his fighting 19 Is Crane trying to make Henry sound like a hottie here? Ivy

41 RED BADGE POWER GUIDE PAGE 40 OF 58 DEMIDEC RESOURCES 2007 He had behaved like a barbarian, a beast (94) He realizes that it was easy to behave in such a manner and become a hero It seems that he had slept and, awakening, found himself a knight (94) The other men think of him as a war devil (93) The lieutenant begins to talk to Henry whenever he has an idea about the science of war The men begin to grow confident and joke that if an old woman were to sweep the woods, she would get a whole dustpan full of the rebel dead Chapter 18 Mule drivers During the battle, Jimmie Rogers is shot Wilson offers to fetch water, which prompts many of the men to give him their canteens and ask for some Henry accompanies Wilson due to heat and thirst When they cannot find a stream, they begin to retrace their steps They come across two officers talking about battle plans The first calmly tells the other that he needs reinforcements at Whiterside It ll be hell t pay to stop the enemy there (97) The other officer answers that he can spare the 304 th regiment (Henry s regiment), because it fights like a lot a mule drivers (97) As Henry and Wilson hurry back to their regiment, Henry realizes how insignificant he is in the eyes of the officer The lieutenant is initially angry at their taking so long to fetch water, but he stops yelling when he notices that they have something important to say Wilson tells the lieutenant that they are going to charge soon At first, the lieutenant is joyful, and a group of excited soldiers surrounds the two Wilson then angrily tells the men that they are probably being sent to their deaths Henry affirms Wilson s statement The men are put into position, and all seem to be deep in thought Henry and Wilson give each other a glance before they begin fighting They are the only bearers of the ironical secret of being called mule drivers (99) A shaggy man near them quietly remarks that the regiment will be swallowed, and Henry and Wilson nod in agreement (99) Chapter 19 Another battle With a nervous gasp, the seemingly doomed regiment charges forward Henry begins running instantly, viewing the battle as an unpleasant task that he needs to finish as soon as possible He aims for a clump of trees that he has designated as a meeting point between the two sides of the battle He looks like an insane soldier (100) His uniform is dirty and unkempt His glaring eyes and inflamed features are set in a face drawn tight by stress His rifle swings wildly He still wears the oddly tied rag on his forehead The regiment is split into groups by the numerous obstacles in the forest The noise of the rebels can be heard all around the clump of trees

42 RED BADGE POWER GUIDE PAGE 41 OF 58 DEMIDEC RESOURCES 2007 Bullets and shells fly through the air One shell lands in the midst of a group of soldiers Henry sees a brief image of a man shielding his eyes with his hands Men wounded by bullets writhe in agony The dead form a distinct trail The men reach a spot where they can see the battery and the enemy lines Henry takes in every detail of how the world looks around him Later, he would think that everything was pictured and explained to him, save why he himself was there (100) The doomed regiment seems possessed There was the delirium that encounters despair and death, and is heedless and blind to the odds (101) This blind desperation gives the men a temporary selflessness This selflessness is one of Henry s reasons for why he himself was there The men begin to get tired from all the charging Their mad enthusiasm has vanished along with their energy (101) They hesitate cautiously around the trees Henry feels as though he has already run many miles and is in a new land Right as the men slow down, the whizzing of bullets becomes a roar Some of them are shot and fall to the ground, dead or wailing in pain The remaining men are shocked to see their comrades fall The lieutenant breaks the shocked silence and yells at the men to continue moving When the men stare at him blankly, he turns to them and curses them with all his strength He could string oaths with the facility of a maiden who strings beads (102) Wilson wakes from his trance and drops to his knees to fire a shot at the enemy This shot awakens the other men, and they begin to fire as well The regiment moves slowly from tree to tree until it reaches a clearing The men stop again and are fearful of going into the open space The lieutenant begins to curse again He grabs Henry s arm and furiously urges him to cross Henry begins to feel a sudden unspeakable indignation against the lieutenant and challenges him to Come on yerself, then (103) Henry and the lieutenant run through the clearing, followed closely by Wilson They turn and urge the other men to follow The flag bearer rushes forward first, which prompts the other men to move as well Henry runs as fast as he can to get to the safety of the woods As he rushes forward he feels a despairing fondness for this flag which was near him (103) The color guard is shot Henry and his friend both grab the dead man s flag pole at the same time After some difficulty, they wrench it from the corpse s grasp The corpse s hand falls unnoticed on Wilson s shoulder Chapter 20 Henry the flag-bearer The regiment begins to lose confidence and retreat The angry officers scream orders and attempt to round them up into a suitable defense against the enemy

43 RED BADGE POWER GUIDE PAGE 42 OF 58 DEMIDEC RESOURCES 2007 The yells of a red-bearded officer with a voice of triple brass (104) are most plainly heard Henry and his friend have a small fight over who will hold the flag Both feel an obligation to declare his willingness to risk his life by carrying it Henry finally pushes Wilson away The men face the bullets in despair They glare angrily at the officers, particularly at the red-bearded one, feeling as though they have been betrayed However, the rear of the regiment continues to shoot at the enemy The lieutenant, who stands with his back to the enemy, is the last man in this line He has been shot in the arm Sometimes he forgets and attempts to gesture with it as he swears The pain causes him to swear even more Henry is angry at his retreating comrades He had hoped to prove the officers wrong for calling his regiment mule drivers He points his hateful glare in the direction of the enemy, but feels even more anger with the offending officers He holds the flag tighter and yells at his regiment to fight He and the lieutenant feel a subtle brotherhood as they both push the regiment forward The chaos of battle The smoke suddenly lifts and the enemy begins to fire upon the disorderly regiment with renewed force The men panic Some of the men who have fled come running back, saying that the enemy is shooting at them from their own lines Bullets thud into the soldiers without ceasing Henry stands solidly in the midst of all the disorder He has unconsciously adopted the stance of the color bearer in the previous day s battle Wilson tells him, I guess this is goodby, and Henry angrily silences him (107) The officers try their best to put the regiment back in order Henry notices that the lieutenant has stopped cursing and is standing quietly by himself He seems to be contemplating something in the distance Smoke covers the regiment The men wait anxiously for it to lift so they will know what is happening Finally the lieutenant eagerly yells that the enemy stumbled right onto them while they were hidden by smoke The men begin to fire into the mass of the enemy They had been sneaking cautiously forward with their rifles They are so close that Henry can see their faces Their uniforms seem new and brightly colored The two sides exchange blows like boxers (108) The rebels seem to fire back very quickly Henry dejectedly sits on the ground with his flag and thinks that his regiment will at least go down with guns blazing Victory At last, the enemy s firing becomes less frequent The smoke lifts and reveals that the enemy has completely retreated A few corpses remain on the ground

44 RED BADGE POWER GUIDE PAGE 43 OF 58 DEMIDEC RESOURCES 2007 The regiment begins to cheer and dance They have revenged themselves on the enemy They have disproved their previous beliefs of impotency against a gigantic foe They feel new trust in themselves The chapter ends with the statement, And they were men (109) Chapter 21 Criticism of the regiment The regiment makes its way back to camp The men begin to hurry, perhaps because they are afraid of being killed after the battle is over Being killed during a time of safety would be too ironic Another regiment that has been resting in the shade jeers at the returning men One man challenges the mockers to a fist fight The red-bearded officer glares at the tall captain of the other regiment Henry is hurt by these remarks The lieutenant quietly curses While walking back to the camp, Henry is surprised that the distance the regiment covered is much shorter than it seemed during the battle Although he realizes that the jeers of the veterans are justified, he happily thinks back on his moments of bravery As the regiment rests, the officer who had termed the regiment mule drivers comes galloping up and berates the colonel for not advancing far enough After the man has ridden away, the lieutenant angrily declares that the officer is a fool if he thinks the regiment did not do its best The men are bewildered and angry that their charge has been called ineffective At first Henry adopts a tranquil philosophy, but after talking with his friend Wilson, he angrily declares that the officer should accompany them in the next battle (112) Praise for Henry and Wilson Henry and Wilson are interrupted by several excited soldiers They tell him and his friend that the colonel asked the lieutenant about that lad what carried th flag (113) The lieutenant named Henry, and the two officers praised Henry warmly for his bravery The lieutenant then told the colonel about the valor of both Henry and Wilson, who were in the front during most of the battle The two friends pretend to scoff and act embarrassed, but both are obviously extremely happy to hear the praise Henry feels very grateful toward the lieutenant and colonel Chapter 22 Henry as a brief spectator Henry feels relieved when his regiment has a chance to rest and watch other regiments face the enemy He is now able to see exactly where all the terrific explosions are coming from He sees two opposing regiments firing furiously at each other A magnificent brigade marches into the wood to drive the enemy out (115) The battle makes a terrific racket

45 RED BADGE POWER GUIDE PAGE 44 OF 58 DEMIDEC RESOURCES 2007 The brigade then emerges unscathed A long row of guns fires at the enemy from a slope A calm and white house stands behind these guns (115) A bunch of horses tug at their bridles that are attached to a railing The enemy retreats to the jeers and cheers of the two Union regiments However, after a solemn silence, another attack begins The armies fight over secure positions, such as fences or clumps of trees No one is sure which side is winning Into action again The men seem to rage at being peppered yet again by bullets They quickly become dirty again from fighting As the flag-bearer, Henry stands and intently watches the battle The enemy comes close enough for the regiment to be able to discern the rebels faces The men fire into their ranks without need for any orders However, the enemy climbs under the fence and continually advances upon the regiment The men fight grimly and savagely, perhaps remembering their being called mud diggers Henry is determined not to move His torn corpse will be his revenge against the officer who uttered such words Many men are shot The sergeant of the regiment is shot through his cheeks His jaw hangs open and shows his mouth full of blood and teeth He continues to try to shout Henry can see his powder-smeared friend Wilson and the lieutenant, both of whom are, as of yet, unscathed The regiment seems to weaken Chapter 23 Victory The colonel runs up, followed by some other officers, and declares that the regiment must try to charge the enemy Henry realizes that this charge is the regiment s last chance If they stay, they will all be killed If they retreat, the enemy will win The men charge forward with a final burst of strength Some of the enemy turn and run at the sight of the oncoming regiment One part of the enemy line remains stubbornly in place with rifles blazing fiercely The regiment s cheers of victory become cries of anger directed at this small group Henry fixes his attentions upon the Confederate flag He resolves to seize it at any cost The regiment fires a volley at this group The rebel group continues to fight with its last breath Henry sees that the Confederate color guard has been fatally wounded Henry and then Wilson both jump at the flag Wilson captures the flag The men jump and cheer at this place of victory The regiment has also captured four Confederate prisoners One prisoners has a small wound on his foot that he nurses occasionally He fearlessly curses his captors when not looking at his foot The wound seems to have exempted him from behaving like a proper prisoner

46 RED BADGE POWER GUIDE PAGE 45 OF 58 DEMIDEC RESOURCES 2007 Another of the prisoners is a relatively young man He converses with his captors with great interest The third prisoner sits glumly and consistently replies, Ah, go t hell to all who talk to him (123) The fourth prisoner is very quiet and refuses to look at anyone Henry can tell that he is very ashamed and is probably picturing all the horrors of captivity Henry sits down with Wilson in some long grass, and the two congratulate each other Chapter 24 The end The regiment is ordered to march back over the river The men complain as though they were asked to fight another battle They pass a white house, in front of which some Union soldiers are firing guns at the enemy Once the men leave the field and begin to move toward the river, Henry turns to look at the battle-torn ground and remarks, Well, it s all over, to his friend (125) Henry slowly reverts from his battlefield mindset and begins to reflect upon his experiences His first thought is of happiness that he has finally left the dangerous battlefields He then thinks proudly about his accomplishments in leading a charge, bearing the flag, and capturing the enemy s flag He blushes for a moment at remembering his desertion He deeply regrets his desertion of the tattered soldier Although the tattered man was wounded, he showed concern for Henry s wounds and helped the tall soldier His shame becomes so great that he lets out a cry Wilson worriedly asks him what is wrong, and Henry just curses The cruelty of his desertion of the tattered man tarnishes the memory of his brave deeds He worriedly looks to around to see if any of the men know of his abandonment of the tattered man The other soldiers are excitedly talking about the battle and pay no attention to him One soldier declares that the regiment is going to attack the enemy from behind, and another tells him to shut up Another reports that Bill Smithers wishes he were in ten hundred battles rather than the hospital because many of the shells fell right on top of it (127) The officers praise Lieutenant Hasbrouck Henry feels as if his treatment of the tattered man will haunt him for the rest of his life 20 Much time passes before he can force himself to put the past behind him He proudly realizes that he is scornful of the brass and bombast of his earlier ideas of war (127) He feels that he has faced the great death and is now a man It begins to rain and the soldiers have to march through the mud However, Henry feels happy now that the nightmare of battle is over (127) As the novel ends, a golden ray of sun [comes] through the hosts of leaden rain clouds (128) 20 Whereas the immature Henry worried more about deserting the army in the heat of battle, the mature, wiser Henry most regrets leaving behind a kind fellow soldier in need.

47 RED BADGE POWER GUIDE PAGE 46 OF 58 DEMIDEC RESOURCES 2007 THE RED BADGE OF COURAGE CHARACTER ANALYSIS: HENRY FLEMING (AKA THE YOUTH) POWER PREVIEW This section provides a summary of the character of Henry Fleming. It includes a detailed character overview, important quotes, and a character analysis. Henry is the protagonist of the novel. Readers view the novel through the eyes of this naïve boy who realizes that war is much more horrible than he expected. POWER NOTES The USAD practice test includes 7 questions about Henry Fleming Character Overview General information Henry is a young man who, stirred by exaggerated newspaper reports of Union victory, enlists in the army against his mother s wishes and better judgment His widowed mother needs his help on the farm and tries to persuade him to stay, but he is blinded by his dreams of glory on the battlefield He feels remorse when he accidentally sees his mother crying after he leaves, but he seems to forget his guilt when he receives a hero s treatment on the way to Washington Personality traits Henry is very impressionable at the beginning of the novel He is so swayed by glowing news reports about the Union army that he leaves his mother to take care of the family farm single-handedly He is a bit shaken by the exaggerated war tales of the veterans He is immature and not yet ready to bear the emotional toll of fighting He deserts during a battle and tries to justify his actions by telling himself that it was an act of self-preservation He feels superior to Wilson when returning Wilson s packet of letters While Wilson s fear of battle is publicly realized, no one knows about Henry s desertion He angrily labels his victorious regiment as a bunch of fools when he hears of their victory after his desertion However, after returning to his regiment and fighting in another battle, he matures and realizes the true meaning of fighting in a war He cares little about his personal safety He feels strong love and pride for his flag He does not cringe from rushing into the thick of fighting Physical features Crane does not give many details about Henry s appearance He describes Henry as the youth, which hints that he is, of course, a young man Role in the story Henry is the protagonist Further, readers view the events in the novel through his eyes Readers are able to know all of his thoughts

48 RED BADGE POWER GUIDE PAGE 47 OF 58 DEMIDEC RESOURCES 2007 Quotations Chapter 2 Well, lots of good-a- nough men have thought they was going to do great things before the fight, but when the time come they all skedaddled (17) Chapter 13 I ve had an awful time. I ve been all over. Way over on th right. Ter ble fightin over there I got shot. In th head I don t see how I could a got separated from th reg ment (73) Chapter 16 Well, then, if we fight like the devil an don t ever whip, it must be the general s fault. And I don t see any sense in fighting and fighting and fighting, yet always losing through some derned old lunkhead of a general (87-88) Analysis The importance of Henry Henry s war experience represents that of many young men serving during the Civil War He enlists because of a combination of glowing news reports and dreams of glory His first battle is nothing like what he expected He has many doubts and fears about his own strength and courage He finally proves himself and emerges as a man at the end of the struggle

49 RED BADGE POWER GUIDE PAGE 48 OF 58 DEMIDEC RESOURCES 2007 THE RED BADGE OF COURAGE CHARACTER ANALYSIS: WILSON (AKA THE LOUD SOLDIER) POWER PREVIEW This section provides a summary of the character of Wilson. It includes a detailed character overview, important quotes, and a character analysis. Wilson is one of the supporting characters of the novel. At the beginning of the novel, he is immature and confrontational, but he becomes a changed man after the first battle. POWER NOTES The USAD practice test includes 2 questions about Wilson Character Overview General information Wilson is one of Henry s childhood friends In his first appearance in the novel, Wilson is arguing with Jim Conklin, the tall soldier, about the rumor that the army is going to march Personality traits Early on, Wilson gets into many fights with other soldiers He is constantly challenging their statements and trying to start arguments However, after the first battle, he becomes much more mature He plays doctor to Henry when he sees Henry s head wound He breaks up fights between other soldiers He responds calmly to all of Henry s angry rants about the stupidity of the generals Physical features Not much information is given about Wilson s physical features Crane only gives the clue that he is the loud soldier and that he is about Henry s age He and Henry went to school together Role in the story Wilson s character contrasts with that of Henry in the scenes after the first battle Wilson acts like a big brother to Henry When Henry brings up Wilson s past actions, Wilson acts as though he committed them many years ago Henry tries to embarrass Wilson about his former fears, but Wilson takes the abuse very well Quotations Chapter 1 It s a lie! that s all it is a thunderin lie! I don t believe the derned old army s ever going to move. We re set. I ve got ready to move eight times in the last two weeks, and we ain t moved yet (1-2) Chapter 14 Oh, yeh needn t mind, Henry. I believe I was a pretty big fool in those days (80) Oh, here, now, boys, what s th use? We ll be at th rebs in less n an hour. What s th good fightin mong ourselves? (81)

50 RED BADGE POWER GUIDE PAGE 49 OF 58 DEMIDEC RESOURCES 2007 Analysis The importance of the loud soldier In the beginning of the novel, when Wilson is brash and immature, Jim Conklin assumes the position of Henry s best friend and confidante After the first battle, Jim s death and Wilson s newfound maturity cause him to replace Jim as Henry s companion He and Henry go on to do great deeds in battle The lieutenant and colonel praise both of them

51 RED BADGE POWER GUIDE PAGE 50 OF 58 DEMIDEC RESOURCES 2007 THE RED BADGE OF COURAGE CHARACTER ANALYSIS: JIM CONKLIN (AKA THE TALL SOLDIER) POWER PREVIEW This section provides a summary of the character of Jim Conklin. It includes a detailed character overview, important quotes, and a character analysis. Jim is the tall soldier who has a prominent role as Henry s friend early in the novel but dies after the first battle. POWER NOTES The USAD practice test includes 1 question about Jim Conklin Character Overview General information Jim is another of Henry s childhood friends He spreads the rumor that the army is going to move across the river and spends a lot of time arguing with Wilson about the rumor He is killed in the first battle Henry and the tattered man witness his final moments Personality traits Jim is mild-mannered and not as confrontational as Wilson However, he does fight and defeat another soldier in defense of his rumor He is very calm about the oncoming battle and does not worry about whether or not he will be brave enough to stand his ground His nonchalant attitude is comforting to Henry Physical features Jim s only known physical feature is his height He is called the tall soldier He becomes red-faced when he is flustered or angry Role in the story Jim s death takes up a large part of Chapter 9 Henry looks to him as a mentor and confidante Jim s calm attitude regarding the battle relives Henry Jim s death hurts and saddens Henry greatly Quotations Chapter 1 Well, I ve thought it might get too hot for Jim Conklin in some of them scrimmages, and if a whole lot of boys started and run, why, I s pose I d start and run. And if I once started to run, I d run like the devil, and no mistake. But if everybody was a-standing and a- fighting, why, I d stand and fight. (10) Chapter 9 I ve allus been a pretty good feller, ain t I? An it ain t much t ask, is it? Jest t pull me along outer th road? I d do it fer you, wouldn t I, Henry? (54)

52 RED BADGE POWER GUIDE PAGE 51 OF 58 DEMIDEC RESOURCES 2007 Analysis The importance of Jim Henry seems comforted by Jim s presence He feels less stressed when Jim declares that he would run from battle if he saw many other soldiers running He is very upset when Jim dies Jim s death scene establishes him as a Christ-like figure He searches for a special place to die and seems to be waiting for a divine message in his last moments

53 RED BADGE POWER GUIDE PAGE 52 OF 58 DEMIDEC RESOURCES 2007 POWER LISTS CHAPTER SUMMARIES: Chapter 1 Jim spreads the rumor that the army will move; Henry remembers his days at home before leaving for war; Henry suffers from self-doubt Chapter 2 The regiment begins to march; Henry tries without success to find other soldiers who similarly frightened Chapter 3 The regiment crosses the river and prepares for battle; Wilson gives Henry his envelope Chapter 4 The regiment witnesses the previous regiment s defeat; Henry sees some soldiers desert Chapter 5 Henry performs well in the first half of the battle Chapter 6 When he sees the enemy returning for a second assault, Henry deserts; he tells himself that his desertion is a clever act of self-preservation and is angry to discover that the fools who remained behind have won the battle Chapter 7 Henry angrily trudges through the forest and encounters the dead man in the chapel Chapter 8 Henry finds a line of wounded men and is able to blend in; he meets the tattered man Chapter 9 Henry witnesses Jim Conklin s death Chapter 10 The tattered man questions Henry about his wound, which causes Henry to abandon him out of fear of being discovered as a coward Chapter 11 Henry feels great shame about his desertion and jealously regards the other soldiers in action Chapter 12 Henry encounters a group of panicked deserters and receives his accidental head wound; the cheerful soldier leads him back to his regiment Chapter 13 Henry reunites with his regiment, and Wilson and the corporal take care of him Chapter 14 Henry discovers Wilson to be a changed man Chapter 15 Henry forgets his shame at deserting when he condescendingly returns the envelope to an embarrassed Wilson Chapter 16 The regiment prepares for yet another battle Chapter 17 Seized with anger at the seemingly tireless enemy, Henry attacks like a wild animal and is praised by the lieutenant; the other men look at him with awe Chapter 18 While searching for water for a wounded comrade, Henry and Wilson overhear the general calling the regiment a bunch of mule drivers Chapter 19 In the heat of battle, Henry, Wilson, and the lieutenant act as leaders for the rest; Henry holds the flag after the color bearer has been killed Chapter 20 The regiment wins when the enemy accidentally walks right into them on the smoke-obscured battleground Chapter 21 An officer criticizes the regiment for traveling too slowly; however, Henry and Wilson are praised for their performance

54 RED BADGE POWER GUIDE PAGE 53 OF 58 DEMIDEC RESOURCES 2007 Chapter 22 When it is the 304 th s turn to fight, many are wounded, and defeat seems imminent Chapter 23 The regiment makes a last desperate charge, and Henry seizes the Confederate flag; the regiment emerges victorious Chapter 24 Henry deeply regrets his desertion of the tattered man, but he is able to rejoice over his brave deeds in battle CHARACTER SUMMARIES MAJOR CHARACTERS: Henry The youth ; naïve and immature at first; later proves his mettle and is praised by the colonel and lieutenant Jim Conklin The tall soldier ; Henry s childhood friend; he is the most mature of the three and faces all obstacles calmly; dies of a side wound after the first battle Wilson The loud soldier ; Henry s childhood friend; confrontational and immature at first; becomes a changed man after the first battle; he is also praised by the colonel and lieutenant CHARACTER SUMMARIES MINOR CHARACTERS: Cheerful soldier Leads the injured Henry back to his regiment; Henry realizes after the soldier is gone that he never saw his helper s face Henry s mother Henry s mother appears only once in the novel during a flashback; when Henry leaves for war, she is left all alone to care for the farm; however, she handles the situation very well, addressing Henry calmly when he leaves and packing many necessities (and even a jar of jam) for him as though he were just going on a short trip Tattered Man Henry meets him while he is trying to sneak back to his regiment after his desertion; although he is badly wounded, the Tattered Man helps Henry take care of Jim and worriedly inquires about Henry s wounds; Henry regrets abandoning him for the rest of his life CRITICS AND AUTHORS: 21 Brooks, Sydney (6) English critic who ended the controversy by suggesting General McClurg s views to be a form of censorship Cather, Willa (5,12) A famous author that Crane met while serving as a correspondent in the American West and Mexico for Bacheller-Johnson; she later promoted interest in his work Conrad, Joseph (5) One of Crane s close friends in England Dickinson, Emily (6) Crane s style of poetry has been compared to hers Ford, Ford Madox (6) English critic who was a friend of Crane s and declared him to be the first truly American writer Garland, Hamlin (4) Prominent literary figure; helped Crane get Maggie: A Girl of the Streets published Hemingway, Ernest Influenced by Crane s writing style 21 The numbers in this and subsequent lists refer to page numbers in the USAD Resource Guide where you can find more information about the person, work, or term.

55 RED BADGE POWER GUIDE PAGE 54 OF 58 DEMIDEC RESOURCES 2007 Howells, William (5,12) Prominent literary figure; helped Crane get Maggie: A Girl of the Streets published James, Henry (5) One of Crane s close friends in England Mailer, Normal (5,12) Influenced by Crane s writing style General McClurg (6) A retired general who owned the Dial magazine and declared The Red Badge of Courage unpatriotic and wanted it banned in the United States Tolstoy (6) British critics compared Crane to this famous author Wells, H.G. (5) One of Crane s close friends in England Wyndham, George (6) Critic who praised Crane s novel for showing the war from a typical soldier s point of view Zola, Emile (6,11) British critics compared Crane to this famous author; important naturalistic author CRANE S OTHER WORKS: Active Service (5,6) One of Crane s famous novels; set during the Greco-Turkish War The Black Riders (4,5) Crane s first volume of poetry; published in 1895 The Blue Hotel (5,6) The Bridge Comes to Yellow Sky (5,6) One of Crane s famous short stories that he wrote while in England to earn money One of Crane s famous short stories that he wrote while in England to earn money George s Mother (6) Crane s other famous novels Maggie: A Girl of the Streets (4) Crane s first novel about a prostitute in the Bowery of New York The Monster (5) One of Crane s famous short stories that he wrote while in England to earn money The Open Boat (5,6) A short story about Crane s experience as one of three survivors of the wreck of the Commodore O-Ruddy (6) One of Crane s famous novels; never finished The Third Violet (6) One of Crane s famous novels The Upturned Face (6) One of Crane s famous short stories that he wrote while in England to earn money War Is Kind (6,12) Crane s second volume of poetry; published in 1899 MISCELLANEOUS: Bildungsroman (10) Coming of age; in this context, refers to Henry s maturation over the course of the work

56 RED BADGE POWER GUIDE PAGE 55 OF 58 DEMIDEC RESOURCES 2007 POWER TABLE The Battles Setting What Happens There? Significance The regiment crosses the river and marches to a grove in the forest Henry has rejoined his regiment after his desertion and marches to some damp trenches along a line of woods This is Henry s last battle before the novel ends; it takes place near the area where his regiment previously fought and advanced only a little Henry is able to hold his own in the first half of the battle; the regiment fires with machinelike regularity and he feels like one of its parts; however, when the enemy begins a second charge, Henry is frightened by their seeming invincibility and flees The regiment is only able to advance a short distance, but, by a stroke of luck, the enemy stumbles right into them and is ambushed Although many men have been lost, the regiment fights with undiminished ferocity and manages to defeat the charging enemy This is Henry s first battle and the one that causes him the most mental anguish; he constantly asks himself whether or not he will be brave enough to stand and fight during his sleepless nights and long days of marching Henry redeems himself; he is called a wildcat and praised by the proud lieutenant; he fearlessly takes the flag from the dead color bearer; both he and Wilson are later praised by the colonel and lieutenant Henry bravely bears the flag in place of the dead color guard and even manages to seize the Confederate flag; four Confederate soldiers are captured as prisoners

57 RED BADGE POWER GUIDE PAGE 56 OF 58 DEMIDEC RESOURCES 2007 PRACTICE TEST ANALYSIS The Practice Test Analysis can be downloaded by coaches only. All the analyses are available together as the Practice Test Analysis Power Guide. Ask your coach for a copy.

58 RED BADGE POWER GUIDE PAGE 57 OF 58 DEMIDEC RESOURCES 2007 Ivy Chang graduated from North Hollywood High School with three straight years of Acadec under her belt. She very vaguely remembers scattered facts and passages from all the novels and guides she has read over the years. However, she knows the words to every Disney song in existence, which, in her opinion, is a much better measure of her intelligence. She is currently enjoying her life (a little too much, perhaps) at Brown University, where she is preparing for medical school and becoming more and more of an annoying hipster every day. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Vital Stats: Competed with North Hollywood High School at the Los Angeles and California competitions in , , and Team placed 8 th at Los Angeles competition in ; individual score of Team placed 8 th at California competition in ; individual score of Decathalon philosophy in a phrase: When in doubt, read the novel again Joined DemiDec in May 2006

59 RED BADGE POWER GUIDE PAGE 58 OF 58 DEMIDEC RESOURCES 2007 Dean Schaffer is fond of caves, but only those that have enough light for him to study. He first discovered his affection for secluded spaces in his junior year of high school when he joined Taft High School s Academic Decathlon team. Two years of grueling hours, tired eyes, and yummy snacks later, he and his team proudly claimed the national title in San Antonio, Texas. Although he still spends much of his time in non-decathlon-related caves, Dean makes sure never to neglect his religious principles he brings a full outfit of pirate regalia and several cases of Ramen noodles everywhere so he may properly and frequently venerate the Flying Spaghetti Monster. 22 ABOUT THE EDITOR Although Dean clings to his Monsterism faith pretty strongly, his prayers for better personal foresight have, as of yet, gone unanswered. In high school, he thought he would become a rock star. Last summer, he predicted that his forthcoming career at Stanford University would result in a major in English and a minor in music. One year later, he thinks his plans will more likely involve a major in American studies (with an emphasis on American music) and a minor in classical literature and philosophy. If his track record of accuracy continues, Dean will probably be attending a completely different school with a major in animal husbandry around this time next year. All personal misconceptions aside, Dean will start his sophomore year at Stanford in the fall, and he couldn t be happier to be at the school DemiDec Dan once called the Disneyland of Academia. Dean started his DemiDec career by authoring the Renaissance Music Power Guide in the season. Since the summer of 2006, he has had the privilege of serving as DemiDec s Power Guide Coordinator, a somewhat ambiguous position which essentially involves Dean slowly evolving into a series of nonsensical bullets. Square, square, circle. BOLD! If you have any questions, comments, or predictions on Dean s future, please send him an at dean@demidec.com. He ll probably read it, but his response will most likely be in bullet form. Vital Stats: Competed with Taft High School at the LA regional and California state competitions in 2005; competed at the LA, California, and national competitions in 2006 In 2005, team placed first at regionals and fifth at state with individual scores of 8792 and 8887, respectively In 2006, team placed first at regionals, state, and nationals with individual scores of 9121, 8903, and 8962, respectively Decathlon philosophy in a phrase: Get back to work! Joined DemiDec in April Visit if you re confused.