The Red Badge of Courage is a novel written by Stephen Crane that explores the struggles of a young person during his first experiences with war . Before the novel begins, Henry Fleming, a teenager raised on a farm, signs up to go to war despite his lack of knowledge on the subject outside of glamorous tales. During Henry's trip to military camp, a number of his peers, particularly young girls, congratulate him on his enlistment. However, this period of praise and glorification lasts only a short time before Henry is thrown into the monotonous daily grind of military training. At camp, Henry loses sight of his ideal expectations of war glory. This loss of beliefs that Henry experiences only progresses as he begins to learn the personalities of his fellow soldiers, the majority of whom he believes to be far less intelligent and noble than he had initially anticipated. After Henry's regiment wins a minor battle, they find themselves attacked by the enemy, causing Henry to break his vow and flee in fear. During his short stay away from the regiment, he wanders through the woods and finds a sense of calm. Henry's tranquility is shattered when he comes across the decomposing corpse of a soldier, an event that shakes him to his core. All of these events affect Henry in such a way that when he returns to his regiment and finds himself thrust into battle again, he undergoes a great change in character in which he loses some of his selfishness and accepts that his ideologies regarding war are not entirely accurate. Despite this possible positive change, Henry initially experiences many negative emotions when he discovers that his expectations are false. Throughout the novel, Crane illustrates how the romanticism of war only serves to harm the people actually at war when they discover the true nature of these ideologies. This concept is expressed through Henry's reactions to the failure of his expectations of the natural world during war, other soldiers, and true courage. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay The first area where Henry is wrong in his beliefs is with his fellow soldiers. Before experiencing a real war, Henry believes that the other soldiers must all be courageous and morally righteous heroes. During his stay at the camp, he said to himself that “the men were better, or more timid. Secular and religious education had erased the instinct to grab one's throat, or solid finance kept the passions in check. (70) » Henry is surprised when Jim tells him that he himself would run from battle if everyone else did, having originally thought that "all inexperienced men possessed great and correct confidence" (73) . He is even sometimes inclined to “be inclined to believe [the other soldiers] all heroes” (75). However, he soon begins to believe otherwise; he begins to think that the majority of other soldiers are fools who simply cannot understand his own intelligence. He particularly despises authority figures. He is surprised when he is physically punished for falling behind by his company's lieutenant and decides: "...he hated the lieutenant, who had no appreciation for good spirits." He was a simple brute. (85) » When Henry later runs into a general from a different regiment, he feels a similar outrage at what he thinks were poor decisions on the general's part, although Henry has very little knowledge about the situation in relation to the general. Henry will evento the point of estimating that “he would like to beat up the general, or at least approach him and tell him in clear terms exactly what he thinks he is. (101) » Henry's recurring anger toward authority figures who make decisions that make sense to everyone but Henry is due to Henry's initial belief that all other soldiers, especially those occupying positions higher positions, would always be the shining image of heroism. The next reality that surprises Henry is the natural world in war: specifically, the way in which nature tends to carry on without regard for the loss of human life. Although the text does not explicitly state Henry's original thoughts toward nature before the war, Henry is shown to be completely angry upon seeing how the natural world is undisturbed by the deaths of his companions. His awareness of this concept begins after his regiment forces the enemy to retreat and feels "a flash of amazement at the clear blue sky and the sun shining on the trees and fields." It was surprising that nature quietly continued its golden process in the midst of so many devils. (96) » This strange reality only becomes more evident to Henry when he fearfully flees from a battle in the woods. His first experience with nature on his journey away from the war is positive: “The roar of death rings out. It now seemed that nature had no ears. This landscape gave him confidence. A fair field that shelters life. It was the religion of peace. (103) » Henry's positive view of the natural world does not last long, however. He soon encounters a “corpse dressed in a uniform that was once blue, but has now faded to a melancholy shade of green... On the gray skin of the face ran small ants. One of them had a sort of bundle along his upper lip. (104) »The corpse, although still bearing traces of its old uniform, holds none of the glory that Henry so desperately seeks. Nature, as shown by the ants crawling on the corpse's face, does not care who the human was when alive. This new concept greatly surprises Henry, as opposed to the idea that the entire universe revolved around human life which Henry probably unconsciously believed before this event. The last false ideology Henry believes in before going to war is the true meaning of courage. Henry originally believes that courage is unrelenting courage, even in situations in which it may be wise to retreat. Just before leaving for war, he already sees his ideal of courage called into question when his mother “disappointed him by saying nothing about her return with or on her shield. (68) » However, his lack of drama does not prevent Henry from being constantly obsessed with the idea that to be brave is to never run away once you get to war, as evidenced by the way he says having “had visions of a thousand people”. -a fear that would whisper behind his back and cause him to flee… (80)” This obsessed concept causes great internal conflict in Henry when he ends up following his natural instinct to flee from battle and begins to believe that fleeing was the best decision . and all those who remained behind are imbeciles: “He walked with a shuffling step, his head bowed, his brain in a tumult of agony and despair. When he looked down, shuddering at every sound, his eyes had the expression of those of a criminal who considers that his guilt is small and his punishment is great, and knows that he does not find of words. (102) » Despite this growth, when Henry has the chance to prove his courage and care for a fellow soldier, he still proves immature in his morals.