Henry's Desire To Be An American Hero

Henry fled from the second battle because he did not fully understand the responsibility of being at war. He was just a boy trying to do what’s right. Angst and inner conflict welled within his conscience from participating in the first battle, but the lieutenant of his regiment filled his and his comrades’ spirit full of false security and bravery, making the first battle easier to bear.

Henry stayed with his team during the first battle because he did not want to be called out and leave the group. The first battle was a sure fire win so there was really no point in running from this war at the time. Henry stayed with the rest of the soldiers on the battle turf for the first war.

But in the second battle Henry flees from his comrades while they held the line as the rebels tried to push them out. The regiment ended up being the victors of the second battle too. But Henry was worried about what the other soldiers would say to him since he ran away from the battle. I believe Henry was always afraid of battle even before it started and when the enemy came sprinting towards him he was shocked and started to flee.

He seemed to be feeling pretty good about his accomplishments in the first battle. However, he was not expecting the second battle so soon. When he saw his comrades starting to run, he lost sight of his mission. He started to feel scared all over again. Part 3 of chapter 6 says that "He ran like a blind man." It also states that Henry "Thought that all the regiment was fleeing." In both quotes, Henry was facing those fears and trying to show bravery as mentioned before as the them of the story. He honestly thought that he had done the right thing. But then he found out that his side had actually held off the

Finally, he might have thought of what he wouldn't have a wife or kids if he had stayed. He wouldn't have been able to tell his kids about what he did. That he fought in a battle with his friends and won a first time. Then explain that he left before the second battle began in hopes of having a wife and kids someday. That if he had stayed for the second war the kids wouldn't be born and he wouldn't see their faces on their birthdays, first days of school, their wedding day, and the birth of their own children.

When faced with adversities early into his first battle, he quickly reconsidered his views on war and courage. By running away from the face of battle, Henry “saw his vivid error, and he was afraid that it would stand before him all his life” (Cane 24.30).  This pushed him into believing that he would never be a man of courage of masculinity. This “error” of running away caused Henry to be angry at himself for mistakenly thinking the battle was over and abandoning his fellow soldiers. While away from the battle Henry discovers “that he had a scorching thirst” and “his body was calling for food” (Cane 11.21). From the struggle of war and the experience of Wilson, Henry learns to reflect upon his life and learn from his mistakes, rather than being angry at himself. This allowed Henry to be influenced by the culture around him, shaping him into acknowledging that courage was not depicted by a gunshot or a wound, but by the act of adhering to the line of duty and learning from your

In the first battle, Henry fights along side with the other soldiers. He does this because he has the mind set that he was going to win the battle, which they did. When the second battle happens, Henry flees the battle with the other men. He flees with the other men because he knows that they wont win the battle, since they were not prepared for it. There were also other reasons why Henry fought in the first battle.

When the men regroup for the second attack, many of the Union soldiers around henry begin to run away. Henry gives into the pressure and joins in the retreat, he wasn’t prepared for the horror that war brings. As he’s running, he seems to observe everyone else around him. He sees his captain lying stretched on the ground, dead, the babbling man was grazed by a shot to the head, and another man grunted as he was struck in the stomach, along with many others that just started dropping to the ground. As Henry ran, he feared for his life that he was going to be struck in the back, but he continued running. The thought of self-preservation seemed more important to him than fighting with selflessness and bravery along with the other

In The Red Badge of Courage, Henry shows immaturity by enlisting in the army and being naïve about the war. Henry explains that since he was young, he dreamed about the war of the bloody battles that the soldiers fought in. He thinks fighting in a war will make him a hero and achieve glory. He enlisted in the army, although his mother opposed the decision. However, when he makes it to the camp, he had to wait many weeks in the camps until he was called up to battle, and he started to doubt his place in the army.

Henry hated to be ridiculed so badly that he abandoned the poor man who only showed care and concern for Henry. A hero doesn't abandon a fellow soldier in desperate need of help. Henry tries to reassure his confidence by asking other soldiers how they would respond to battle. Jim Conklin honestly said that it depended on the circumstances, "but if everyone was a standing and a fighting, why, I'd stand and fight."(Crane Ch.1) When he asked Wilson, Wilson dismissed the notion of running from battle. Henry was trying to look for someone to relate to, but as a result of questioning his fellow soldiers he further isolated his insecurities of battle.

Henry had to deal with many things growing up. He had no time to rest because he was schooling every second possible, he got hurt and he had to continue fighting, and he had to deal with his punishments. But for him, it was worth it in the end. He eventually reached his goal, and that meant a lot to him. It proved he knew what he was doing, and people admired him for

Despite the fact that Henry wanted to go to war, and enlisted by choice, Henry makes this egotistical observation, “He was in a moving box. As he perceived this fact it occurred to him that he had never wished to come to war. He had not enlisted of his free will. He had been dragged by the merciless government. And now they were taking him out to be slaughtered.” Later, Henry, after fleeing from the perilous battle, stated from afar that if the army he fought for lost, it would be beneficial for him. Self-absorbed Henry also perceived that he had been ill-used and was trodden beneath the feet of an iron injustice. This observation was the result of Henry seeing some of his fellow soldiers fleeing, so he did the same. Consequently, Henry only saw how things affected him, causing him to be

“The Youth,” which Henry is referred to as, dreamt of glory in battle and being a hero (Crane 2). That is the reason why Henry enlisted himself; even though he told his comrades he was forced to be in the army. His mother’s farewell speech is ironic because he thought that she would give him a tearful and long speech, but all she really said was to “Watch out, and be a good boy” (4). She does not want Henry to be a hero even though that is what he went to war for. She told Henry that she will be fine if he does not return home. Henry tries to pull off being a confident and good soldier, while in the reality he is very nervous about what will happen in battle. Throughout the novel, he questions his courage and if he would run from battle. At an early battle, Henry continuously fires at the enemy line and feels like he is a courageous soldier. However, soon after this battle, another one erupts and Henry runs from it. This is

He described that he couldn’t escape even if he wanted to. Through this analogy, the reader can see that Henry is reducing the soldiers to unthinking, unfeeling machines, performing their duty without taking into account the threat of injury or death. As he looks around at the faces of the rest of the soldiers in his regiment, he notices their focused commitment to the firing of their rifles. He wonders if he is the only one faced with questions of morality. While the regiment began to advance, Henry was shocked to receive a packet of letters from Wilson, who feared he would die in battle. After the battle, he is glad that he made it through the first day. He begins to lose the romantic vision of war by seeing the realities, but he starts lying to himself about who is really is.

Henry in the second battle flees from the scene. He flees because he was not ready and he was caught by surprise. Henry wasn’t ready because he just got done with the first battle and he was not emotionally and physically stable to fight another battle. He was also caught by surprise because the second battle followed the first one, which him and his fellow soldiers were not expecting it at all. This is