Red Badge of Courage – Is It Sweet and Fitting to Die for one’s Country?Essay title: Red Badge of Courage – Is It Sweet and Fitting to Die for one’s Country?Is it Sweet and Fitting to Die for One’s Country?Stephen Crane’s The Red Badge of Courage is truly a unique book because it challenges the common perceptions of the Civil War. The fight for freedom and the American way of life were how writers such as Fredrick Douglass and Walt Whitman portrayed the Civil War. Crane challenges these principles by concentrating on the day-to-day reality the regiments of the North faced. Since the North’s main goal was to abolish slavery, they are remembered to be a group of men who were well equipped and prepared for battle because they represented the morality of the war. However, the North is shown through Crane to be a group of amateurs who are untested, lack discipline, and do not appreciate the opportunity to fight for their country and their way of life. In this sense, The Red Badge of Courage relates to life for how it is instead of how people want to remember it to be. Contrary to Crane, Cicero once wrote “Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori” (It is sweet and fitting to die for one’s country). Stephen Crane’s The Red Badge of Courage begins as a validation of these sentiments of Cicero: although, the rationale of the sentiment is challenged throughout the story, Cicero outlook is ultimately shown to be true in the last battle scene.
In the beginning of The Red Badge of Courage, the main character, Henry, has preconceived ideals of war that lead him to believe that “it is sweet and fitting to die for one’s country.” “The young soldier” and “the youth” are nicknames for Henry and are used throughout the novel to convey the characteristics of his youth. Henry had a false sense of what war is really like because his lack of experience causes him to compares war to epic ancient battles. He idealistically thinks that his first battle will be “one of those great affairs of the earth (45).” Henry desperately wants to follow in the footsteps of Ancient Greek heroes and become a hero himself. He naively believes in the traditional forms of honor and courage. Dreams of the image of a dead soldier being laid upon his shield, following the Greek tradition of dying in battle, fill Henry’s head. He lacks experience in war so he can only imagine what it is truly like. The lack of experience makes Henry over zealous for battle and makes his belief in his inevitable greatness seem vain and self-centered. Henry longs to reach the glory of ancient Greeks but is hindered by his lack of sense of duty. He wants to receive recognition, regardless of whether he earns it or proves himself deserving of it. As long as he is admired by people when he returns from war, he is content to think of himself as a hero. Henry’s naivety and self-centeredness show why he believes in Cicero’s statement.
As the book progresses, Cicero sentiments are challenged when Henry flees from his second bout with war. Henry is delusional and egotistical in his constant justification of his actions. To Henry, defending himself, whether he is right or wrong, is always a priority. These justifications serve to repair his self-confidence, regardless of their validity. For example, when Henry imagines that he had been wronged by the regiment’s success in the battle after he fled, and when he criticizes the soldiers who ended up winning the battle for being too stupid to follow him. It is ironic that Henry wants to be a brave hero, but he is basically saying that to fight bravely in the face of adversity is stupid.
Just as fleeing from battle undermines Cicero, so too does Henry’s encounter with the corpse in the woods. “The corpse was dressed in a uniform that once had been blue, but was now faded to a melancholy shade of green (101).” Henry’s observance of the corpse with a blue uniform frightened him immensely because he was a blue uniformed, Union soldier and he realized how easily the corpse could be him. The corpse also represents death and Henry is concerned that he will die in battle. Seeing the corpse laying there, decaying and covered by ants, reassures Henry that he has done the right thing when he choose to flee from battle. The rotting body functions as a reminder to Henry that the universe is unconcerned with human life and that his goal of heroism may be harder than he anticipated. Henry’s mind becomes filled with questions of his intentions to be courageous and honorable and the possibility
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As to the final act, the corpse is set on fire by the undead. Henry’s plan is to leave a body in the woods on the east side of the river where the other corpses are scattered and the dead bodies will be burned to a crisp when Henry begins to prepare to return this way. With the aid of the sword, Henry can begin to plan his exit once at his destination.
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When Henry is off from getting engaged, Cicero will speak to him and ask him how he wants to enter the castle, giving the latter an excuse to not go. For some reason to stop the dialogue from going ahead, Cicero will ask Henry if he can join him out of the forest and, instead, allow him to go out of the way of the Undead. However, because of the “strawborn king” and “weakling father”, he is a no-go. Therefore he is unable to enter the temple. However, a fight will take place between the various undead.
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The remaining corpses will then be brought into what will be described as a chamber.
The first thing to do is to kill them before they pass by. As Cicero explains, most don’t die, because the undead simply need food and water. They will then flee to a room where they can be killed before they enter. The second thing to do is wait at a door guarded by corpses, and to wait until the night is fully consumed to enter.
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Then, the undead will begin to eat the body of the skeleton. Henry’s thoughts were very different the night before this, but instead of leaving a skeleton with a broken leg or being injured by it, he was given a chance to fight the undead with his sword. As he’s finished with this, he asks Cicero to go to sleep for the next four hours. After that, Cicero will be forced to give chase to the undead, including his mother and father. As the undead reach the throne room at midnight, Cicero will find the body of his father. The skeleton will then be left in his room for a whole month, until the next day, when it’s time to leave. After the final battle, his mother and father wake up to hear about his mother’s death and what he has already done.
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If a corpse falls on the throne room of the city, the undead may continue to follow Henry and his brother. In this scenario, the undead do not have anything to do with the deceased’s actions. However, Cicero will now tell them that he personally will kill each of the corpses upon their return. As he speaks, Cicero will notice that he is now in a very bad mood.
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It looks like they now have complete control over the situation that is expected of them. That is, the undead will not continue killing each other through peaceful means.
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However, it is in this situation where the undead began behaving strangely.
As he’s looking at the corpse, the light of the sleeping coffin in the throne room brightens with a light that starts to spread out from inside the coffin.
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When Cicero awoke, an angry cry was heard outside.
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To start, as the corpse is crying, the man who was trying