Red Badge of Courage Stephen Crane wrote many remarkable poems, short stories and novels throughout his short life (he only lived to the age of 29 ). The Red Badge of Courage is a story of war, life, responsibility and duty. It has been considered the first “great modern war novel” (Alfred Kazin). It traces the effects of the war on Henry Fleming, a Union soldier, through his dreams of battle, his enlistment, and his experience through several Civil War battles. Henry, ^the Younger^, was a young man who lived on a farm with his mother. He dreamed of what fighting in a war would be like and dreamed of being a hero. He dreamed of war battles and what it would be like to fight in those glorious battles. His mother was a wise and caring woman who had a strong belief that she did not want Henry to go to war. She is a very hardworking woman who loves her son very much. She gave him hundreds of reasons why he was needed on the farm and not in the war. Henry knew his mother wouldn't want him to enlist, but it was up to him to make the decision. He dreamed of war battles and what it would be like to fight in these glorious battles. He didn't want to sit on the farm and do nothing, so he made the final decision to enlist. After enlisting, he finds himself in a similar situation, with nothing to do. There, he befriended two other soldiers, John Wilson, ^the noisy soldier / ^the friend^ and JimConklin, ^the big soldier^. Wilson was an obnoxious and loud soldier who becomes one of Henry's best friends. Jim was a great soldier and a childhood friend of Henry's. He was always calm and neutral. He also likes pork sandwiches, because that's all the hot stuff. Wilson was as enthusiastic about going to war as Henry, while Jim was confident of the new regiment's success. Wilson is very confident and prides himself on his ability to fight. After a few days of walking, Henry realizes that they were wandering in circles aimlessly. They continue to walk aimlessly, without direction and without struggle. Meanwhile, Henry begins to think differently about war, in a more experiential way. He begins to lose some of his war ideals and begins to fear fleeing a battle..