The Red Badge of Courage

Stephen Crane knows what he was writing about when he wrote The Red Badge of Courage.  The red badge that indicates courage is a blood stain.  I feel so incredibly sad that young men think the only way to display courage is to bleed.  The other thing that struck me from this book, written about the Civil War, is that people were plainly marked blue or gray.  There was no hiding behind burkas or using children to set off incendiary bombs. Either you were blue or you were gray.  And to set yourself apart, each party had a flag bearer in the lead.  It was a honor to be the flag bearer!  How times have changed.  You don't see ISIS bearing flags.  You don't see the USA bearing flags.  To be succinct, war sucks. In this story we follow Henry Fleming,often referred to as "the youth."  Henry is worried that when battle comes, he might turn tail and run.  He does turn tail and run,  Later he becomes a flag bearer and is honored by the people in command. Yet, through it all, Henry is still Henry.  During the battle Henry changes from a youth to a man.  The Red Badge of Courage is a sad tale, illustrating how we humans resemble animals. I loved the story and I totally understand how this became a classic of American literature.