March 24… 4000 Casualties

Question: “No casualty is more or less significant than another; each soldier, Marine, airman and sailor is equally precious and their loss equally tragic,” said Rear Adm. Gregory Smith, the U.S. military’s chief spokesman in Iraq.

Crane and O’Brien are no different. Each depicts death in his own way just as each soldier deals with death (impending or actual) in his own way.  Chapters 9-10 in RBC are an excellent example of Crane’s technique. Explain his technique and what effect this has on the reader. Be sure to explain both the reader’s experience and the experiences of the other characters.

 Answer: The techniques Crane uses in his story are, again, naturalism and realism. He takes a real-life situation and intends to make the reader feel a certain way. The narrator says, ” At times he regarded the wounded soldiers in an envious way. He concieved persons with torn bodies to be peculiarly happy. He wished that he, too, had a wound, a red badge of courage” (51). Although this isn’t anybody dealing with dealth, it is the thought of death and a wound that encourages Henry to wish hurt upon himself. The thought of having a terrible wound and maybe even dying, shows courage. Henry is dealing with hurt and the thought of death (right now at least) with a peculiar outlook. He isn’t upset, he is envious of those who might die. The reader at this point must step back and wonder why he would want to be hurt. Crane had added this aspect of the story to show a contrast with what will happen in the future. This whole event was before Henry’s friend/comrade, Jimmy, dies. At the end of chapter IX, the narrator says, “The youth turned, with sudden, livid rage, toward the battlefield. He shook his fist. He seemed about to deliver a philippic. ‘Hell—” (56). At this point, Henry is clearly upset. He was mad as he turned with “livid rage.” He shakes his fist which is a sign of anger. The tattered man has a totally different outlook on the death of Jimmy. He says, “Well, he was a reg’lar jim-dandy fer nerve, wa’n't he” (56). The tattered man is not upset. He is quietly dealing with the death of his comrade. The tattered man goes on to joke a little about his death as he says, “I wonner where he got ‘is stren’th from? I never seen a man do like that before. It was a funny thing. Well, he was a reg’lar jim-dandy” (56). He seems to have no problem whatsoever with the death of this man. Of course, he has been in the war where he must see people die every single day. But the contrast between how Henry and the tattered man deal with the death, reveals a contrast in the reader. The reader can now relate to any one of these two men. They can be upset and sympathetic or make a joke and be happy because at least it wasn’t them! Again, Henry’s reaction is explained when the narrator says, “The youth, awakened by the tattered soldier’s tone, looked quickly up. he saw that he was swinging uncertainly on his legs and that his face had turned to a shade of blue” (56). Henry was so uneasy that he was swinging back and forth and his face turned blue. Then the narrator says, “The tattered man waved his hand. ‘Narry die,’ he said. ‘All I want is some pea soup an’ a good bed. Some pea soup,’ he repeated dreamily” (57). While Henry changes color, the tattered man only wants some pea soup. He doesn’t even say much about the man who just passed away; all he does is talk about pea soup. Throughout the rest of the chapter, the same sort of contrast is seen. The reader experiences a bit of both worlds. The reader can relate to a feeling no matter what it is. They can be upset about what has happened or pass it off as nothing. The emotions the reader feels are conveyed either through Henry or the tattered man. He uses his age-old technique of realism and naturalism. This is/could be a real event, and these are/could be real people that anyone can relate to.

Comrades

Question: Check out this definition and etymology at Dictionary.com and compare that with Henry’s relationship to his comrades in the first fifteen chapters

Answer: A comrade is a person who shares one’s interests and activies or is a friend or companion. A comrade is also known as a roommate. Comrade is a word used address a fellow member of the communist party. Before knowing the definition of comrade, I thought it was a really good friend. The dictionary definition makes the word “comrade” seem sort of impersonal. It isn’t described as being a good friend, but merely as someone who shares the same interests or a “roommate.” But, the definition doesn’t suggest that the relationship is very personal either. In The Red Badge of Courage, everyone that Henry runs into is his comrade (by definition). Each person he encounters or knows shares his same activities as they are all in the war and fighting for the same thing. One part that struck me as being more personal than the dictionary definition is when the narrator says “The youth desired to screech out his grief. He was stabbed, but his tongue lay dead in the tomb of his mouth. He threw himself again upon the ground and began to brood” (56). The narrator even goes on to point out some of the other things Henry is doing to show his greif. Henry was thoroughly upset when his friend died. The dictionary defintion feels so impersonal to me, that if a “comrade” died, it wouldn’t be as much of a big deal; it would be more of a normal occurence during wartime. When Henry meets up with people passing by and tries to ask them questions, he grabs a man’s arm. This next instance seems a little too impersonal to be a “comrade.” This is becuase the narrator says, “He adroitly and fiercely swung his rifle. It crushed upon the youth’s head. The man ran on” (67). The man Henry encountered was a man that was also in the war. By definition, this is his comrade. Although the definition seems impersonal, a “friend” or “roommate,” or even a person with the same interests wouldn’t whack someone on the head with a rifle. Finally, on page 69, I found an example of what I would call a comrade. The narrator says, “At last he heard a cheery voice near his shoulder; ‘Yeh seem t’ be in a pretty bad way, boy?’ The youth did not look up, but he assented with thick tongue. ‘Uh!’ The owner of the cheery voice took him firmly by the arm. ‘Well,’ he said, with a round laugh, ‘I’m goin’ your way. Th’ hull gang is goin’ your way. An’ I guess I kin give yeh a lift.’ They began to walk like a drunken man and his friend.” To me, this is a comrade. This is a friend, a person who shares the same interests and is willing to help out. He doesn’t leave him stranded and isn’t too overly personal with him. This example seems as if it goes along with the dictionary definition very well. The word “comrade” isn’t actually used until Chapter 13, where more and more people are brought together at once. After Chapter 13, the “comrades” seem to be more like the dictionary definition of a “comrade.” None of them are too personal, or too overly impersonal. Each person seems to be together as a group. One example is when the narrator says, “He thought he must hasten to produce his tale to protect him from the missiles already at the lips of his redoubtable comrades. So, staggering before the loud soldier, he began: ‘Yes, yes. I’ve-I’ve had an awful time. I’ve been all over. Way over on th’ right, I got shot….” (72). Of course, this man is just making small talk, which it is something that might be done between comrades (not too personal, not too impersonal). In each of these instances, the characters are reavealed in very random ways. Nobody is with Henry the whole time. Each person just sort of shows up and then leaves. I’m actually not sure if this would be a comrade or not. There is nothing in the definition about this aspect. Of course, a friend can be a temporary friend or a friend forever. A roommate can live with you for a week, or for the rest of your life. That part is up in the air.

Courage vs. Cowardice

Question:
a) How do our main characters stack up against the traditional norms?
b) What is your definition of courage and heroism?
c) What other experiences or literary works have worked to build this definition for you?
d)  How do O’Brien and Crane achieve their goals?
e) What literary spin are they putting on the ball of words to get us to swing? 
*** Be sure use quotes from the text and commentary to support your ideas.
Answer:
a) The characters in The Red Badge of Courage stand against traditional heroic norms in the things they do. An example can be found on almost every page of the three chapters we were to read. One of the biggest examples of unheroic character is found when the narrator says, “There was a singular absence of heroic poses. THe men bending and surging in their haste and rage were in every impossible attitude” (34). The narrator is referring to the fact that heroes are usually seen standing in intimidating poses. Next, the narrator talks about only the main character as he says, “And ther ehe remained, clinging desperately and crying for assistance that he might withdraw his hold upon the tree” (35). In this quote, the main character is described as being frightened, a great contrast to the common definition of a hero. The reader finds out more about this character when the narrator says, “He went into an ecstasy of self-satisfaction” (37). A hero is humble and does not get caught up in “self-satisfaction” like this character. Another un-heroic thing that the character does is when “he went far, seeking dark and intricate places” (44). Instead of facing his fears, he ran away from them and tried to hide.

b) Courage is a characteristic in which a person shows bravery and isn’t afriad to try new things or go into a tense or dangerous situation. A hero is someone that has courage and bravery. A hero is humble and looks out for the good of others, thinking lastly of himself.

c) This defintion was built by things I have seen in the past. The first one that comes to mind is the story of Hercules. The second is Beowulf. Both of these men showed great courage and heroism and didn’t give up without a fight. Neither of them were selfish and thought of others and not themselves.

d) O’Brien and Crane achieve their goals of changing the traditional forms of the hero by making everyone in the story, not only the main character, seem cowardly. One example of this is when the narrator says, “Many of the men were constantly dodging and ducking their heads” (29). This example shows a side of men that is not heroic. Men that are heroic wouldn’t duck their heads but would face anything and try to overcome it. Another example is when the narrator says, “The men groaned. The luster faded from their eyes. Their smudged countenances now expressed a profound dejection. They moved their stiffened bodies slowly, and watched in sullen mood the frantic approach of the enemy” (38). This is a great example of imagery. The image that Crane uses is one of men who groan, have stiff, slow moving bodies and who don’t run at the enemy, but watch it approach instead.

e) The literary spin the authors are putting on the words is the fact that they are using naturalism and realism. Hercules is a tale; a story that most likely didn’t happen. It has to do with Hades and monsters, etc. Of course, people find Hercules a hero but know it isn’t real. In Crane’s novel, the characters he uses represent real people and parts of society. One ironic aspect, that I believe adds a spin on the story, is the fact that the men described are not seen as heroic while what they are doing (in general) is very heroic. If a man fights for his country, that exhibits bravery. A man fighting for something like the idea of liberty, etc. is brave in his own sense. It is ironic that the men are described as not being heroic when they actually are heroes in a sense.