Realism in the Red Badge of Courage

Realism in The Red Badge of Courage

Webster's Dictionary defines realism as the theory or practice of fidelity in art and literature to nature or to real life and to accurate representation without idealization. In Stephen Crane's The Red Badge of Courage, realism is present throughout the story. During the civil war, literature made a three hundred and sixty degree turn. It went from completely romantic and dreamy themes to realism where the reader experienced the cold hard truth. Romantic stories were "told" and embellished to the point where the characters were always seen as heroes, while realism stories were "shown" and possessed no idealism. Life was shown as it really was. Crane's writing is a prime example of realistic literature. He goes into great detail over death and misery. In this well-known novel, Crane gives a realistic image of battle during the American Civil War by using images, Henrys thoughts, and dialogue throughout his story.

Detailed Images of the experience of battle are a large part of Crane's work. These images make a good representation of the chaos and lack of certainty from day to day in a battle. Examples of the chaos and gore that occurs in battle can be found throughout the story. One particular fragment from the story that I find interesting is when Crane says "a man, standing behind a tree, had had his knee joint splintered by a ball. Immediately he had dropped his rifle and gripped the tree with both arms. And there he remained, clinging desperately and crying for assistance". This fragment shows realism by explaining the gruesome aspects of war. It shows how helpless a man can become once he becomes injured and also shows the true force and power behind the weapons that all the men on the field were holding. Excerpts like these are what make people forget about the romantic views of war and realize just how brutal and terrible war really is. Another period where Stephen Crane goes into great detail about pain and death is when he describes the death of Jim Conklin and says "he was invaded by a creeping strangeness that slowly enveloped him". He also describes his death by saying "then it began to swing forward, slow and straight, in the manner of a falling tree. A swift muscular contortion made the left shoulder strike the ground first." These small detailed lines from the story make the reader understand how slow and dreadful death can be in battle. The romantic view of death was quick and painless, with a hero stabbing you through the heart so you would die instantly. The truth is that most deaths occur slowly and painfully and soldiers can be alive for hours or even days suffering from their wounds. This aspect of prolonged death comes up many times throughout the story and shows yet another shift from romanticism to realism that occurs during this time period.

Henry's thoughts and feelings throughout the story are not always exciting and good tempered. He experiences many times where he lacks confidence or feels uneasy about going into battle. His lack of self confidence comes up many times. One time Crane describes Henry's thoughts by saying "He felt that in this crisis his laws of life were useless. Whatever he had learned of himself was here of no avail. He was an unknown quantity." In this section, the feelings or psychology of Henry are shown and we see that Henry has no idea if he has the qualities needed to fight. He is unsure of himself and is unsure how he will react in the heat of battle. This idea of uncertainty is a common theme in realism. It is much different than romanticism where soldiers were depicted as strong and brave when going into battle. Realism is also present throughout the story when the aspect of nature is brought