The Red Badge of Courage (Magill’s Survey of American Literature, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Stephen Crane
- First Published: 1895
- Type of Work: Novel
- Genres: Long fiction, Psychological fiction, Bildungsroman, Impressionistic literature
- Subjects: Maturation or coming of age, Tradition, South or Southerners, Courage, Friendship, Guilt, Violence, Fear, Civil War, War, Self-confidence, Duty, Military life or service, Heroes or heroism, Soldiers, Naivete, Battles
- Locales: United States
The Red Badge of Courage is hard to classify, as is Crane's work in general. It is a war story in the sense that the major external action consists of clashes between opposing armies, but certainly it is unconventional in what it omits. No geographical place names are given, except for a single casual mention of the Rappahannock River, so that the action—all the more surreal for this reason—cannot be located on a map. Similarly, no dates are given; it is impossible to tell what strategic significance, if any, the series of inconclusive actions might have had.
In...
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