The Red Badge of Courage

FROM OUR EDITORS

One of the greatest war novels of all time, this is the story of the Civil War through the eyes of Henry Fleming, an ordinary farm boy turned soldier. Marks a departure from the traditional treatment of war in fiction as it captures the sights and sounds of war while creating the intricate inner world of Henry. Probes the personal reactions of unknown foot soldiers fighting unknown enemies. Henry Fleming is motivated not by courage or patriotism but by cowardice, fear, and finally egoism, and events are filtered through his consciousness.

ANNOTATION

During his service in the Civil War a young Union soldier matures to manhood and finds peace of mind as he comes to grips with his conflicting emotions about war.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

When Henry Fielding joined the Union army, he was filled with romantic illusions of warfare. These illusions soon disappeared under the harsh, brutal reality of war. Forces beyond his control and random chance soon drive him to cowardice in battle. The same forces later combine to make his heroism. The Red Badge of Courage is one of the most realistic and frightening desciptions of warfare ever written.

The Red Badge of Courage is Stephen Crane's (1871-1900) masterpiece. It earned Crane an international reputation, but little financially.

SYNOPSIS

Published thirty years after the Civil War, this "impressionistic" American classic tells a war story in a thoroughly modern way - without a trace of romanticizing. Through the eyes of ordinary soldier Henry Fleming, we follow his psychological turmoil, from the excitement of patriotism to the bloody realities of battle and his flight from it. In the end, he overcomes his fear and disillusionment, and fights with courage.

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