Tuesday, May 27, 2008
The Red Badge of Courage, Question 2
Stephen Crane is often viewed as a Naturalist, which means he is a writer and thinker who believes that human beings are governed more by hereditary instincts and passions than by the environment or society. Cite examples from the book which would either serve to prove or disprove this view of Crane.
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There are a few examples that disprove Crane’s Naturalists thoughts. The first example is when the youth first runs. He always doubted himself, but what made him run this time was the environment he was in and what was going on around him. There were gun shots and chaos forming around him which led him to run. Another example was when he was hit in the head by he man with a gun but had lied when he met his other soldiers; he said he was shot. The environment he was in with the soldiers had made him want to conceal the truth. I don’t think the lying was inherited but due to the environment he was placed in he had lied, so he wouldn’t seem less than a man. There is also the example of when the environment caused him to feel the intensity of battle. He felt that war was bringing them into a brotherhood, which is a feeling that isn’t hereditary. He was feeling the closeness of the war, the environment he had been placed in made him feel as though he had his regiment were now together. Lastly, there is the example of when the youth had seen the soldiers around him fighting with heart and he moved forward during battle and found courage, to the point he seemed to be filled with madness, shooting still when nothing was left. Courage wasn’t a thing given to him by anyone, but seeing the circumstances of the war and the battlefield environment had led him to find it within himself and fight with bravery.
In the beginning of The Red Badge of Courage, I started to believe that Stephen Crane was indeed a Naturalist. I believed this becuase he described in depth, the fear and insecurities that Henry Fleming had. Crane only showed the youth's instinctual habits and did not express how capable Henry Fleming was of adjusting to his given vantage. Unlike the other soldiers, he was scared to fight in the war and this gave him a feeling of isolation, becuase he could not relate to their thoughts or feelings. Henry did not share his fear or doubts with the others, because he knew that they would disapprove, he reacted to those surrounding him, not to his instincts which would have been to share his thoughts with his fellow soldiers. Henry decided to seek out another soldier who felt the same way that he did, but when he saw how docile the other soldiers were when battle was mentioned, he realized that he needed to have the same attitude as them. Later in the book, when Fleming was put in a situation of intense battle, Crane showed that it was possible for Henry to properly adjust his feelings and emotions towards the predicament that he was in. A side of the youth that the readers had not yet experienced was brought out in this scene; he was no longer insecure and did not doubt himself. Fighting became second nature for him and he no longer felt isolated or alone, because he obtained the confidence in battle that he did not previously exhibit, and this gave him a feeling of one with the soldiers who he was fighting beside.
Milieu is the only conclusive subject that drives soldiers in ‘The Red Bade of Courage.’ Henry Fleming, who believed in the tale of heroism, realizes the appalling side of war as he encounters the fatal combats. In the beginning, he defines the war as ‘some sort of a play affair’. However, surrounded by crisis of war, his ludicrous illusion of war shifts into initial fear of war. ‘He felt that in this crisis his laws of life were useless. Whatever he had learned of himself was here no avail. He was an unknown quantity.’ Moreover, he cowardly runs away from the battle, thinking that he is more historic than others. Henry’s coward nature changes as he encounters with soldiers, whose characters contrast to Henry’s. Henry meets column of wounded men when he get away from the gruesome combat. In the column, Henry meets a tattered solider who keeps asking him where he was wounded, which he considered the red badge of courage; his endless speculation toward his wound morally challenges Henry. Facing death of his friend, Jim Conklin, Henry again feels the qualms of conscience. And he gets the wound that he desired eagerly which he uses as vindication for fleeing. These and some other circumstances make Henry a valiant soldier, change him to rebuild his selfishness to self-assured, and makes him believe that he has great deeds to accomplish and he won’t die due to his fate. In chapter seventeen, the lieutenant calls Henry a “wildcats”; he could win the war in a week if he has thousands of Henry. Furthermore, Henry and Wilson feel insulted when they hear commanders saying that the 304th regiment ‘fights like a mule driver,’ saying that the 304th regiment will be killed the coming battle. Cowardly instincts should have driven Henry to runaway and to abandon somewhere far from his regiment. Instead, Henry and Wilson hurried back to their comrades with the news that they are about to charge. They even carry the flag for the regiment during the combat and are admired as the best fighters of the regiment. Henry turns into a veteran and a successful soldier due to the severe environment that surrounded him. In the end, Henry recalls his foolishness and declares himself to be a man without vanity. ‘He had been to touch the greatest death, and found that, after all, it was but the great death. He was a man.’ I consider this quote outrageous since Henry’s hereditary instinct was filled with cowardice and selfishness. Wilson, like Henry, changes due to his surroundings; he is no longer the loud solider who was obsessed with his own valor and who gave Henry a yellow envelop in case of his death. The lethal environment and hardships that surrounded Henry and Wilson strengthened them both emotionally and physically and exterminated their poltroonery instincts.
This question could really be answered either way. I feel that there are naturalist views but that the society impacts them. At the beginning of the book Henry tells his mother that he is going to enlist in the army. Her instincts tell her that she does not want him to go, for fear that he could die. She realizes though that there is a pressure in society for him to join. She is unhappy that she has to let him go, but she does so anyways.
Another example of this is when Henry is thinking about fighting. He is nervous that he will get killed in battle. His instincts tell him that it is best to run. He knows that he can not do this though, as he would look weak, and let down his fellow soldiers. Once again instincts are overshadowed by societal pressure.
At the beginning of the war Henry is very unsure of himself and he is scared to fight. throughout the book, he learns to adapt to the war. He ends up not being so nervous about going into battle. "His self pride was now entirely restored" (pg.86). This proves that he adapted to the army well because at the beginning he did not have self pride.
Overall Crane does have some naturalist views, but they are overshadowed by the influence the society has over the people.
Stephen Crane is a Naturalist. Many times the actions of the youth are purely driven by instincts. At one point in the book, the youth throws something at a squirrel. In reaction to this the squirrel ran away. The reaction to flee when faced with danger is an instinctual reaction. Likewise, when faced with battle for the first time, the youth ran. This fleeing response is the same as the squirrel's reaction.
Another example of behaviors caused by natural instincts is when the youth rejoined the group to fight. This instinct of wanting to be part of a group is natural. We see it in bees working together in a beehive and birds flying south together. While there may be other reasons the youth rejoined the group, the desire to be in a group is natural and likely contributed to his behavior.
Brie-
You make many valid points in your answer. However, I wonder if some of them actually support that Crane is not a Naturalist. According to Bubar's definition of a Naturalist: one "who believes that human beings are governed more by hereditary instincts and passions than by the environment or society". It seems some of your points indicate that society influenced Henry's decision. For example you say that "Henry decided to seek out another soldier who felt the same way that he did, but when he saw how docile the other soldiers were when battle was mentioned, he realized that he needed to have the same attitude as them". This could be seen as an example of society/ the environment influencing his thinking and therefore his reaction. When thought of this way it is not an instinctual behavior but rather a behavior influenced by the external forces of the environment. In reality it seems to me that your examples help to illustrate that the behaviors are influenced by both instincts and society/ the environment.
Robby-
You are right, I was trying to say that Crane was NOT a naturalist. Unfortunately I failed to clearly state that in my answer, which I should have. Sorry! I meant to say:
In the beginning of The Red Badge of Courage, I started to believe that Stephen Crane was indeed a Naturalist, but later concluded that he was not.
I wrote this answer in a Microsoft Word document on the very old computer at my job, and then I copied, pasted and posted it onto the blog, and something must have gotten cut off in the process. My apologies everybody! In the future I will be more thorough in my proof reading!
brie-
That makes more sense to what you said in you answer.
Stephen Crane is a Naturalist. Through out the book the youth is going on instincts which indicate that his actions are natural. The youth runs from battle in fear and thinks that he has a better chance of survival, when he ran away from the battle he thought he was doing the wrong thing by running. He tested what a squirrel would do in a similar situation by throwing a rock in the squirrel direction, when the squirrel saw the danger he ran, just as the youth did when the battle started. Also when the young soldier joins the group of wounded soldiers is a natural instinct. He joins in with the group and finds the tall soldiers and they leave the group. Shortly after they leave the tall soldier dies, and the young soldier wishes he was like the others in the army. He wants to be stronger and help the group which he couldn’t do in the first battle when he ran away. It is normal for people to want to be in a group and not alone. Another example is when the youth tells his mother he is enrolling. The mother doesn’t want him to enroll, but can’t do anything about It. She starts acting like a ‘mother hen’, in the way that she moves around gathering all the thinks he will need for war telling him to send things home if they need to be fixed. When doing so the mother instincts are to shelter the youth as long as she can, which is a natural reaction.
Through-out Stephen Crane’s “The Red Badge of Courage” there is a lot of evidence both proving and disproving that he is a naturalist writer. There is evidence disproving it when the main character Henry Fleming decides to enlist in the first place. Granted his enlistment was the backbone of the whole story he still decided to be temporarily governed by society and enlist just like many other men had done. Also, when Henry Fleming chose to flee the fierce heat of battle his choice was dictated by a passionate fear of death. His passionate comradeship with his fellow soldiers wasn’t enough to keep him in the middle of danger so naturally he took off running. When faced with a conflict such as war our human instincts kick in to choose between fight and flight, Henry’s instinct was to flee in hopes of self preservation.
Sam-
I think your squirrel excerpt is a perfect example of Crane's naturalistic writing. A lone squirrel isn't going to be influenced by societal norms at all and animals in general are very instinctual beings when compared to humans.
Sam/Sean-
I have to disagree on the example regarding the squirrel. As stated in the original question, a Naturalist is "a writer and thinker who believes that HUMAN BEINGS are governed more by hereditary instincts and passions than by enviroment or society." The squirrel is not a human being, therefore his actions are irrelevant to the Naturalist study.
At the beginning of the book, I thought Crane is a naturalist because he describes Henry's fear against the war. Henry scared of the war and had nostalgia for his comfortable farm. Fear against some threat is instinct of human being. This instinct is well described at the beginning of the book. However, as story flows, it is changed. Henry doubts whether other soldiers have fear of war, and starts not showing his fear because he thought others would jeer at his fear. This phenomenon is far from Naturalist since Henry is aware of others' eyes and tries to get rid of his fear. He does not want to be felt like seperated from others so he starts jumping into the war and expriences. The way of Henry's behavior may be described as instinct that people want to be with the others not segregated. However I believe that his practices to get over the fear are because of social and environmental issue.
Brie-
That is a GREAT point. The question said a "hereditary instincs" which is some thing passes down by your parents so even if the squirrel example doesnt count, i think that all parents tell there kids to run from danger.
When I saw Robby’s, I thought that the action of being part of the group might be the instinct. However I think that it is more like social issue. Society represents the gather of many people and create the big group so Henry’s the desire to be part of the group is probably not the instinct but social impact. Therefore I am more likely to agree with Paul that there both inherited issue and social impact exist at the same time.
You would think Stephen Crane was a naturalist. This answer could go either way. Yes, Crane uses a lot in nature to describe what is going on but he describes it in a way to make a clear image and that is not what a naturalist would write. He definitely has his "naturalist moments". As Robby posted about the example with the squirrel, that is indeed a perfect example of him acting like a naturalist. Backing up my reasons as to why I believe he was not a naturalist; "Some of the men muttered and looked at the youth in awe-struck ways. I was plain that as he had gone on loading and firing and cursing without the proper intermission, they had found time to regard him." (page 81) If he was a true naturalist, I believe, he would describe that scene in a different way.
Adding on to what Paul had posted about Henry thinking about fighting. That event was definitely impacted by society. Yes, it is Henry's instinct to run but he thought about it first, it was not an impulsive action.
In Stephen Crane’s “The Red Badge of Courage”, I constantly went back on forth on whether or not he was a naturalist writer. One of the strongest examples of him being a naturalist is when the youth first runs. He ran because of his surroundings and out of fear. He constantly doubted himself and caused himself to feel weak and unable to fight. He lied about injuries because of his surroundings and the people around him. The youth felt as if he had something to prove; he felt as if he had to prove that he was a man and not a boy. But what overall conquered, was self preservation. The parts where he wasn’t a naturalist, was when the youth enlisted in the first place.
Sean -
After I posted my answer, I happened to notice that you and I shared the yes and no feeling. Did you feel that way throughout the entire book, or just right after he ran?
Mimi-
I certainly agree with your thought that Stephen Crane is a Naturalist. I also think enviroment that surronded Henry made him change. However, I disagree with your opinion that Henry moved toward battle because he saw other soldiers fighting with their hearts. Henry is morally challeged by his action and that made to realize vanity and selfishness in him. And I consider that is the primary reason why Henry, after all, suddenly became fierce.
“In the shade of its flourishing growth he stood with braced and self-confident legs, and since nothing could now be discovered he did not shrink from an encounter with the eyes of judges, and allowed no thoughts of his own to keep him from an attitude of manfulness. He had performed his mistakes in the dark, so he was still a man,” this quote exactly tells that Stephen Crane is a Naturalist. This part is when Henry ran away from the battle to save his own life. He felt embarrassed and Crane compares that Henry could not bear over it. Also, the last line is saying that what Henry did was unforgettable and undeterminable.
Robby
I agree with you on that Crane is a Naturalist. As you said, my quote is also one of the quotes that are compared as instincts.
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