Red Badge of Courage: The Sun

A detailed Summary of Red Badge of Courage: The Sun

In The Red Badge of Courage, Stephen Crane uses the sun to symbolize the growth and enlightenment of Henry Fleming as well as the hope of the soldiers. The sun along with nature was used to show the hopes and fears of Henry and his regiment.

Stephen Crane uses the sun to emphasize the fear and triumph that the "youth" and his regiment feel. "In the eastern sky there was a yellow patch like a rug laid for the feet of the coming sun"(pg.25). This represents the fear of the battle that Henry and the other soldiers felt as they could see the enemy coming towards them. The yellow path in front of the sun symbolizes the cowardice that Henry felt as the battle neared. The path of the sun could also represent the enemy coming up the path towards Henry, which is what cause his fear. As the enemy got closer, Henry began to feel more relaxed, but at the same time more afraid of the battle. "When the sunrays vanished at last struck full and mellowingly upon the earth, the youth saw that the landscape was streaked with two long, thin, black columns which disappeared on the brow of a hill in front and rearward vanished in a wood."(pg.26-27) Henry could finally see what he was going to be fighting in this battle and therefore w

The symbolism used in this novel shows the changes that Henry went through throughout the war. At the beginning of the novel, he didn't know the reality of war and only wanted to be a hero. After his first battle, he realized he was totally wrong and then he decided to run. The symbolism of the sun in this novel shows the fears that he had and that he was trying to hide. Without the symbolism, the reader would not know how ashamed Henry was of himself or how afraid he really was. The symbolism in this novel also showed what the soldiers had to look forward to and that war isn't always terrible.

as not afraid of what was to come. He didn't have to wonder who was coming towards them anymore, but his fear of battle was still there. "The sky overhead was of a fairy blue."(pg. 27) This is foreshadowing the outcome of this first battle. It shows that they would win this battle and everything was going to work out for them. After Henry decides to run, he is very ashamed of himself, but yet he is glad that he ran. "So he went far, seeking dark and intricate places...The Sun suddenly apparent, blazed among the trees."(pg. 59) Henry at this point was trying to hide in dark places to get away from the war and his self because he was ashamed of what he did. The sun appears and is a symbol to him that life will still go on and helps him to forget what he did and to move on. While the sun is out, Henry seems to forget about all of his fears of the war. "The sun sank until the slanted bronze rays struck the forest...There was silence save for the chanted chorus of the trees...A crimson roar came from the distance...The youth stopped. He was transfixed by this terrific medley of noises."(pg. 61-62) As soon as the sun went down, everything in nature seemed to change and therefore, the youth's fears came back and he no longer knew what lay ahead. He d

Some common words found in the essay are:
Stephen Crane, Eventually Henry, Henry Fleming, reality war, throughout war, war sun, henry throughout, enlightened reality war, henry throughout war, stephen crane sun, war hero, enemy coming, battle youth, battle henry, fear battle, coming towards,

Approximate Word count = 1255
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Novels