Naturalism in The Red Badge of Courage

Stephen Crane is one of the most important Naturalist writers of all time. Although he was not even alive during the Civil War, he used it for his novel, The Red Badge of Courage. This work truly represents Realism as it describes the events of a soldier, even though Crane himself never served to have experiences to draw from (Bloom). Naturalism is revolves around accurately depicting the events of a story and other parts of the literary work (Quinn). This often results in stories that are quite grim because the genre of Naturalism shows the world how it is rather than as the perfect place that can be seen in many other genres. This is easily the case with The Red Badge of Courage because it is about the Civil War, which was obviously a very dark time for the country as a whole. A major part of Naturalism is the vivid descriptions of the events taking place and this story accomplishes just that.

One of the downsides of having a genre in which the events and stories are very realistic is that they usually end up having very dark, grim styles. This story has this characteristic to a certain extent. When reading it, initially one does not feel that it is all that bad, but then the reader realizes that the author is addressing the act of killing men over and over again (Crane 493). War is one topic in literature that has been popular throughout time, but the style of portraying it has changed quite a bit. In some time periods, serving in an army is depicted as an honor and an important part for members of the society, but this story focuses on how the act of killing becomes almost second nature (Crane 493).

Naturalism literature pays close attention to the details of the events in a story, as the focus of the story is to accurately depict those events. This story does that through with its strong descriptions of how the character was feeling both physically and emotionally. One line in particular displays this: “…a blistering sweat, a sensation that his eyeballs were about to crack like hot stones. A burning roar filled his ears. (Crane 493)” It is these vivid descriptions that separate Naturalism from other literary genres. Some critics believe that it is the depiction of what is happening that is even more important that the events themselves in a work of Naturalism (Quinn). This makes sense as being in battle is quite simple, while the emotions felt and physical feelings felt by the people there become very complex.

Even though Stephen Crane never actually served in the Civil War himself, he was able to successfully portray the events that took place. He was able to describe in great detail not only the events that took place but also the emotions felt by the soldiers as if he were a veteran. Experiences in a war are one of the most popular topics for Naturalism and Stephen Crane was one of the best at this making him of the greatest Naturalist writers.


Works Cited

Bloom, Harold, ed. "Background to The Red Badge of Courage." The Red Badge of Courage, Bloom's Guides. New York: Chelsea House Publishing, 2007. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts on File, Inc. Online. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= BGTRBC003&SingleRecord=True. February 13, 2011.

Crane, Stephen. "The Red Badge of Courage." Glencoe American Literature. comp. Wilhelm, Jeffery. McGraw Hill. Columbus, OH. 2009. pg. 493.

Quinn, Edward. "naturalism." A Dictionary of Literary and Thematic Terms, Second Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2006. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= Gfflithem0538&SingleRecord=True. Online. February 13, 2011.