Critical Reviews of The Red Badge of Courage

Most of the critical review was positive things about what the book was like. Something that I definitely agree with is the figurative language of Stephen Crane's story. Its figurative language was mainly imagery. Imagery is when a story is descriptive. It makes the person feel as if they are actually in the story with the characters. I agree with the critic when he says, "Much of the impact of Red Badge arose, then, from its powerful pictures of war, the images that leapt off the page into the mind of the reader." I think he puts it perfectly when he says that "the images that leapt off the page..." The battle scenes in the book make you feel as if you have a gun yourself and are shooting at the enemy. You feel what Henry is feeling. At the beginning of the book Henry is debating whether to run from the battle or not. As he is going through this psychological debate, the reader feels it as well. Another critic says, "...Frederic expressed admiration for the emotional power of Crane's work..." In the book a good example of this is "Over the river a golden ray of sun came through the hosts of leaden rain clouds" (Crane 100). Human nature is also used in Stephen Crane's book. Critics says, "...his later willingness to do so, punctuate his change in character.", "Henry ultimately finds himself a deeply different person for his experience.", and "Unquestionably, Henry has changed by the novel's end; unquestionably, he had become more courageous and more selfless." All these critics say that Henry's personality changed from the beginnning of the book to the end. One quote in the book says, "He has been to ouch the great death, and found that, after all, it was but the great death. He was a man" (Crane 99). One other thing that the book includes is government. An example is "Come, young man, get up into ranks there. No skulking 'll do here" (Crane 18). This shows how the government is very controlling and dictates what the regiments every move is.
Overall I agree with what the critics say. The book is full of imagery, which is probably my favorite part. It also has other things such as government, human nature, nature, a hero, and an American dream.

Dreams...

Dreaming is something that some people remember and that others do not. Some poeple even claim that they do not dream at all, which I think is very sad. I love to dream. Dreaming can be good, yet it can also be very bad as well. It can be bad because daydreaming can take place when you really need to pay attention. Otherwise, dreaming is a good thing that can generate imagination and creativity.
I have had multiple dreams. Most of them are either about the future, or about something that has already happened. One dream that I had was that I re-experienced state finals for soccer. I dreamt that it was again in the finals seconds of the game and a girl on the other team scored to win the game. It was bad the first time it happened, but in my dream, I was absolutely devastated. I remember I fell to the ground and couldn't believe what had just happened. This dream was not the past, but the future coming up season. That this game was the seniors last game and that made me very very depressed. I remember crying and being in shock. That was one of my not-so-good dreams that I had. It was a memory of last years experience of losing in the last seconds and it was happening again. I hope it doesn't really happen.
Another dream that I had was that I was shooting free throws to win a basketball game. We needed two to tie. I made my first shot, and when I go to shoot my second shot, my alarm went off and I remember missing it because of a loud noise from the crowd/buzzer (that really being the sound from my alarm).
Not all my dreams are bad, so I do not want you to think that all I have is bad dreams. I have A TON of good dreams of being with my friends and family. These are just two dreams that I can remember some of the most details. So these dreams might sound bad and depressing, but really they are just dreams that I remember the most vividly I guess. Either way, I love to dream and enjoy it a lot.

The Red Badge of Courage Chapters 9-20

Things definitely start transforming in these chapters. Henry is finally finding hiimself and is taking a stand. You can see a sense of pride that Henry has, especially about his regiment, 304th. At one point a general says that he can afford to lose regiment 304th because they do not fight good at all. Henry and Wilson overhear this declaration and are very appalled and disappointed that they would say such a thing about their regiment because they were currently undefeated. So when they are commanded to attack, Wilson and Henry go into the battle with a new look and fight til the end just to show the general how good their regiment is, and they end up winning the battle. During this battle, Henry carries the regiments flag through the fight, I think that this is just the beginning for Henry as he is showing his courage in the midst of war. How heroic is it to carry the flag of your regiment through a battle that you are not suppose to win and fight it til the end?? This is a great example of the definition of a Hero in the Realism time period. Henry is an ordinary farmer boy, who is yet again doing something extrordinary by being a leader for his regiment and taking a stand. The government in these chapters is again the fact that each person has to follow strict orders given by their general. They really do not have a choice of they want to survive. Psychological it has to be extremely tough to see not only the enemy die, but your friends as well. That has to take a toll on you. Henry is still worried that someone will find out his secret that he did not really fight in the first battle.
Overall, most of the characteristics of Realism are repeated here in chapters 9-20 again, but the difference is that in these chapters Henry's personality, courage, and leadership really shows through. It was fun to read of his courage.

The Red Badge of Courage Chapters 1-8

One thing that I have realized while starting the book is that Stephen Crane is very discriptive. He describes the battle scenes and it makes you feel as if you can see the generals commanding their troops, the smell of sweat, and hear the guns going off in rapid fire. All the things that come on a battlefield, are distinctly described in the first eight chapters. Another thing that he puts in along with all the "senses" descriptions is his own thoughts on the matter of war. I have heard about the Civil War and read about it at school, but it was cool to get to see the war from the perspective of a young man/boy was one that I have never read about.
One thing that makes this story a story from the Realism time period is that the definition of a hero is similar to the Realism period hero. A Realism hero is an ordinary man that is put in an extraordinary situations. I think that that is exactly what is going on it Stephen Crane's book. Henry (the youth in the book) is an ordinary kid that works on his parents' farm and is trying to be a war hero, which is definitely not ordinary. It said in the book that when he was in Washington, people cheered for him because of his uniform that he was wearing. He was a war hero, even before he went to war. The type of government was that of the United States government. Multiple times throughout the book the regiment complained because they were being moved from place to place without seeing any fighting action. They were basically all pieces in a game of chess that the United States government was using. All the soldiers were following government orders and that was about it. The American Dream was to end or finish the war. To be a hero. At this time in history, America was divided, and there hope and dream was to bo united again.

Honoring Our Veterans

Veterans are heros, plain and simple. They are dedicated people who decide to sacrifice themselves for our country. To me, that is a big deal. America has fought many wars, all of them being just as hard as another. Just think, some of them did not even have a choice. I bet that some of them did not want to go, but did anyways and represented their country with honor. To me, a Veteran is as follows; a hero, a person who sacrifices themselves for the duty of their country. They are people who fought for our freedom and independence. Talk about sacrifce.
I definitely think that Veterans deserve a day of honor. It is the least we can do for people who made the choice of putting their life on the line. I disagree with the type of people who decide to blow off Veterans Day just for a vacation. This is one day of the year where we are supposed to thank our Veterans, not take a personal day off because we feel like it.
I know of a couple Veterans. My grandpa, my cousin, my uncle, my great uncle and my neighbor. My cousin is a Veteran of Iraq and is currently in Korea. I most definitely respect him for the sacrifices he is making on my behalf. He has three children, and yet he is doing his job across seas. I am very thankful for what he does. One of my uncles was actually shot in the leg during the Vietnam War. He now walks with a little limp.
I think that Veterans are also people we can look up to. They have learned a lot with their war experience and deserve to be listened to, not ignored. I think that too often we right them off, just because they are old, but I think we could learn a lot from them if we just took the time to listen. They also deserve our respect.

My Favorite Tall Tale

Tall Tales are stories that as a kid we all love. Some Tall Tales are John Henry: The Steel Driving Man, Paul Bunyan: The Giant Lumberjack, Davy Crockett, and Pecos Bill. One of my favorite Tall Tales is Johnny Appleseed. That is probably because I have known that story since I was little. I bet that almost every kid by the time they are in second grade knows the story of Johnny Appleseed, how he wears a pot on his head, and plants Apple Trees everywhere he goes. That is a classic story. One of my other favorites is Davy Crockett. I am pretty sure that when I was little, I used to watch a movie on Davy Crockett and thought it was one of the coolest things ever. He would wear a racoon hat on his head and walk across the frontier protecting people, he was very heroic and very much a legend. Those two would definitely be my top two, the others I have read, but are a little less realistic. I remember reading some of them in English class in middle school, in seventh and eighth grade.
They were fascinating stories that are entertaining, but are clearly fictional. They are fantasies that attract our attention and are purely for the enjoyment of the reader. Though some are based off of true legends like Davy Crockett and Jonny Appleseed. That is probably another reason why I like them better than the others is because they are based off of a real living person, only maybe a little bit twisted in some areas. No matter how you shape it, Tall Tales are American Classics. They are stories that have been passed down and are told often. In some cultures they pass down stories in order to teach a lesson, so that later generations can learn from them and keep the tradition going. The American Literature Tall Tales are the types of stories that we tell in America. They might not hold any significant value, but all the same they are told for people to listen to and enjoy.

Vengeance

Vengeance...can be sweet. It is very similar to revenge, only revenge is the act of getting back at someone, and vengeance is twice as bad as that. I personally love vengeance, but one has to be careful with how they display their act of vengeance. The only instance where I like it is in a sport. When I am playing a sport, it is all fair game. Off the field, I am fine and patient with people, and I give very little support to vengeance. On the field...it is a completely different story. That is partly why I enjoy playing soccer is because I am competitive and enjoy competing. I like to beat people that have previously beat us in the season. It is a lot of fun. That is one way in which I am vengeful and one instance in which I enjoy it.

Some people (me included) can take vengeance too far. Sometimes I can get too competitive and things that should be fun, become not fun and I end up somewhat ruining it for myself. That is when you know that you have taken it too far. Also, when your main goal is to get revenge on someone, it usually comes back to hurt you more than the person that you were trying to get revenge on anyways. That is when people learn there lesson. In the story Moby Dick by Herman Melville the captain Ashab is out for revenge on the great sperm whale, Moby Dick. He wants to get back at him for making him lose his leg. Because of his pride, he endangers all of the sailors on board. They all end up dying except Ismael, the narrator of the story. That is a good example when your pride for vengence has gone too far and you need to take a step back and relook at the situation. Is getting revenge really worth it? Sometimes it is better to just forget about it and keep moving forward.

My Biggest Fear

This is a tough question to answer because it is hard to name your BIGGEST fear. I have a lot of small fears, and some of them are not just your regular, fear of spiders or snakes. I would have to say that my biggest fear is the fear of not living up to my potential. We all get one life on Earth and I want to make the best of it and live up to the potential that God has for me. I could also say that I fear the unknown. For me, it is one of those things that I struggle grasping. Its the unknown...scary. Even the little things like, not knowing what is on a test. I sometimes freak out because I do not know what is on it, all because of the unknown. I do not like not knowing what is going to happen, I tend to like to be in control. I try to remind myself that I am not in control and need to let go, but all these things are easier said than done. These fears can also be my greatest flaws, because they can bring out the worst in me. "Don't let your fears control you" is another little quote that I like.
I do have small fears, such as of spiders or even the dark if I am in some place that I do not know, but those are all fears of which are not as hard to get over. I do freak out though if I see a big spider. But the fear of missing out on something is one thing that I fear the most. Sometimes I just remind myself that if I am too worried about missing something...I probably am. I also fear making mistakes, but that is small as well. I like the saying "It does not matter that you make a mistake, it is what you do after you make the mistake that really matters".
Overall, I have many fears, some big and some small, and I think everybody has fears. It is just how you control them that really matter. How do you deal with them? It varies from person to person. Some people avoid them, others face them. It depends on the person. I try to face them, but I do still get scared. Then I just remember who is really in control of everything...and it makes me feel so much better.