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The Red Badge of Courage
The First Modern War Novel
About the Novel
The story of Henry Fleming
a “youth” who enlists in the
Union army
has romanticized ideas about
war
quickly realizes that war is not
what he expected
must battle the “rebels” as
well as his own doubts & fears
About the AuthorStephen Crane
Born November 1, 1871 in Newark,NJ
14th child of a Methodist minister.
Started to write stories at the age of
eight and at 16 he was writing articles
for the New York Tribune.
After high school, spent 1 semester at
Lafayette College and another at
Syracuse University- was asked to leave
More About the Author
1891- Moved to New York, worked as a
free-lance writer and journalist.
1893- lived among the poor in the Bowery
slums of New York to research his first
novel. Maggie: A Girl Of The Streets
1895- second novel, The Red Badge Of
Courage brought him international fame.
Crane's collection of poems, The Black
Rider, also appeared in 1895, brought
Crane better reporting assignments as a
war correspondent in combat areas.
Even More About the Author
1898- Crane settled in Sussex,
England.During these restless years Crane
refined his use of realism to expose social
ills.
June 5, 1900- Crane died of of
tuberculosis, which was worsened by
malarial fever he had caught while he was
reporting in Cuba.
Style- the unique way an author
adapts language to ideas
Stephen Crane’s style was:
Realistic
Naturalistic
Impressionistic
Realism
a literary movement that began during the 1870’s
that was prompted by the Civil War
depicts life as it really is
extremely detailed description of the life of ordinary
people
more pessimistic view of the world
a reaction against romanticism- a movement where
the stories were about extraordinary people& there
was always a happy ending.
(Think of stories like Cinderella where everybody lives
happily ever after)
Naturalismera that developed out of realism
people’s lives are shaped by forces of
nature and/or society
human beings do not have control over
their fate
Impressionismoriginally developed in France during
the 1870’s
began in the U.S. in the late 1800’s, early
1900’s
overall impressions of a scene or
object; not exact details (like you see in
realism & naturalism)
similar to impressionistic paintings-
Waterlillies
Realism vs. Impressionism
• Realismclear, detailed
• Impressionism gives the
impression,not the
clear picture
More Impressionist Paintings
To fully appreciate The Red
Badge of Courage, it helps to
have some background
knowledge about the American
Civil War.
The Civil War
1861-1865
The Union(North)
Abraham LincolnPresident of the
United States
General George
McClellan- 1st
Commander of Union
Army
Ulysses S. Grant2nd Commander of
Union Army
The Confederacy- (South)
Jefferson Davis-President of the
Confederacy
“Stonewall”
JacksonCommander of
Confederate Army
Robert E. LeeCommander of Confederate Army
Significant Battles &
Events
of
the Civil War Era
Fort Sumter April 1861Civil War Begins
July 1861 - Battle of Bull Run
showed both sides that their soldiers needed training
 both sides realized that the war would be longer & bloodier
than they thought it would be.
September1862 -Antietam
1 day, 23,000 soldiers were either killed or wounded.
January 1, 1863 Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation
all enslaved African Americans living in the Confederacy were
freed
focus of the war shifted- Union troops were fighting to end
slavery as well as to save the union.
July 1863- Vicksburg
Union - control of the Mississippi River
Cut off the South’s trade with Europe
Cut the Confederacy in half
Afterwards, Grant appointed Commander of the
Union Army
December 1862- Fredericksburg
Union army’s worst defeat
June 30 1863- Gettysburg
Confederate troops fought both sides of the Union
army
turning point in the war
Confederates would never invade the North again
September 1864
Union army captured Atlanta
November 1864
 Union burned the city Atlanta
 Ripped up railroad tracks, burned homes,
factories, & barns
Total war•new type of combat
•destroyed food & equipment that the enemy
might use
• everyone was affected (not just soldiers)
1864
Lincoln defeats McClellan in the presidential election
April 2, 1865
Petersburg & Richmond fall to the Union army
April 9, 1865
Lee surrenders in Appomattox Courthouse
April 14, 1865
(Just 5 days after Lee’s surrender)
Lincoln was Assassinated
At the Ford Theater in
Washington, D.C
By John Wilkes Booth- a
southern actor, blamed Lincoln
for the South’s defeat
After the War
Reconstruction- After years of fighting,
the time for the US to:
rebuild the South
reunify the country