The Red Badge of Courage: An Episode of the American Civil War (Puffin Classics)

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Summary: If you were bored by the book, learn to read first!
Review: To those of you who have barbed The Red Badge of Courage with the unintelligent epithets of "boring," "hard to read," and/or "pointless," need to learn how to read. This is not a book about anything except war and one boy's attempt to endure it. The criticisms of Crane's characters being "boring" and "nameless" are true only in the sense that he gives them no discernable identity--the only things discernable in war are the exchanges of gunfire and death, which Crane's soldiers meet. Life is not a splendor; it is a charnal on the battlefield. As for Crane's style, the only valid point that I believe has to be made is that Crane had an imperfect sense of grammar: but what does it matter--who in our world today could write the definitive novel on war in English? Who could write this passage, one of the most beautiful opening paragraphs in the language: "The cold passed reluctantly from the earth, and the retiring fogs revealed an army stretched out on the hills, resting. As the landscape changed from brown to green, the army awakened and began to tremble with eagerness at the noise of rumors. It cast its eyes upon the roads, which were growing from long troughs of liquid mud to proper thoroughfares. A river, amber-tinted in the shadows of its banks, purled at the army's feet; and at night, when it had become of a sorrowful blackness, one could see across it the red, eye-like gleams of hostile campfires set in the low brows of distant hills. . . . " This, fellow readers, I hope, will rectify these ignorant condemnations of Crane's masterwork (The above passage was memorized, by the way; if any of you are unbelieving, check a copy of The Red Badge or e-mail me: I can try again if there are any mistakes in punctuation or--hopefully not!--a misplaced word.

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Summary: Historical perspective increases appreciation of this novel.
Review: The literary significance of Stephan Crane's "Red Badge of Courage" is best understood by examining the historical context of its original publication. By 1895 the Civil War had retreated into a gauzy curtain of heroic myth and legend. Those veterans who experienced the horrors of war and might have drawn back the curtain of romantic illusion were, by 1895, themselves subject to the softening gloss of time. The world had yet experienced the "Great War" of 1914, which stripped the world of its innocence. Steven Crane's work was the lone voice of anti-war sentiment at that period of American history. The advent of the visual media has brought war into clearer focus to us of the late 20th century. Stephen Crane broke loose of late 18th century conventions and thereby forged a new direction in literature. It is this historical context that distinguishes and elevates "The Red Badge of Courage" to an American classic.

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Summary: Warning: Must like War Novels
Review: Red Badge of Courage is a civil war period novel using visual imagery and battles as metaphors for the maturing of a young soldier. Though considered a must-read classic, this short novel is overwhelmed with description and is confusing in indentifying characters (some simply have names such as the "tall man").

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Summary: Portrait of Battle
Review: The Red Badge of Courage is a beautifully visual novel in that stark images abound in almost every sentence. In fact, the novel is poetry as much as it is prose. But it is also an American classic as a story. It is indeed remarkable that Crane never went to battle. I haven't either but I can't help but be convinced that men going into battle think as they do in The Red Badge of Courage. In addition, Crane's command of the English language is just that, commanding. Any literate being will find it very easy to follow and understand. Just stick your nose in it. The sentence structures are as straight forward. Read it if you enjoy masterpieces. Only one whose attention span and imagination has been warped by television will consider it boring. The novel is so short and tightly written that it can't fail to be gripping

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Summary: Call me shallow, but.....
Review: Scholars said how impressed they were by Crane's seemingly vast knowledge of the Civil War battlefield. As it turns out, he wasn't born until 1871, six years after the war. Either way it didn't matter. I don't see why they call this book a "classic". His writing is hard to understand and harder to interpret in even the most shallowest of ways. It's not just because of his time period. I've read Twain and his books were 10 times easier to understand, even with his usage of dialogue. You know what, forget Crane and just head over to Twain, who is more worthy of your time. (Not to mention your money

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Summary: The book is an emotional illustration of the civil war .
Review: Through Henry's eyes the reader sees the emotions running through a soldier's mind. The reader learns about the main components of the war, which are war, fear, courage, and comradeship. War is like the grim reaper, who sucks up lives of people whole. War is enabled by hatred against a fellow man. Fear is an emotion that helps us understand what war is really. Through fear we realize that war takes away lives. Fear also brings upon the idea of survival. "Cowards die a thousand deaths, but the brave die only once." A war cannot be fought if there was not a person brave enough to fight it. Henry shows his courage by holding the flag in the front of the regiment in the last battle fought. Comradeship is another main theme in the novel. A war is based upon comradeship. When a person fights a war, he is part of an army. An army where soldiers help each other for the good of their side. When these four themes are combined, they bring the idea of war. War is a monster, it is a path used to solve difficult problems. It is a substitute for compromise.

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Summary: I would have given it a "0", but it wouldn't let me.
Review: This is a hideously boring book. It drags on with dull language, which can easily put one in a trance. It talks incessantly about needless things and fails to focus on important imagery. The book refers to characters as "the youth", "the thin soldier", and "the loud soldier". It is hard to keep track of the characters. The lack of intriguing language makes it difficult to focus on the redeeming qualities of the book. I, myself, only noticed one: it accurately portrayed a civil war battle.

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Summary: Soldiering on
Review: This is one truly well-crafted book. Crane presented the psychological aspects of war to his readers with precise detail and clarity. Before being sent into battle for the first time, most people would wonder if they had enough courage to fight. Henry Fleming constantly struggled with this idea. My favorite part of the book was when Henry threw a pinecone at a squirrel to see if it would take the hit, or run away. After the squirrel ran from the pinecone, he felt justified for running away from the battle. Although the Civil War was the bloodiest battle in American history, Crane presented the mental struggles more than the physical ones. The Red Badge of Courage expressed many different emotions such as pride, honor, and courage. I strongly recommend this book because of its vivid depiction of the American Civil War. Every young adult should read this book, so they have a better understanding of war. Would also recommend Catch 22, Of Mice and Men, The Bark of the Dogwood, To Kill a Mockingbird.

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Summary: UGH!!! HARD TO UNDERSTAND AND FOLLOW!
Review: i'm sorry for all the people that like this book. I had to read it during the summer and I read like 4 pages a day 1. because i had to stop and think about what happened 2. because i just hate the book! I don't see why teachers make children read it. it reads like it is for adults who understand books word for word. It's so hard to follow! i'm done! don't buy it!

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Summary: The Red Badge of Courage
Review: Since all the movies and novels and televisions shows about war and being a soldier have bombarded us, this novel seems dated.

I can imagine how great this novel must have been, but since it is the 21st Century, there are many other more interesting and entertaining avenues to go down to learn about the horrors of war and being a soldier.