"Cliff Notes - Red Badge of Courage" - читать интересную книгу автора (Cliff Notes)

THE RED BADGE OF COURAGE: HENRY FLEMING

Henry Fleming is the major character in The Red Badge of
Courage. Because Crane never tells us what he looks like, just
how old he is, or exactly where he comes from, and usually
refers to him as "the youth" or "the young soldier," Henry could
be any young man experiencing war for the first time.

Yet even without these facts about Henry, we do know quite a
bit about what he's like. We know that he grew up on a farm in
New York State. His father is apparently dead, and he was
raised by his loving mother. We know--from his mother's warning
as she says good-bye to him--that his life has been pretty quiet
and protected.

Henry signs up in the army because he is excited by the idea
of being a hero. He has read in school about the ancient
warriors (he knows that war is no longer like that), and he is
thrilled by the sound of church bells in the night, sounding the
news of victory. He doesn't think at all about the Union cause.
He joins the army even though he knows that his mother wants him
to stay on the farm, but he is a little apologetic when he tells
her. We can see how immature Henry still is by how he feels
about his mother's reaction to the news. She gives him
hand-knitted socks and sensible advice; he wants a speech about
heroism. But he does have a chance to play the hero when he
visits his old school, and also on the train to Washington.

But these visions of glory sink quickly in the mud of camp
life. Henry's regiment, the 304th New York, doesn't see any
action for quite a while, and Henry is bored and uncomfortable.
He is also insecure, and worries about whether he will really be
as brave as he'd like to be. He tries to talk to some of the
other soldiers--his friend Jim Conklin from back home, and a
loud soldier named Wilson--but the others don't seem to be as
apprehensive as he is, or at least they don't show it. He can't
explain his fears clearly, so he doesn't get the reassurance he
needs, and he feels frightened and alone.

Henry fights well enough in the regiment's first engagement
with the enemy, but in the second he is exhausted and very
scared. When two men standing near him run, he throws down his
gun and races away from the fighting. He rationalizes his
action by telling himself that the regiment was about to be
wiped out. When he realizes that instead they had won, he
becomes angry at his fellow soldiers. Now Henry's flight
becomes emotional as well as physical. He is running away from
what he has done.

During his flight, he has many important experiences. He