CLIMAX
In Stephen Crane's
The Red Badge of Courage, the climax is reached in Chapter XX as
the main character, Henry Fleming, overcomes his fear and with Wilson leads the 304th
Regiment of the Northern Army to a most unlikely victory over the Southern "rebels."
Henry, no longer narcissitic and concerned only about himself, perceives himself as part
of the regiment; he and the others seize the rebel flag along with their position. After
this victory, the men's spirits are charged and they have regained their confidence and
enthusiasm. When some of the men tell Henry and Wilson that the colonel has praised
their valor, they are encouraged and proud; their enthusiasm for battle is reinforced.
In fact, this praise strengthens Henry for the next
battle.
FALLING ACTION
In the
ensuing battle, however, there is great loss of life; Henry finds himself lost to the
vision of this carnage:
He stood, erect and tranquil, watching the
attack begin agaist a part of the line that made a blue curve along the side of an
adjacent hill....Of a sudden the guns on the slope roared out a measure of
warning....The youth's ears were filled cups. They were incapable of hearing
more....The youth, still the bearer of the colors, did not feel his idleness. He was
deeply absorbed as a
spectator.
Finally, in
Chapter XXIII, Henry is moved to action after his impressionistic observation of the
battle. Henry becomes involved in the battle in which the men suffer losses, but are the
victors, having captured four prisoners. Henry and his
friend
nestled
in [the grass] and rested....They sat side by side and congratulated each
other.
DENOUEMENT
In
the resolution of Crane's novel, Henry Fleming and his regiment receive orders to march
toward the river. As the men march along, Henry reflects upon his experiences,
reproaching himself his early behavior, especially his abandoning of the tattered man.
Pondering the recent happenings, Henry is able to "criticize with some correctness" his
deeds, and is able to pull himself away from his initial
guilt:
Yet
gradually he mustered force to put the sin at a distance. And al last his eyes seemed
to open to some new ways....He felt a quiet manhood. nonassertive but of sturdy and
strong blood. He knew that he would no more quail before his guides wherever they
should point. He had been to touch the great death, and found that, after
all, it was but the great death. He was a
man.
Henry has
rid himself "of the red sickness of battle. The sultry nightmare was in the past." His
inner vision makes him perceive the universe as beautiful although it is indifferent in
Crane's naturalistic
world.
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