red badge of courage

Later American Literature
Mr. Ferris
Spring 2015

The Red Badge of Courage
Essay assignment
Below are two central questions to consider as we close our study of Stephen Crane’s novel, “The Red Badge of Courage.” Choose one. In studying for the test, you may prepare a hand-written file card with notes to answer the question in class. You must attach the card to the test at the end of the period. On the card, you may outline your answer, and copy direct quotations and references from the text that you wish to use in your response. (No “micro-text,” i.e., computer-set 8- or 9-point type.)
Before you review the questions, a word about next week. The test, outside the essay, will consist largely of matching, true-false, and short answer questions. You should be able to complete the first part of the test in 30-35 minutes. That will leave you more than 40 minutes complete your writing task. Please bring your books to class so we may restock the bookroom in an expedient manner. Should you finish early, you should take a copy of the essay excerpt from, “The Sense of Place” by Wallace Stegner, in preparation for reading our next work, the play “Our Town.”

The essay questions: Remember, choose one. The multi-faceted nature of the question is intended to help you explore the topic in your own way, rather than require you to answer each part independently.

1. This is clearly an antiwar novel. What did the story say about the glamour of war that so strongly influenced Henry to enlist? Why did the author describe the battle wounds of some characters in such detail? Of what significance was it that none of the battles seemed to turn out decisively one way or another? What elements of satire might Crane have had in mind when he put such emphasis on the importance of holding up or capturing flags? What powerful message was implied in the general’s estimate of the extent of casualties to be anticipated in the charge? What other indications of the author’s attitude toward war could be found in the descriptions of the behavior of the officers and the treatment of the wounded? What questions about the war were raised in the book that still remain unanswered after our country’s involvement in its most recent wars?
2. Certainly one of the dominant themes of the novel is concerned with courage. What is the true meaning of courage? How important is it for one to be aware of danger in order to act courageously? To what extent is the purpose or reason of an act significant in determining the degree of courage? How do courage and foolhardiness differ? What are -some of the different kinds of courage In light of your answers to the foregoing, consider Henry’s situation. How much could his early desertion could be attributed to inexperience and loss of control and how much to sheer cowardice? Similarly, how much of a role did the following play in his later heroics: shame and guilt, deceit, the heat and smoke of battle, animal instinct, luck, anger at the officer who called his regiment “a lot of mule drivers” and greater self-confidence. What is your final assessment of Henry’s courage or lack of it?

Guidelines for the essay:
Content: You will make a strong, clear thesis statement in your introductory paragraph. This thesis statement will be fleshed out in the body of the paper, will be well supported by evidence from the text, and restated (not repeated) in a concluding paragraph.

Defense: As you build your paper, you will defend your points in a variety of ways. Here are a few suggestions of evidence from the text you could use to defend your thesis.
•   Examples of dialogue between characters
•   People’s actions
•   A character’s perception of the world
•   Characters’ reactions to their surroundings, other characters’ beliefs, or their reactions to their own actions or beliefs.
•   Direct characterization by the narrator.
Mechanics: It is your responsibility to be fully aware of the guidelines below. You must make certain that your paper meets these specific guidelines:
•   Your work flows naturally for the reader and includes the use of transitions and introductory/transitional words, phrases, or clauses.
•   You have avoided all use of slang that is not within quotation marks including “a lot,” “lots of,” “tons of”, “stuff”, etc.
•   You have avoided all contractions and the following words in all their forms: “get”, “you,” and “I,” and “thing.” The nature of this essay requires some formal distance, so the use of first person pronouns detracts from your overall purpose.
•   You have consistently used appropriate grammar, punctuation, and capitalization for standard written English.
•   Your quotes from the text are correctly cited by page number. (Parenthetical citation is acceptable.).

Red Badge of Courage Essay Outline

The roman numerals below do not equal paragraphs. Your essay will need to be more than five paragraphs. This is just to help you organize your main ideas and the evidence you will use to support them. Feel free to add sections as you see fit.

I. Introduction
A. Attention Getter
B. Thesis Statement
II. First main idea
A. Transition sentence for beginning of this section
B. How this goes with your thesis statement
C. Quote from the book
1. Page Number
2. Explain the quote in context of the story
3. How quote supports your point
D. Quote from the book
1. Page Number
2. Explain the quote in the context of the story
3. How quote supports your points
(Keep adding the “quote” section as you need to)

III. Second main idea
A. Transition sentence for beginning of this section
B. How this goes with your thesis statement
C. Quote from the book
1. Page Number
2. Explain the quote in context of the story
3. How quote supports your point
IV. Third main idea
A. Transition sentence for beginning of this section
B. How this goes with your thesis statement
C. Quote from the book
1. Page Number
2. Explain the quote in context of the story
3. How quote supports your point
V. Conclusion
A. Transition sentence to connect this paragraph to the rest of the paper
B. Thesis restatement
C. Wrap-up sentence (summarize, draw conclusions, state an opinion, etc.)

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