In The Red Badge of Courage there seems to be some misconceptions of what it is to be a hero. The young man believes that he is a soldier because he has enlisted in the war. Later though a hero is defined as someone who has courage when it is needed. A hero is defined as someone who doesn’t back down especially at the time of a battle. The first indications of fear are when he is laying in his bunk (Page 484). While he is lying in his bunk he is trying to make himself sure that he will not run away during battle. While he is thinking this through he is thinking about the possibility of dying while he is at war. This possibility is what seems to scare him the most; considering that he is young and has never experienced something like this before.
I agree with Haley that there is misconceptions about what it means to be a hero in this novel. I believe that Henry thinks a hero is someone that is enlisted in the army, and that being in the army is what makes a man a hero. Whereas, a true hero is, like Haley said, someone who actually fights in the war and fights to protect their country. A hero is willing to risk their life without thought of the cost to himself so that they bring about a change for others. I would agree with Haley, the first indication of fear is when Henry is lying in his bunk debating with himself whether he would run away in battle or whether he would stay and fight. I believe the rumor of the men going to battle made fighting, and perhaps dying, a reality for Henry and made him reconsider why he was there, and if he should be there. His fear came from his youth and lack of life experiences.
Caiti O I would have to agree with Haley because he kept asking a lot of people about running away from the battle and the thought of dying was giving him a scare and he was rethinking his place in the war and why he really enlisted in the war. He was a newcomer so he never really had the experince of fighting and seeing blood,and maybe even bones sticking out of his teams or someone else's body.
Sarah M. In this novel, war is seen as a heroic concept because most people of this time didn’t know what the civil war was really like. If they had known, there probably wouldn’t have been as many parades dedicated to young soldiers going off to battle. Before the war, the main character, Henry, could think of nothing but enlisting. In his mind, war was like a Greek mythological adventure, similar to that of Homer’s Odyssey. He knew the battles of his time were not “Homeric”, but that didn’t stop him from seeing the glory in them. He dreamed of one day joining in these bloody conflicts. Once Henry enlisted, he was excited to show his schoolmates his uniform and essentially basked in his new-found popularity as a soldier. This feeling didn’t stop on the way to Washington as his regiment was made out to be heroes even before they saw any action. They ate wonderful food and were smiled at and complimented by young girls and old men alike. How could they not believe they were heroes when they received such attention? This lovely daydream ended when Henry got to camp and saw that war was actually a waiting game. Before his first battle, fear had time to set in. He began to think of what he would actually do when he entered into a battle. He couldn’t decide if his mind would let him stay and fight or if his legs would take him far from danger. This fear was infectious because he couldn’t stop thinking about it until the time came for him to get his first real taste of being a soldier.
I agree with Sarah in the way that people thought that enlisting in the war would be heroic. Henry doesn't really know what war is like and it seems that he only wants to join because of the first impressions that war is really not that bad. He feels that if he enlists he will be looked up as not only as a soldier but also as a hero because he stood up and faught for his country. The thing Henry does not realize that war is a very dangerous place to be and death is always stalking upon someone and it seems that Henry fears death.
I agree with what Sarah had to say, in that people believed enlisting was heroic. Henry enlisted into the army because he was thinking only of himself and doing it so he would be a hero, even if that means going against what his mother says. Henry quickly finds out that war is not all that it looked to be. Instead of being a hero, he finds that he is unsure of himself and would eventually flee from the very first hint of battle he experiences.
I agree with Haley. I definitely notice some misconceptions throughout the first couple chapters. Henry joined the war basically believing that that would make him a hero. He thought that all war was victorious and that they would not lose. He did not actually think of the reality of war and the possibility of death. When he did realize that he could die he became scared and that is when he began trying to find a way out, but at the same time trying to convince him to stay.
I would have to agree with Haley. I think that Henry thinks that just sign up and being on battle grounds is being a hero. It is this very idea of heroism that is the motivational force behind Henry’s ambition to join the war. This desire to live up to the Homeric ideal feeds on pride and vanity of youths and is clearly demonstrated by Henry. I believe that Henry really only cares about how people perceive him. He wants to be looked at as a hero and not a coward. Henry starts to worry about how people perceive him when he starts getting thoughts of running from battle.
Alex K. I also agree with Haley. It is very clear that the idea of what it means to be a hero is not very well understood by the characters in the book. To Henry enlisting in the army made him a hero already but he quickly learned when battle came and fear finally sunk in what it really means to be a hero.
Tyler C. I agree with what Haley said. Many of the boys really did not really know what it truly was to be a hero, and at that time, they were not mature enough to step up and become a hero. Henry thought that by enlisting in the army, he would just magically become a hero with out doing anything, but he was wrong. When henry is laying in his bunk, that is when he first begins to second guess himself, and if he will really step up and be a leader like he thought he would be. He begins to wonder if he will run away in war, or risk his life.
Jason Phelps The young man thinks that heroism is being able to be in a war and fighting in battles and have something to show for it. At the start of the book he is so eager to join and be a hero. But by him being young and not knowing much about the world or anything else he doesn't know the true identity of war. He started becoming fearful when he was laying down and thinking of battle and contemplating if he was going to run or not, and if he is going to die in battle. He doesn't truly know what heroism is and what scares him most is the fact of dying.
Levi J. I agree with haley's commment that there are some misconceptions of heroism in the novel. To society, all soldiers are heroic and brave, but when you look at individual soldiers, it changes. The concept of fighting for your country is noble because society has worked it up to be a big honor because if it wasn't then no one would ever fight for their country. If you look at the individuals, then you see that there is cowardice and they aren't model soldiers like society believes every soldier is. Fear first comes to Henry when he first finishes his trip and ends up stationed in a camp with no fighting going on. He is intimidated by the rumors and begins to retreat into himself where he just thinks everything through in his head. He thinks out his fears and tries to find ways that he is a hero, but can't because although he is in the army, he himself hasn't done anything heroic to make himself feel the heroism. If the war were to end and he never was in a battle, society would still look up to him because they don't know that he wasn't in combat, they just know he was in the army and so automatically he is deemed a hero.
Spencer B I would have to agree with Haley and Sarah as well. He thought it would be heroic just to enlist but he really had no idea what it meant to be 'heroic' as Haley said, and he does seem to have second thoughts in his bunk. I think he just wants to be able to step up and become a hero, and prove that he is one to himself and others.
Tim M. The idea of a hero in the Red Badge of Courage is that you go off to fight in the war and conquer your enemies without hesitation. Henry like every other kid thinks to be a hero you have to defeat your enemy and do it. To Henry war seems like something that could earn him glory by fighting and he can become a hero. The real hero is not someone who is the best fighter that comes out victorious in every battle but is a person who shows courage and sacrifices himself to help others. A real hero is the one that doesn’t come back from battle. Henry starts showing fear one day when he was sitting in his bunk. While he’s lying there he realizes the possibilities of battle and that he could die. He begins fearing the idea of going to battle because his original idea is far from what battle is in real life
Haley Larson
ReplyDeleteIn The Red Badge of Courage there seems to be some misconceptions of what it is to be a hero. The young man believes that he is a soldier because he has enlisted in the war. Later though a hero is defined as someone who has courage when it is needed. A hero is defined as someone who doesn’t back down especially at the time of a battle.
The first indications of fear are when he is laying in his bunk (Page 484). While he is lying in his bunk he is trying to make himself sure that he will not run away during battle. While he is thinking this through he is thinking about the possibility of dying while he is at war. This possibility is what seems to scare him the most; considering that he is young and has never experienced something like this before.
Miranda G.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Haley that there is misconceptions about what it means to be a hero in this novel. I believe that Henry thinks a hero is someone that is enlisted in the army, and that being in the army is what makes a man a hero. Whereas, a true hero is, like Haley said, someone who actually fights in the war and fights to protect their country. A hero is willing to risk their life without thought of the cost to himself so that they bring about a change for others.
I would agree with Haley, the first indication of fear is when Henry is lying in his bunk debating with himself whether he would run away in battle or whether he would stay and fight. I believe the rumor of the men going to battle made fighting, and perhaps dying, a reality for Henry and made him reconsider why he was there, and if he should be there. His fear came from his youth and lack of life experiences.
Caiti O
ReplyDeleteI would have to agree with Haley because he kept asking a lot of people about running away from the battle and the thought of dying was giving him a scare and he was rethinking his place in the war and why he really enlisted in the war. He was a newcomer so he never really had the experince of fighting and seeing blood,and maybe even bones sticking out of his teams or someone else's body.
Sarah M.
ReplyDeleteIn this novel, war is seen as a heroic concept because most people of this time didn’t know what the civil war was really like. If they had known, there probably wouldn’t have been as many parades dedicated to young soldiers going off to battle. Before the war, the main character, Henry, could think of nothing but enlisting. In his mind, war was like a Greek mythological adventure, similar to that of Homer’s Odyssey. He knew the battles of his time were not “Homeric”, but that didn’t stop him from seeing the glory in them. He dreamed of one day joining in these bloody conflicts. Once Henry enlisted, he was excited to show his schoolmates his uniform and essentially basked in his new-found popularity as a soldier. This feeling didn’t stop on the way to Washington as his regiment was made out to be heroes even before they saw any action. They ate wonderful food and were smiled at and complimented by young girls and old men alike. How could they not believe they were heroes when they received such attention? This lovely daydream ended when Henry got to camp and saw that war was actually a waiting game. Before his first battle, fear had time to set in. He began to think of what he would actually do when he entered into a battle. He couldn’t decide if his mind would let him stay and fight or if his legs would take him far from danger. This fear was infectious because he couldn’t stop thinking about it until the time came for him to get his first real taste of being a soldier.
I agree with Sarah in the way that people thought that enlisting in the war would be heroic. Henry doesn't really know what war is like and it seems that he only wants to join because of the first impressions that war is really not that bad. He feels that if he enlists he will be looked up as not only as a soldier but also as a hero because he stood up and faught for his country. The thing Henry does not realize that war is a very dangerous place to be and death is always stalking upon someone and it seems that Henry fears death.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what Sarah had to say, in that people believed enlisting was heroic. Henry enlisted into the army because he was thinking only of himself and doing it so he would be a hero, even if that means going against what his mother says. Henry quickly finds out that war is not all that it looked to be. Instead of being a hero, he finds that he is unsure of himself and would eventually flee from the very first hint of battle he experiences.
ReplyDeleteMashayla C.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Haley. I definitely notice some misconceptions throughout the first couple chapters. Henry joined the war basically believing that that would make him a hero. He thought that all war was victorious and that they would not lose. He did not actually think of the reality of war and the possibility of death. When he did realize that he could die he became scared and that is when he began trying to find a way out, but at the same time trying to convince him to stay.
I would have to agree with Haley. I think that Henry thinks that just sign up and being on battle grounds is being a hero. It is this very idea of heroism that is the motivational force behind Henry’s ambition to join the war. This desire to live up to the Homeric ideal feeds on pride and vanity of youths and is clearly demonstrated by Henry. I believe that Henry really only cares about how people perceive him. He wants to be looked at as a hero and not a coward. Henry starts to worry about how people perceive him when he starts getting thoughts of running from battle.
ReplyDeleteThe anonymous option has now been turned on. Levi, thank you for pointing that out
ReplyDeleteAlex K.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with Haley. It is very clear that the idea of what it means to be a hero is not very well understood by the characters in the book. To Henry enlisting in the army made him a hero already but he quickly learned when battle came and fear finally sunk in what it really means to be a hero.
Tyler C.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what Haley said. Many of the boys really did not really know what it truly was to be a hero, and at that time, they were not mature enough to step up and become a hero. Henry thought that by enlisting in the army, he would just magically become a hero with out doing anything, but he was wrong.
When henry is laying in his bunk, that is when he first begins to second guess himself, and if he will really step up and be a leader like he thought he would be. He begins to wonder if he will run away in war, or risk his life.
Jason Phelps
ReplyDeleteThe young man thinks that heroism is being able to be in a war and fighting in battles and have something to show for it. At the start of the book he is so eager to join and be a hero. But by him being young and not knowing much about the world or anything else he doesn't know the true identity of war. He started becoming fearful when he was laying down and thinking of battle and contemplating if he was going to run or not, and if he is going to die in battle. He doesn't truly know what heroism is and what scares him most is the fact of dying.
Levi J.
ReplyDeleteI agree with haley's commment that there are some misconceptions of heroism in the novel. To society, all soldiers are heroic and brave, but when you look at individual soldiers, it changes. The concept of fighting for your country is noble because society has worked it up to be a big honor because if it wasn't then no one would ever fight for their country. If you look at the individuals, then you see that there is cowardice and they aren't model soldiers like society believes every soldier is. Fear first comes to Henry when he first finishes his trip and ends up stationed in a camp with no fighting going on. He is intimidated by the rumors and begins to retreat into himself where he just thinks everything through in his head. He thinks out his fears and tries to find ways that he is a hero, but can't because although he is in the army, he himself hasn't done anything heroic to make himself feel the heroism. If the war were to end and he never was in a battle, society would still look up to him because they don't know that he wasn't in combat, they just know he was in the army and so automatically he is deemed a hero.
Spencer B
ReplyDeleteI would have to agree with Haley and Sarah as well. He thought it would be heroic just to enlist but he really had no idea what it meant to be 'heroic' as Haley said, and he does seem to have second thoughts in his bunk. I think he just wants to be able to step up and become a hero, and prove that he is one to himself and others.
Tim M.
ReplyDeleteThe idea of a hero in the Red Badge of Courage is that you go off to fight in the war and conquer your enemies without hesitation. Henry like every other kid thinks to be a hero you have to defeat your enemy and do it. To Henry war seems like something that could earn him glory by fighting and he can become a hero. The real hero is not someone who is the best fighter that comes out victorious in every battle but is a person who shows courage and sacrifices himself to help others. A real hero is the one that doesn’t come back from battle. Henry starts showing fear one day when he was sitting in his bunk. While he’s lying there he realizes the possibilities of battle and that he could die. He begins fearing the idea of going to battle because his original idea is far from what battle is in real life