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Summary: The Red Badge Of Courage
Review: I have recently read The Red Badge of Courage and discovered it to be one of the best and most interesting novels written about the Civil War. Considering the fact that Stephen Crane, the author, never saw the war but merely heard about it and read about it, I find it fascinating that he was able to depict such a pictorial setting with his descriptions.
The protagonist Henry Fleming, a boy who recently had joined the Union Army, goes to war only to find he "was not made out to be a soldier." Fleming goes through many trials that make him doubt his vast understanding of his inner being. He is constantly putting himself down, but in the end finds out who he really is. Henry, like any other soldier, wonders if, in the heat of battle, he will run or stay and fight. All the way through the book Crane uses metaphors, symbolism, personification, allusions, humor, and immense descriptions to help you get the full extent of the meaning in the book, which keeps you interested from the first page on. Crane was very elaborate in his descriptions, not only of places, but of ideas and thoughts that went through Henry's mind. Throughout the book, because of the descriptions, you have a much better understanding of the actual story line, and also the message Crane was trying to get across.
Henry (the youth), Jim (the tall soldier), Wilson (the loud soldier), the lieutenant, the captain, the corporal, and other soldiers make up the 304th New York regiment. This regiment is full of mostly newly recruited soldiers that come from peaceful backgrounds into a much different environment, the war. The regiment is thought of by the higher ranked officers as "mule drivers" and "mud diggers"; however, they acknowledge the fact that they fight better than some brigades and are given some of the worst tasks because of this. Crane depicts the war very realistically; you really understand what the soldiers are going through, here again because of the vivid descriptions. The most reliable source of information throughout the book is Fleming, and he does an excellent job informing you to what exactly is going on, on the battlefield, in camp, and in his mind. This book really goes in-depth to show you the reality of a war, and a soldier's life.
I, personally, extremely enjoyed this book. However, some things bothered me about the way Stephen Crane wrote. The vocabulary was a little bit over my head, but it wasn't bad like some other books I've read. The dialogue bothered me a little bit; I know he was a regionalist writer and tried to imitate the way they sounded, but it was a little hard to comprehend when you had to sit for a minute or two just to figure out what one person was trying to say. By that time you've forgotten the story line and have to start the paragraph over; making the book take long to read. However, once you realized what a word was supposed to be you didn't have to worry about it so much. The descriptions made the story take long and it was a little boring. I didn't really care to be able to picture the scene exactly with every little detail. Also at the beginning it was a little hard to follow when Crane jumped from one scene to the next without warning. The little humor every now and then made the book more interesting and kept you reading through all the detailed descriptions. I also enjoyed the way he wrote with sarcasm. You usually only find sarcasm in the dialogue part of the book, but Stephen Crane wrote with it. It was unusual and made the book all the more interesting. The story plot was simple making the book less complicated and making room for you to have more interesting characters without overkill. I think Stephen Crane should be greatly commended for his real depictions and good, strong story line. At age twenty-three this is a wonderful accomplishment. I would recommend this book to anyone who wanted to read a good war story, or who just enjoys a good book.
Rating: 
Summary: An excellent book with interesting characters.
Review: The Red Badge of courage by Stephen Crane is based on the story of one man's desires of findong courage within himself. Henry, the main character is a new soldier of the Union army, and becomes apart of the 304th regiment. This particular regiment is mostly young soldiers who do not have any war experiences. However, Henry feels that he is the only person who feels great fear towards battle. As Henry struggles with his fears, he becomes more and more and terrified, because he can no other soldier who thinks they would run away in battle. Confused and extremely streesed Henry's first day in battle was not one he would like to remember. As the story goes on, Henry's ultimate goal is to find courage from within himself so that he may be brave like the others. The book is very well written with many symbolic comparisons to the Christian religon. Crane magnifies the reader's view of war by showing the soldiers' savageness and the pain which war brings on. He brilliantly shows how Henry eventually finds courage from within himself. I can honestly say that enjoyed reading this book. Although it was relatively short when compared to other war novels, the hidden meaning and metaphors always kept the pages turnings. A book formed with good structure and excellent character development I would recomended it to anyone likes Civil War stories.
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Summary: My book review
Review: The Red Badge of Courage is a book about Henry Fleming's journey through the Civil War. When Henry joins the army he is confident and thinks it will be an amazing adventure, but once he sees the war with his own eyes he is more scared than confident. The book doesn't really have any action, it is mostly about Henry just walking throught the woods thinking about what to do. But it's a pretty good book if your into the Civil War. The battles go into a lot of detail to make the book have a little more action, but the action in the book is still very limited. The book would have been better if it had gone into more details about other characters in the book. Although the characters in the book are very believable and this helps the story seem more true. So if you're into action and adventure books , I would say this is not the book for you, but if you're a Civil War enthusiast you might really enjoy this book, because of its accurate descriptons of the Civil War.
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Summary: A great book about the Civil War...
Review: The novel, THE RED BADGE OF COURAGE, is a book full of uncertainty. Means the reader is never sure what the main character is going to do next in the story. The reader never knows how anyone will act from one moment to the next. This gives the whole novel a certain suspense. The story is about a young enlisted soldier named Henry Fleming who goes off to war as a naive boy and returns as a man. It shows the true side of life, because Henry is acting like most young soldiers do in times of war; Henry feels guilty for running away as the battle began, but he just did what his heart told him to do. Stephan Crane wants to show the reader how bad war is, and the message he prevails is very knowledgeable. The whole story is very well written and the reader has no problem understanding what is going on. The book is rich in sensory details and poetic language. I believe, "The Red Badge", to be one of the most real accounts of Civil War I have read. I would say it is definitely one of the great pieces of American literature and I really have to give this book 5 stars for its perfection.
I just want to add that English isn't my first language and I didn't have any trouble reading this book.
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Summary: An enduring classic of war fiction
Review: Stephen Crane's "the Red Badge of Courage" was serialized in 1894 and published in book form the next year. It is one of the greatest achievements of a truly extraordinary American writer. "Red Badge" tells the story of Henry Fleming, a young enlisted soldier in the United States Civil War."Red Badge" is a powerful story of war told from the viewpoint of a low-ranking enlisted man--a man who is really still just a boy. The book is rich in sensory details and poetic language; actually, the book is an effective complement to Crane's irony-laden, often grim poems. Crane is as much interested in the inner mental states of Henry as he is in the blood and thunder of war. He does an effective job of portraying an altered state of consciousness brought on by combat. Also noteworthy is Crane's representation of American vernacular speech in the dialogue of his characters. "Red Badge" is not a long book, but it is a rich text that invites re-reading on many levels. I recommend the following as companion texts: James Fenimore Cooper's "The Last of the Mohicans," Tim O'Brien's "The Things They Carried," and Eve Ensler's "Necessary Targets."
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Summary: A Great Peice of History
Review: The Red Badge of Courage is a great novel putting you in the heart of the civil war. They way he writes the character's dialoged is hard to understand at first but it sound like what they would say in the 1860's. The book is about a boy looking to become a man, but haves troubles along the way like running from his first battle. If you like action, suspense and drama than this book is for you.
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Summary: Another Bad Review
Review: I am not an impatient reader. I'm one of the few people who has read all three volumes of "The Gulag Archipelago." I even managed to complete the dreadful "Turn of the Screw." But I cannot finish this book. "The Red Badge of Courage" is the most put-downable book I have ever attempted to read.
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Summary: A Path To Manhood
Review: The novel, THE RED BADGE OF COURAGE, is Unpredictable. Which means the reader is never sure what the main character is going to do next in the story. The reader never knows how anyone will act from one moment to the next will they run or fight? The story is about a young enlisted soldier named Henry Fleming who goes off to war as a naive ignorant boy and returns as a man. It shows the true side of life, because Henry is acting like most young soldiers do in times of war; Henry feels guilty for running away as the battle began, but he just did what came natural. Stephan Crane wants to show the reader how bad war is, and the message comes across clear. The whole story is very well written and the reader has no problem understanding what is going on.
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Summary: War time novel
Review: This book is great! It keeps you reading because you never know what is going to happen next the mood of the character is always changing. This boy, Henry Fleming, goes into the army as a boy. He keeps telling himself he won't run during battle and he does in the first one. He struggles through the book to become a man.
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Summary: Review from spellbound Teen
Review: This was a very historaclly accurate book. If you like war books then this is the book for you. This book has a great element of of suspense you never know what is coming next. This is a book for the history buff.
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