The Red Badge of Courage Study Guide

Summary and Analysis of Chapter 17-20

Chapter 17 Summary:

The youth fumes at the approaching enemy. He feels that he deserves a bit of rest and reflection from his trials and tribulations of the day before. The other men do not seem to need this. Their energy seems endless. He hates them today, as opposed to the day before, when he fumed against the war gods. Now he rages against the enemy army.

He says to his friend that if they continue to chase, they better watch out. Wilson calmly replies that if they keep chasing, they will end up in the river. This makes Henry yells out. He crouches behind a small tree, looking the part of a wild soldier. He wants his rifle to be a destructive power, annihilating the other army, who he feels are mocking him and his fellow soldiers for being puny.

A shot is fired from the Union side and soon the entire regiment blazes at the enemy. As they fire, the youth feels that the fighters are at bay, but pushing back. The enemy, however, evades the bullets sent in their direction. He feels that his rifle is an impotent stick. He loses everything but his hate. He is soon no longer conscious that he stands on his feet. He loses balance, but then quickly stands again. The smoke broils his skin. His rifle barrel grows hotter and hotter, and he still continues to stuff it with cartridges. Even after the enemy falls back, and the rest of the regiment has stopped shooting, he continues fighting after his foe.

He is brought back into his head with a soldier laughing at him. He turns and sees the blue line staring at him with astonishment. The youth quits his actions with a simple "Oh." The lieutenant is overjoyed. He congratulates the troops for their fighting, and Henry in particular. Wilson comes over and asks if anything is wrong with the youth. He replies, though his throat hurts, that nothing is wrong.

Henry thinks of his actions and realizes that he has fought like a barbarian. Yet it was easy. Through his actions, previous obstacles seemed little. He was now what he called a hero.

He looks at his fellow soldiers and they look at him. They rejoice a little at their good fighting that morning. The forest still echoes with the sound of battle. And a cloud of smoke goes up into the blue sky.

Chapter 17 Analysis:

Though still "the youth," Henry has changed from the day before. At the beginning of the fight that day, he is no longer thinking of the metaphoric monsters and war gods that threaten to eat him up. There is no large metaphor that he gives flesh and life. There is only an opposing army, coming at him in his position with an energy he does not feel and cannot understand. This fills him with rage, instead of fear. While he thinks of them in bestial ways, as having "teeth and claws" and being "flies sucking insolently at his blood," they are still men of some type. This is an important change from the day before. Given that the force he faces is of men and not mythical beasts, Henry is more likely to actually be brave.

However, his actions are not of exceptional bravery. He becomes one of a smoke-producing group once again, acting quickly and with rage, as the day before. Yet he is even less aware of himself on this battle day. He cannot tell what is up or down or even that the battle is over.

He only thinks of his actions in a certain context when the lieutenant congratulates him. Only after that does he think of himself as something‹a hero. This idea of his is tenuous at best. He remains "the youth," which still shows his immaturity. His actions in battle were done without thought, consideration, or care. His heroism, if there was any in his actions, was accidental. The way we can tell his maturity and heroism is evident in his thoughts of the enemy he faces. He is still fighting out against metaphors. Though there are no war gods or dragons, the men he fights are superhuman or quasi-human with animal-like features. Interestingly, this makes the youth fanatical, "a barbarian," and a bit superhuman himself. Yet he is not quite a hero. Not yet. The blue sky reappears at the end of this battle, just like the first skirmish, representing optimism. But a cloud of smoke from battle drifts up into it. Henry Fleming has still not finished his journey through this book. The smoke shows that the mysteries of war still remain.

Chapter 18 Summary:

There is a brief rest after the battle, but the noises of cannon and guns soon resound in the forest again. One soldier has been shot through the body. The men rush to his attention. He lays twisting and thrashing about in the grass, yelling curses at the men standing there. Wilson, the friend, uses this occasion to go for some water. Soon he has the canteens from many men. Henry decides to go with him, wanting to put his body in cooling water.

They did not find the stream the friend thought he saw, so they turn back towards where they came. From where they were they could see more of the battle than when on the line. Their own troops are getting into formation. The sunlight twinkles off their steel. Near where they stand, bullets whiz by occasionally.

Looking down an aisle of trees, the youth and his friend see a general with his staff ride up past a wounded man crawling on his hands and knees. Soon the officers are directly in front of the two soldiers. The general speaks of the Rebel army massing for another charge and how he fears it may break their lines. The staff members speak amongst themselves. Then Henry and Wilson hear the general ask if any troops could be spared. One officer volunteers their regiment, calling them "mule drivers." The general tells him to get them ready, adding that many of them will not get back. The other yells something in reply.

The two foot soldiers hurry back to their line. The combination of the recognition of their feats and their seeming expendability wears on Henry's mind. They tell the men of their regiment that they are to charge. There are some protestations, but most of the men believe them. They are soon engrossed in thoughts about the charge. Officers soon come and put the men in tighter formation. The regiment draws a new breath. They are full of energy, like a sprinter in the starting blocks. The noises of battle go up around them. Wilson and Henry exchange looks. They are the only ones who have heard that they are not expected to survive in great number. One man muses out loud, "We'll git swallowed."

Chapter 18 Analysis:

This chapter shows a difference between the foot soldiers of the novel and the men who have the upper command. Throughout the story there have been occasional complaints from the troops about the general's lack of ability. It is true historically that in the Civil War, the Union side suffered from poor leadership in its upper ranks throughout much of the war. This fact, however, is not crucial for the story. What is important is that the commanders do not see the men as individuals, but as a fighting force.

The general and his staff almost crush a wounded man when riding along in the forest. They are oblivious to the suffering of this individual soldier and of individual soldiers in general. Their words are not groundbreaking, not those of great men. They are solidly technical and evaluative. Glory does not come easily even to a general, this goes to show. Henry, who has been obsessed with war glory since before his time in the army, waits for some grandiose language from these men. Instead, he gets the information that his regiment is a good one and that the attack they are about to commit to will likely kill many of the men. The simultaneity of this statement strikes Henry as odd. They are referred to "as a broom," in other words, as some sort of tool. To these generals, this is what war is about‹ordering and directing groups of actors against other groups of actors. They care little for the actions of sole members of that group as long as they do what is needed to help the army out.

The news of a coming advance on the enemy gives the regiment more energy and will. Yet, they only know that they will charge. They do not know the two-fold evaluation of their past acts and the outcome of their future acts. In the general's words is a similar approach to time that Henry has exercised throughout the novel, evaluating past actions and prophesizing on future outcomes. Yet he does it casually and seemingly without care. This is quite different from Henry's thoughts, which magnify the importance of everything, even events that have not yet happened. Of course this strikes Henry as strange. The general's words are a completely different way to look at the battle, separated from Henry by age, experience, and social class. The youth accepts the possibility, though, that they may indeed die. He exhibits in this some bravery for the battle to come.

Chapter 19 Summary:

The youth stand in formation. With a gasp that is intended to be a cheer, the regiment starts running at the enemy troops. Henry fixes on a distant clump of trees and runs toward it as if toward a goal. His face is drawn tight, and his features look disheveled and crazed. Yellow flames leap out of the forest at the advancing soldiers. The line lurches, its parts staggering ahead of each other as the troops all run. The youth is unconsciously at the lead. Bullets fly all around. Shells scream overhead. Men, hit by flying metal, fall in agony.

As the men run, the features of the enemy become clear. They can see a battery and the men working at it. The enemy infantry are still concealed by gray walls and smoke. The scene seem hyper-real to Henry. He sees the bold green of the grass and the features of the brown and gray trees. His mind makes an impression of everything, except the reasons why he is there.

The men break into cheers as they run. They were a blind frenzy against despair and death. Yet the pace eats up their energies. The regiment stalls. They begin to calculate and become self-aware once more. The moment the men stop, the musketry in front becomes a roar. Yellow flames cause inhuman whistlings in the air. Some fall, dead. The others simply stand. They appear dazed and stupid.

The lieutenant of the troops comes up and yells at them to keep going. He continues to yell and curse after the troops. Wilson, the friend, drops to his knees and fires a shot at the enemy. This awakens the men, who begin firing. They now move in small jerks, going forward a few steps, then stopping to reload and fire again. The shots against them keep coming. The smoke is so intense that it makes it difficult for the regiment to go forward with intelligence.

The men stop behind trees. They wear faces that express a lack of feeling responsible for being where they are. It is as if some other force is driving them. As soon as they stop, the lieutenant is at them again, cursing and swearing for them to go on. He grabs Henry to drag him across. The youth lashes out at his commander, saying, "Come on yerself, then."

Three men in front of the flag begin to yell to move. The flag sways proudly in the breeze. With a lunge, the men go forward again. They go over the small field. They run and duck as they go. As he runs, Henry is filled with a fondness for the flag, feeling its beauty and invulnerability. Because it still swayed proudly, he endowed the flag with power. In the rush, the color sergeant is hit. He sways where he stands. Both Henry and Wilson jump for the flagpole. The dead man will not let go, still doing his job. Soon, the two have wrenched the flag from the corpse's control.

Chapter 19 Analysis:

Now, Henry Fleming, the youth, is about to see something more of battle. As the regiment lurches forward towards the enemy, they seem driven by some super-human impulse. The red in Henry's features show that this madness is derived directly from the pressures of war. Somewhere in between the pressure from commanders and the pressure from the enemy lies this insanity, which makes the men speed forward towards firing guns.

Their nerves are tested as they go. The guns fire yellow flame, the color again representing cowardice. Fear of death causes feelings of self-consciousness and, in advanced cases, the desire to flee. However, as they get closer, the enemy becomes less mysterious. They can make out the cannon and the men working feverishly at them. The Rebel army is beginning to take on more human form, as a group of men and not a force of war.

However, the fear and the running cause the men to pause. As they pause, Henry becomes more self-conscious, wondering why he is actually here and fighting. This self-consciousness halts the crazed nature of the assault, but does not cause the troops to look for safety. They are caught in between two states‹bravery and cowardice. They are reduced to inactivity. The lieutenant, who cares more for the success of the regiment than the individuals, presses the men to keep charging and fighting, rather than fleeing to safety. Yet soon his actions are reduced too, he only able to curse at his troops and tug at them to charge. Meanwhile the smoke of battle, the recurring metaphor for this book, becomes so think that the men do not where to go. This adds to their general confusion, not just in the plot but also as a metaphor. They stop, illogically, in the middle of the battlefield because of it. However, Henry knows that on the other side, beyond this smoke of mystery, lay men of an opposing army. He must get through the smoke to see them and end his mythologizing of war.

What breaks Henry from his lethargy is the vision of the American flag. He latches on to the red and the white‹war and power‹as driving, energizing forces. The flag does not falter. As the troops go, it stays flapping in the breeze. Even as the color sergeant falls down dead, he feels that the flag gives him and the regiment power. His actions become slightly clearer, his energies more directed. He leaps for the flag. While it makes him more of a target, he also is attempting to master "the colors." If he can handle the red and the white of the flag, he will finally master his experience of war.

Chapter 20 Summary:

The men begin to slowly retreat. The lieutenant bellows at them to turn around. Another officer with a red beard yells at the soldiers to shoot into the enemy. Meanwhile, Wilson and Henry have a minor scuffle over who should carry the flag, both wanting to do so out of deference for the other's safety and their own pride. The youth pushes his friend away, finally.

The regiment falls back to some trees. Soon it resumes its path amongst the trunks. Their numbers are depleted, and they are receiving heavy fire. Most of them act discouraged, receiving the bullets like a deserved sentence. They feel as if they have tried to conquer an unconquerable thing. The rear of the regiment is still firing the occasional bullet at the enemy lines. The lieutenant has been hit in the arm; this makes him swear all the louder.

The youth feels anger at the officer that called his regiment mule drivers. His dreams wavered when the charge stopped at the clearing. Now they are retreating. He hates the enemy, but hates the man who called them mule drivers even more. This man had no connection with reality.

Despite all this, Henry keeps the flag erect. He yells at his fellows, but the regiment is running out of energy quickly. The smoke clears slightly, and he sees the enemy troops amassed across the way. They yell at once and fire a rallying shot at the regiment. The way in front seems eternal. Dismay descends on the men in a clouded haze. They begin to panic. Henry stays solid and strong with the flag. One soldier even approaches Henry to say goodbye.

The lieutenant, leaning on his sword like a cane, looks as if he feels all is lost. The smoke curls lazily as men hide from bullets. Suddenly, the lieutenant sees that the Rebels are attempting to sneak up on the regiment. The troops fire a quick volley at the approaching foes. Henry could, just before the shot was fired, make out the features of these men. Their uniforms were gray and looked new. They were not expecting the resistance that met them. The two groups of soldiers exchange volley like boxers exchange blows. By ducking and dodging, Henry can get glances of these men through the smoke.

Eventually, less resistance meets the regiment. The troops stop firing. As the smoke clears, they see the ground in front of them, clear of fighters, save for some corpses on the ground. The regiment had revenged themselves. They feel full of pride, trusting their weapons. The narrator adds: "And they were men."

Chapter 20 Analysis:

Henry finally gains control of the flag from his friend, Wilson. Something curious happens to him after this. He gains a sense of strength and pride while all of the troops begin to falter.

Indeed, most of this chapter describes the regiment running out of energy as they attack. The men bow their heads as they are pelted in a counter-attack. They scowl at the officers that try to get them to advance. This would be a better option than merely absorbing bullets. But the will of the regiment is broken.

Henry recognizes this and feels anger for the officer that volunteered the men for this charge. His anger is not unjustified or wild. He feels it along with the strength from holding the flag. He, along with the officers, exhorts the men to continue. As he does this, he finally sees briefly through the smoke. The other men appear on the other side. Yet the force still looks superhuman, a body of innumerable men. While they are identified as men, they still seem to be an unrealistic number. The enemy flag flashes through the smoke too.

Then, when all seems lost, the injured lieutenant, whose words failed him for most of this chapter, sees the enemy coming upon the regiment. Finally, his words come to a good end. The regiment creates more of their own smoke against their aggressors, surprising the enemy. Throughout this part of the altercation, Henry can see the features of the enemy troops. They are no longer a strange force; they are actually men. In fact, they resemble his regiment in the fact that their uniforms seem new, just like his had at the beginning of the novel. The mysteries of war are dissipating even more. He can see occasionally through the clouds of smoke and see that his foe is other men. And when the smoke finally clears, it shows the field clear of enemies, and the regiment depleted, but still a force.

The narrator adds at the end that these troops "were men." This is the crucial moment of the chapter. As a coming of age novel, the experience of this battle, where they saw and conquered their enemy, is the moment of maturity for the regiment. However, their trials are not over. As we will, see the smoke has not completely cleared from the battlefield. Their officers' opinions count for much, and before they can be truly glorious in battle, they must do more. Therefore, Henry is still referred to as "the youth."