The Red Badge Of Courage Language Analysis

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Stephen Crane’s The Red Badge of Courage is thought of by many as one of the most important books in America focusing on war. This is mainly because of the very accurate representation of the perils of war that the book depicts. The largest factor in making the story that is told so believable is the many uses of literary devices and themes in the novel. In Stephen Crane’s The Red Badge of Courage, the use of figurative language, imagery, and the third-person limited omniscient point of view are crucial to the story, contributing to the harsh tone by making the reader feel the hardships and pain of war, while understanding the emotions and actions men take.
The Red Badge of Courage contains figurative language like metaphors and similes that
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First, Crane writes, “after the fever had left his veins, the youth thought that at last he was going to suffocate” (Pg. 27). The use of third person limited omniscient point of view allows for the reader to know only Henry’s inner thoughts and actions. This gives the reader a way to see that Henry suffered greatly during this fight, with the point of view giving a better look into his dire situation. Next, the narrator explains, “he ran like a blind man… knocked his shoulder so heavily against a tree that he went headlong… he had turned his back upon the fight his fears had been wondrously magnified” (Pg. 30). The description of Henry running away, along with the realization that his fear was getting larger, create a harsh tone and dark story. The lack of thought in Henry’s actions shows the reader that the war meant horror and desperation for many men. Moving through, Crane describes another unhappy scene, “he discovered that he had a scorching thirst… his face was so dry and grimy that he thought he could feel his skin crackle… his feet were like two sores” (Pg. 49). The point of view allows for the reader to understand that Henry is destroyed, both mentally and physically. His body wrecked, the point of view gives more to the harsh tone by explaining the extent of …show more content…
The literary devices are used for similar reasons, but each has its own way of helping the reader understand the book. The harsh tone works well in The Red Badge of Courage, firstly because it fits with the realistic war setting, but also because so many descriptive terms and literary devices are used to create it. The novel’s great amount of literary devices is one of its biggest upsides. With the effect literary devices had on the story and the passage of emotions, there is no question that they have a large contribution to the tone of a story, and should be used more