A Fight to Lose Individualism to Conquer Ones Self

Stephen Crane’s The Red Badge of Courage establishes individualism as an unfavorable quality. Group accomplishments are more important than that of the individual to get through a battle of war. And one must lose that identity in order to actually find one’s self. Crane’s main character, Henry, is portrayed as a youth in search of self worth and assurance. Crane creates Henry as an individual in a mass society. He establishes Henry as an individual because he gives him the ability to think for himself, but creates situations that halt his individualism in order for him to remain a part of his regiment. Crane injects him into the army with aspirations of attaining a sense of identity.

Crane gives this character one thing that men ought not to do in this novel. He gives Henry the ability to think. Therefore, Henry looks past the glory of enlisting in the army and begins to question what could happen to him on the battlefield. He acknowledges the presence of something the other men dare not think about, which is death. With the realization that lives are at stake, he questions whether or not he will run when faced with battle. “It suddenly appeared to him that perhaps

. . .
Some common words found in the essay are:
Jim Conklin, Gawd Crane, Badge Courage, Crane Henry, Let Crane, – –, red badge courage, red badge, badge courage, henry individual, henry individual mass, individual mass society, creates henry individual, crane creates henry, individual mass, crane creates, creates henry, assurance crane, regiment crane, regiment feels,
Approximate Word count = 1317
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)