Themes, Motifs, and Symbols (Red Badge of Courage)

Themes
Disregard for Human Life~
* Everybody seems like they are OK with giving up their life at any time, but would they feel that way once the fateful moment comes? The soldiers know that what they are fighting for is overall more important than their lives, but there are a few soldiers that think that their life is more important instead.

Self Preservation~
* Henry believes it might be necessary to save his life, instead of offer it to the use of the army to fight for their cause. He ends up fighting himself for multiple chapters over what he should do since he ran away in Chapter 6. He goes through a lot mentally to figure out that what he needs to do is go back and fight for the cause.


Courage~
* For people like Henry, courage comes in bursts, along with intelligence. He's being stupid thinking that everyone is wrong and he's right. He isn't showing courage.
* During the whole battle at the end Henry stayed in check with his courage. When others wanted to run away during the charge, Henry and Wilson run in the very front with the flag.

Manhood~
* When the army is on the move for the first time, once Henry is awake, his manhood is being tested.
* Henry is most definitely not showing growth in being a man... he has stepped back to childhood.
* Because he fought in the battle continuously, Wilson has achieved manhood and Henry thinks he looks like he has a lot of wisdom.
* I'm pretty sure Henry has achieved a small part of manhood by fighting like he did in the battle before the charge.
* I think Henry has finally achieved his manhood, for he put his sins behind him and got over everything, but not without feeling guilty first. Like every other human.

Motifs
Youth and Maturity~
* Henry and other soldiers are young adults, but they are very mature to be able to handle fighting and risking their lives for their cause.
* In this chapter the tattered soldier represents what being mature is, living with the truth. Henry is youthful, and can't accept reality. That is why I think Stephen Crane keeps referring to Henry as "the youth."
* Wilson seems to be more mature after staying in the battle, I would consider Henry to still be immature, since he ran away.
* Compared to the 1st chapter, not only has Henry Fleming matured greatly, but Wilson as well. Good for them!

Noise and Silence~
* The entire day the army is marching, Henry is having an eternal battle. While he fights with himself, he is silent and everyday noises are around him.

Clean and Dirty~
*It seems that when Henry was clean, he was immature, and when feeling grimy/dirty he is maturing.
* When the army is having self-doubts and hesitant, they are clean. When they are done with fighting and calm from the battle, they are dirty. The dirtyness adds some manhood to the soldiers, I think.
* At the end of the chapter, the rebel army is clean and not doing so well. Henry's side is dirty, worn-out, and doing well. It also hinted my thinking in the last sentence, "And they were men."


Symbols
Courage~
* Henry is still there, and is starting to overcome his thoughts of running away, during the battle before the charge. In this book courage seemed to go hand in hand with manhood and maturity, because once Wilson and Henry each seemed to grow up, they also gained courage.


The Flag~
* To Henry, it's a goddess of beauty, fills him with hope, and will hopefully save lives.
* Could mean that the army is still holding up the fight...
* How the battle for the Union is going. Ex.:

Going good=sways in the air nicely.
Starting to go bad=whips violently
Retreat=close to falling over

*It also is a symbol of hope, peace, and the cause they are fighting for. The army always has it at the front lines because it shows that they care for what they are fighting for. If they didn't have one, what would they fight for? How would people know where they stand and why?

The Dead Soldier~
*This sort of symbolizes what Henry could be if he runs away and also a turning point in Henry's personal battle. He didn't want to become that, and to not be it, he had to return to the army.

The Setting Sun~
*Some people believe when a lot of blood is shed during the day in battle, the sun sets/rises the next morning red. (can't remember which...lol)

The Animal/The Blood-Swollen god~
*All symbols for war=savage, and taken a lot of lives.

Nature~
* When the battle was over, Henry noticed that the day/sky looked perfect, and couldn't understand how that could be when so many soldiers just died. Nature symbolizes the world. Just because one thing is going on, that doesn't mean the entire world will care.

I can't remember when I wrote some of these, but they are at the end of all of my blogs!!