The Red Badge of Courage, Chapters 1 to 8

The Red Badge of Courage, by Stephen Crane, is not a very good book.  It may be praised by a lot of people and called a classic, but I don't really think it's much of classic material.  Indeed, it's pretty low on the classic scale, in my opinion.  Then again, what do I know?  I'm just a high school student.  I'm stupid and ignorant and completely oblivious of what is right and wrong.  Thusly, there's no possible way that I'm right about anything!  What am I talking about, again?

Oh, yeah, the chapters.  While the novel incorporates its own individual qualities, it greatly represents those of the Realism period: The here-and-now aspect; less religious and paranormal aspects, more of the real and true; and the deeper look into the psychological aspect of the individual's mind.  As the novel starts off, it seems less concerned with Henry's (the main character) enlistment in the army, and more concerned about the psychological ordeal he will have to suffer through.

As the novel progresses, the reader learns of Henry's ultimate fear: When the time comes to truly fight, will he stay, or will he run?  To help validate his opinion, he does what any other person would do: He bases his decision around the decisions of an entire group.  When he learns of the mens' disposition, he decides that, if they run, so shall he.  Because of this, it creates a certain turmoil within him; he has a want to fight and continue onward, but his fear and cowardice are the true driving forces of his enrollment, not his innermost desires.  Crane presents an idea unlike any other: Is the human desire to truly want more powerful than the primal instinct of fear?

To Henry, these desires are able to play out for one battle, but upon seeing a multitude of other men flee, he himself retreats as well.  This psychological diversion from the battlefield to complete solitude and safety is directly contrasting to the outside forces, yet corresponding to the entire feel of Henry's character--he is driven by wants, but instead acts on cowardice and fear.  These final emotions are what drive the entirety of the novel from beginning to end.