Red Badge of Courage Thesis

In the book Red Badge of Courage, Henry wants glory and will do anything to get it.

In the last major battle that Henry was in, he went and grabbed the flag when it was laying on the ground and began to charge. He was praised for this by many of his fellow soldiers and his leader. "The youth had centered the gaze of his soul upon that other flag. Its possession would be high pride (Crane 23)." This quote proves that the only reason why Henry went and risked his life to get the flag was to get praised by people higher up. He carried the flag around even when they were resting on the fence post. He laid it right next to him so everyone could see the flag. The regiment ended up winning the battle in large part because of the charge Henry led.

Before Henry actually went to the war, he said he was looking forward to impressing the girls when he came back. "As he basked in the smiles of the girls and was patted and complimented by the old men, he had felt growing within him the strength to do mighty deeds of arms (Crane 1)." What motivated Henry the most was smiles and the compliments he would get from all the girls. He should have been thinking of what was ahead and how to help the army instead of thinking the praise he will get. Henry just wanted the glory and to brag to all the girls in the town of his couragous acts in war. He wants people of the town to look up to him for all his accomplishments. If everyone knew what he did, he would not get the praise he desired.

Henry fought very hard in a lot of fights to impress his fellow soldiers. "He lay and basked in the occasional stares of his comrades (Crane 17)." His comrades were staring at him because the red rage overtook him during battle and he couldn't stop killing the enemy. He knew he did something very good in battle and people were talking about his great battle.They would stare at him talk about the job he did. Henry noticed the staring and took it all in. He loved the attention he was getting for his fighting. He was getting the glory at this point, just like he wanted.