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The Red Badge of Courage Stephen Crane 肖梦婷 030112218Background:an unnamed conflict of the American Civil WarCharacter List Henry Fleming:The novels protagonist,his most passionate convictions are based on little else than fantasies,making him seem vain and self-centered.The loud soldier or the friend(Wilson):the loud soldier and a friend.He takes close care of Henry when he returns to the regiment and fights bravely in the battle.His maturity is a clue for what will happen to Henry.Wilson and Henry grow close as they share the harsh experiences of war and gain a reputation as the regiments best fighters.Character ListThe tattered soldier:One of the wounded soldiers.He tries to chat with Henry about the battle and about Henrys wounds.His questions make Henry so upset and guilty that he runs away from him,leaving the tattered man stumbling in a field.The tall soldier(Jim Conklin):One of Henrys friends.He is a tall soldier hurt during the regiments first battle and dies from his wounds.He converses and argues much with Wilson before any battle begins and in the early part of the novel,is an important moral contrast to Henry.Character ListThe young lieutenant:the commander of Henrys regiment.He is shot in the hand in the first battle and in the arm in the second battle.He tries to get his men to fight,even when they are stagnant and what he can do is to curse.As Henry gains recognition for doing brave deeds,he and the lieutenant develop sympathy for each other,often feeling that they must work together to motivate the rest of the men.Symbols In the Red Badge of Courage,Crane uses colors and animals to characterize the troop behaviors and WarColor symbols appear on most pages of the work，especially the color“red”，which impresses readers deeply with the vivid picture of the war.Crane uses animal symbols to reflect Henry Flemings struggles in his mind.The use of symbols enriches the theme and enlarges the content.Color symbolslRed symbolizes blood,fires,energy,courage,destruction“the red badge”implies war,blood,fires“red cheers of men”,“red light of fire”symbolizes the group s energy and courage“red sickness of battle”symbolizes blood,fire,suffering,pain,anguish and deathlYellow symbolizes cowardice and confusion.“a yellow discontent”when Henry realizes the gravity of the war and“a yellow confusion”at the sight of combat“a yellow fog”where he contemplates his disgust for running awayColor symbolslBlue symbolizes passivity and peace.blue is the color of the uniform of the Union army;He sees war as“a blue demonstration”,himself only a“part of an impersonal military machine”implies passivity;“blue sky”symbolizes peacelGreen symbolizes horror “green dragon”,“green animal of death”,“green-colored corpse”Color symbolslGray and silver symbolizes confusion and loss of the war.silver refers to the metal of the troops rifles and swords gray is the color of the uniform of the Rebel army,“gray uniform”and“gray smoke and fog”symbolize unknown of the battle.lBlack symbolizes unknown,darkness,loneliness,morbidity,evil and sin.“He was a mental outcast”Henry is far from his companions,he is alone not only in space,but also in mental because he is now living in an unknown life and falls into a terror of unknowing what is waiting for him in the futureColor symbols Stephen Cranes intricate use of colors as symbols is a unique art that is crucial to grasp the full meaning of his narratives.On the one hand,color symbols reflect the setting change.On the other hand,through the use of color symbols Crane gives the reader constant access to the inner states of the characters,deepening the meaning of the theme.The color symbols show how the main characters lives are overshadowed by the gloomy and bloody War.Color words show a colorful world and rich meanings in the novel.Animal symbols In the novel,the animal figures can be classified into two groups:the poultry and domestic animals,the wild animals.lThe poultry and domestic animals appears usually to describe the soldiers,except for a few examples.lThe wild animals are generally used to describe human beings and objects.lPoultry and domestic animals symbolize cowardice In the novel,the author uses“pigs,rats,kitten,sheep,snake”and other animals to symbolize the recruits horror,weakness and helplessness for the fear of death in the severe battles.The first reaction of the animals when they are in danger is to escape,therefore,the soldier dismayed and routed from the battlefield are compared to“rabbits,wild horse,chickens,terrified buffaloes”;the soldiers who lost the will of fighting and became apathetic due to the fear of the enemys attack are compared to“jaded horse”and“animal-like”.Animal symbolsAnimal symbolslWild Animals symbolize bravery When Henry beat his fear psychology successfully,he turned to“a crazy cat”,or“a crazy horse”to kill the enemies blindly.In the other places of the novel,the author also used“panther,wolf,hound dog,beast,terriers,gamecocks,hell-rooster,wild cats,wild horse,eagle,leopard,dragon,snakes”and other animals to symbolize the soldiers who fought crazy counterattacks and striving for killing the enemies.There is only blind rage,only animal instinct and no reason at all.Animal symbols These animal figures reflect the cruelty of the war and the passivity of people before it.These figures make the theme of the novel obvious and clear,that is,people hate wars and human beings must get away from the miserable dreams because wars make people far from their senses and into an instinctive and mad state like animals.Weather SymbolslThe Smoke,Fog and Mist Confusion The smoke which is used to describe the group makes Henrys vision obscured and distorted.Both the mists and the fog propose that in the eyes of people,life is nothing but empty and confused in the war time.lThe Rain Awakening The rain just symbolizes that Henry has experienced the baptism of the war,and grew to be a real man,a real hero.(In the western cultures,rain usually means the showers of blessing in the Bible.)Theme The basic theme is the animal man in a cold,manipulating world.Crane is looking into mans primitive emotions and trying to tell the elemental truth about human life:courage,manhood,self-preservation and universes discards for human life.Reviewer by Michael J.Mazza 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 Cranes 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 Cranes representation of American vernacular speech in the dialogue of his characters.Thank you
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