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    The Red Badge of Courage: The World of Henry Fleming
    The Red Badge of Courage: The World of Henry Fleming
    The Red Badge of Courage: The World of Henry Fleming
    Audiobook4 hours

    The Red Badge of Courage: The World of Henry Fleming

    Written by Stephen Crane

    Narrated by Deaver Brown

    3.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    The Red Badge of Courage

    The Red Badge of Courage was Stephen Crane's best known novel. It was one of his two great ones, the other being the under rated, Maggie: A Girl of the Streets, which was also a ground breaking novel taking up the subject of women's plights in industrial society as the Red Badge takes up men's plight in wartime.

    The story is a cerebral one, about what the protagonist, new recruit 18 year old Yankee Henry Fleming, thinks. As in most Crane writing, most characters remain nameless such as the Tall Soldier. The story starts with all the enthusiasm of newbies going to war. Then Fleming faces the boredom of military camp and, as a writer famously said, 99% of the time boredom, 1% terror. Crane introduces us to that subject through this novel. In the first battle Henry runs; but he is covered by the confusion and gets to return and reunite with his fellows. He picks up a fake injury to justify this by being bonked on the head by another retreating soldier.

    In the last section, Fleming steps up as the flag carrier, fights well, and survives for another day. Another later Crane short story, The Veteran, features Fleming as an older man, so presumably he survived the Civil War. This is all left open ended as the novel only covers a few weeks time in the four year war. Listen to The Veteran to see how it all turned out and was remembered.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimply Magazine Inc.
    Release dateDec 30, 2010
    ISBN9781614961192
    The Red Badge of Courage: The World of Henry Fleming
    Author

    Stephen Crane

    Stephen Crane (1871 - 1900) was a war correspondent, novelist, short story writer and poet. He is the author of Maggie, The Red Badge of Courage, George's Mother and The Black Riders. Ernest Hemingway on The Red Badge of Courage: "One of the finest books of our literature…it is all as much of one piece as a great poem is."

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    Reviews for The Red Badge of Courage

    3.5/5

    66 ratings58 reviews

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    • 2/5
      The Red Badge of Courage is yet another book that has been praised so much I thought I should read it. While I can't say that I enjoyed it, or even appreciated it, I can say I'm not sorry I read it. But into the Give Away pile it goes.
    • 5/5
      A seminal read. Highly recommended. It should be read by every American. It should be required reading in high school.
    • 4/5
      This book was required reading when I was a freshman in highschool. However, I enjoyed reading it because I felt like I was watching a movie in my head.

      I love how the author describes the sun as an orange wafer in the sky, at the end of the book. Maybe it was red, I forget.
    • 4/5
      To say that Red Badge of Courage is about a young man in combat during the Civil War sells the story short. Henry is a young man facing many things for the first time in his life and throughout battle he struggles with all of it. It's a historical snapshot of the psychology of war. It goes beyond whether Henry can be brave or not. Whether he is a true soldier or not.
    • 4/5
      Written near the end of the 19th Century, this is a classic story of the Civil War. The "youth" leaves his farm and mother as an idealistic soldier wanting to fight the good fight for the Union. War is Hell, especially in the 1860's. But it also means long stretches of boredom. After much waiting around, the Youth's regiment meets the enemy on the battle field. He finds he is overwhelmed and has a crisis of faith and confidence and runs away, a coward. He eventually returns to his unit, after much soul searching, the next day, crisis resolved, determined to become a good soldier.This war story is, perhaps, the prototypical war story. I recognized many tropes of modern war stories (both in film and books). The unsure, untested youth, who rises to be a hero. The gruff veteran leader who cajoles and inspires his troops to fight on to victory.A classic story that is engrossing, despite being almost 125 years old. Despite being that old, the language wasn't that dated, and very readable."In the darkness he saw visions of a thousand-tongued fear that would babble at his back and cause him to flee, while others were going coolly about their country's business. He admitted that he would not be able to cope with this monster. He felt that every nerve in his body would be an ear to hear the voices, while other men would remain stolid and deaf.""In the present, he declared to himself that it was only the doomed and the damned that roared with sincerity at circumstance.... A man with a full stomach and the respect of his fellows had no business to scold about anything that he might think to be wrong in the ways of the universe, or even with the ways of society."8/10S: 1/7/17 - F:1/15/17 (9 Days)
    • 4/5
      The Red Badge of Courage is an American Civil War story masterfully written by a guy who never had an war experience. I regrettably felt a lot of connection to the protagonist. I also noticed familiar themes of incompetence in military leadership. Unsettling to think that little has changed in common observations made by enlisted men of their officers. This, too, was an unabridged audiobook expertly read by one of the most gutturally pleasant voices I've ever had the pleasure of listening to.
    • 2/5
      I read this book a long time ago and just reread it. The author describes a young recruit in the Federal Army during the civil war. We are told of his actions and thoughts. He begins with cowardice and later acts with courage. The story is a reminder that war is a stupid way of resolving conflict. It is difficult to see why this book has been forced on students for many years other than it is short and teaches some history. There is nothing really interesting about the book.
    • 3/5
      Another book that I no doubt should have read as a child, but never got to (not being American). Very fast read. I finished the entire thing in about an hour. While it is a classic study of the horrors gripping a young soldier on his first trip to the battlefield and influential in its time, the book didn't really grab me. This is probably due to the use of theme as plot in a fairly short novel so I never really became attached to Henry.
    • 4/5
      Anthony Heald does a fantastic job in his audio reading of this classic novel.
    • 2/5
      For Christmas, I ordered an mp3 player (Library of Classics) that was pre-loaded with 100 works of classic literature in an audio format. Each work is in the public domain and is read by amateurs, so the quality of the presentation is hit or miss. This was the fifth novel I’ve completed and, like the first four, the reader did not detract from the experience, and was in fact quite good.The Red Badge of Courage is subtitled “An Episode of the American Civil War”. It follows a callow, young Union soldier named Henry Fleming, as he enlists and sees his first action against the Confederate Army. At times, the story is very engaging, however very long stretches are taken up with the thoughts and imaginings of young Fleming that grind the story to an agonizing halt. It is no secret that Fleming runs from his first encounter with battle, whereupon numerous chapters are consumed with his rationalizations and recriminations as he wanders the rear, seeing injured soldiers and advancing and withdrawing units, before he returns to his squad with a mysterious head wound which covers his cowardice.Subsequent skirmishes take place in which the author uses every florid adjective in the English language to describe Fleming’s actions, thoughts and impressions. The final several chapters are so absurd in their tortured use of descriptive words and phrases that I was left shaking my head. As bad as the audio version was, I can only imagine having to read the book. Avoid at all costs.
    • 4/5
      One of my all time favorite books!
    • 2/5
      Crane's work, an early entry in the pantheon of American literature, can be read as either an anti-war polemic, or a pro-war piece of propaganda. Certainly the main character, who goes through a personal crisis when faced with battle, swings like a pendulum between the two extremes, and it is unclear by the end which side he settles on. For instance, is it good to fight the good fight because it is good, or because it is necessary?
    • 1/5
      I love Crane's use for metaphors in this book, because they completely make sense with war and everything that's going on.
    • 4/5
      Another one from the Guardian's top 100 books list. Hard to read in that it was depicting such traumatic events and also the language was so vividly descriptive it became a bit dense for me. I was relieved it was short! Modernist text that depicts the confusion and horror of the battlefield.
    • 4/5
      Rite of passage? Ideal v. reality? Historical fiction? This novella has all of those. Stephen Crane wrote this story in 1895 without ever having fought in battle. Somehow he still creates this vivid account of young Henry as he arrives to fight for the first time in the American Civil War. Powerful story.
    • 1/5
      Painful to read. I know it's a classic. I know it is historically relevant. I still think it sucks.
    • 4/5
      A lot of people seem to dislike this tale, but I enjoyed it. Really set the stage for thinking about the Civil War.
    • 3/5
      Somehow over the years I had missed reading this classic. It is well-done, and the dialogue is especially well-done. My only criticism is that the transition from battle-to-non-battle and back, and from chapter-to-chapter often lacked a certain expected continuity.
    • 1/5
      Summary: I am sure that I'm just to much of a girl to appreciate the wonder of this book. War, war, war and the suffering of young boys is all around us. I imagine my boys will glory in it, now if I can just get through it again...
    • 3/5
      Of all the novels I was forced to read as a junior high/high school student, this stand out as my favorite. I am not a fan of this type of literature, but was drawn in by Crane's story of a Civil War soldier and the emotional and psychological tole the war took on him.
    • 5/5
      It is a great classic if you like stories about courage in battle.
    • 3/5
      I think that there are some very telling moments in this novel, and I think there are some beautiful metaphors, but there was something about it that just did not draw me in. I can't quite put my finger on it, but something was missing.
    • 1/5
      The Red Badge of Courage is the tale of the initial cowardice and later courage of a Union soldier in the Civil War. The young soldier grows up and learns to deal with his feelings about the war.I had heard so much about this book but was terribly disappointed. I had a very difficult time getting through this "saga". Just a another CLASSIC that didn't grab me. Don't know what the fuss was all about.
    • 3/5
      Such an exciting and informative book.
    • 4/5
      Today's book is a classic that I have wanted to read for quite some time but never got around to...until now. Stephen Crane's The Red Badge of Courage covers the American Civil War from the point of view of a Union soldier. It's the gritty portrayal of life at the front and just what it's like to lay down your life for a cause that you don't fully understand. In fact, our protagonist has almost no clue what it is that he's fighting for or against. He joined up because it was the done thing which seems to be the case for the rest of his regiment as well. There are those that brag about their bravado but when the time comes for the bullets to fly they are the first to turn and run. At first, our soldier is condescending towards these 'cowards' as he sees them but he very quickly sees the futility of their regiment's actions as they seem to be merely feinting and arbitrarily gaining and losing ground. It is a gritty, raw description of battle and defeat which is undercut with confusion and fear. These are children playacting warfare but the injuries and death are very real. Crane's insistence on not holding back lends a realistic, deadening of the senses feel to what it's like on the battlefield when you are surrounded by death and horror at every turn. He was making a commentary on the futility of war and how those who are a part of the 'war machine' are generally lost as to the meaning of why and who they are fighting. I am immensely glad that I finally picked this book up and gave it a read. I encourage ya'll to do the same. It's a slim volume and will take no time at all (though I don't promise you'll want a break every now and again from the bloodshed). 9/10
    • 4/5
      I enjoyed this book. I think it is a book that youth will read and think they understand, but only years later with the experience of knowing how fickle our emotions are and how often how the world is treating us greatly sways how we see the world, will the irony of the main character's journey come out.Henry Fleming has grand visions of being a hero and determines he will serve in the Union Army, against his mother's wishes. He is young and immortal so he doesn't see any reason for his mother to be sad. And her practical advice about clothes and food are also inappropriate, taking away his chance to make grande pronouncements about his great deeds.His first experience with war is the boredom of waiting. Eventually rumor of battle comes and he begins to wonder if maybe he'll run away in battle. He worries about it but knows that only time will tell. What follows are battles and feelings of invincibility, fear, agony, comradeship with the others in his regiment, guilt. anger at the officers, anger at Nature, anger at the enemy, a little anger at himself, and satisfaction in a job well done.My edition had an introduction and Afterward by Joe Haldeman that were very interesting and helpful, but also short so they didn't take away from enjoying the story itself.
    • 4/5
      This was a good book but a little hard to read. I noticed that the author used the same words a lot such as crimson while describing things but I really enjoyed the book. My mom suggested this book and told me that she had read it when she was in high school as a mandatory read so I figured I should check it out since it is a classic of sorts. It was a short book and a fast read but I do think that I have a better understanding of what warfare was like on the front lines of the Civil War. I think that I will be reading more books from the civil war era.
    • 3/5
      Almost impossible to tell who is speaking, thinking, etc. Had to re-read many passages to attribute it to an individual. I kept reading because it is a "classic" and in theory it would get good. I was disappointed. Good thing it was a "short" classic. Why IS this a classic?
    • 2/5
      The only reason I listened to the audio version of The Red Badge of Courage is that it's a classic of American literature. I wasn't impressed. I don't know if it's because I am not a fan of American literature in general, or if it's because the book has been overrated. Throughout the book, Crane refers to his protagonist, Henry, as “the youth”. Was he afraid that readers were going to forget how young some of these soldiers were if he didn't continually remind us of it? The almost exclusive focus on Henry's youth at the expense of other aspects of his character worked to distance me from Henry. I would have abandoned the book early on if I hadn't had a personal reason for wanting to finish it. It's the book my father taught when he did his student teaching. I don't know if he chose the book or if it was assigned. I wish my father was still here to talk with me about this book. If anyone could help me get anything positive out of it, he could have.
    • 4/5
      This was another classic I read to help out my twelve year old daughter for school. Somehow I missed it in my youth which is just as well because I probably wouldn't have enjoyed it then anyway.The story is about Henry Fleming, a spoiled young man who enlists in the Union Army against his mothers advice. Henry doesn't know what to expect in war. For a long time his unit is left idling, waiting to engage the enemy. When they are finally called to battle it is not anything like Henry expected. Although he tries to fight he decides it would be suicide to stay and runs. He is so convinced that they will all be needlessly slaughtered that he is determined to alert the field commander that he is making a mistake. By the time he reaches the officer he finds out that the men in his unit who have stayed to fight have indeed won the battle. Henry feels ashamed of himself when he sees the men with their bloody injuries, their "red badges of courage." Not so ashamed though that he does not accept the bedroll and care offered to him by a fellow soldier who mistakenly thinks that Henry was injured in battle but in reality his head wound was obtained while running away. Henry examines himself and his actions and determines to be more courageous the next time he meets the enemy. In the ensuing battle Henry grabs up the flag and leads his unit after it is dropped by the injured flag bearer. By taking charge Henry metaphorically makes the transition from a boy to a man.Although the author never served in a regiment his portrayal of war is very realistic. As I read I could clearly picture the bullets whizzing past the heads of the men as they fought. Another searing image that will stay with me is the dead soldier in the woods. At the time this was written, the war was being portrayed as being glorious by people such as Frederick Douglas. Crane's depiction offered a much more realistic view of the horrors of war. Stephen Crane used literary devices such as simile, personification, alliteration, and imagery to paint a vivid picture of what it would have been like to be on the battlefield. The text needs to be read slowly in order to get the full picture of the words. My twelve year old daughter was bored to tears by this book and I am sure that many children who are assigned this novel fail to appreciate it. Part of the problem may be that the protagonist is a very unlikeable person. Even when he is having his moment of glory, he is doing so by wresting the flag away from another soldier who is also reaching for it. Henry's characters flaws aside, I still found the book fascinating. I have always enjoyed learning about the Civil War and having visited several battlefields I could clearly picture the events as they were unfolding in the book. I don't think a generation raised on Harry Potter and Hunger Games will find a lot to enjoy in this novel but I did like the soldiers perspective of war that this book gave.