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Irony in Red Badge of Courage
In The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane, irony is often used during Henry's time fighting in the war. The irony helps to show how war does not always work out the way people, such as Henry, thought it would. It is present during his decision to enter all the way through to the end of the book. It helps to illustrate Henry's hardships throughout the book as well.
One of the first points of irony in the story occurs when Henry is deciding whether to join the war effort or not and he consults his mother. He travels to a neighboring town to enlist in the war, which he dreamed would bring him glory, and returns to inform his mother. Instead of jubilation and satisfaction, as he contemplated happening, she would rather just have him bring his clothes home when they raggedy and to care for himself. It is ironic that the feelings that he reflected upon, glory and pride, his mother did not even mention and caused Henry to second guess his pronouncement to enlist in the army.. " He bowed his head and went on, feeling suddenly ashamed of his purposes" (p 7). An additional significant example of irony within the book is when Henry obtains his "red badge of courage." After he is struck on the head and is reunited with his company, he lies about being shot and Wilson views his wound. He felt important after Wilson takes satisfaction in caring for him and is worried about his health. The irony involved in this is that he can still feel like a man after he lies about his injury although he has seen soldiers with authentic "red badges of courage" and he acknowledges that these men, such as the tattered soldier, are the real soldiers in the army. He even admits that he is ashamed to be around these wounded soldiers because he has not obtained a war-induced wound of his own.
When Henry initially meets the tattered soldier and is reunited with his friend Jim Conklin, he realizes that Jim is on the verge of dying. They stagger into an open area near the forest and Jim dies a slow but sure death. It is ironic for the reason that this is exactly what Henry had wished upon himself in his thoughts. He had dreamed that he would die an honorable death fighting bravely during war which is what happened to Jim. Witnessing Jim Conklin's demise made Henry experience rage inside himself and from that the point on he fought in the war with a passion as if fighting in the memory of Jim. "The youth turned, with sudden, livid rage, toward the battle-field. He shook his fist. He seemed about to deliver a philippic" (p 66). While Henry was uncertain of what he would do during his first battle, fight or run, one soldier was convinced he knew what he was going to do. Wilson knew that he would fight a valiant battle and would never run . He even scolds Henry for just mentioning deserting a battle. Once the first battle comes around, Wilson is the one that says that he won't be able to survive the war. " I'm a gone coon this first time and -- and I w-want you to take these here things--to--my--folks.' He ended in a quavering sob of pity for himself. He handed the youth a little packet done up in a yellow envelope" (p 1).
While walking through the forest to get away the horrors of the war, Henry comes upon a "chapel" of trees with a deceased soldier within it. He examines the combatant and notices that ants are swarming across the decaying corpse and is anxious to leave. As he is departing, he hears the firing of guns and the explosion of cannons. He investigates and he comes upon the edge of the forest and realizes that he has just ventured upon the one thing that he wishes not to witness, war. Henry also comes upon an abundant number of dead soldiers spread across an empty pasture. This is also ironic for the fact that he continues to come across something he repeatedly desires upon himself, death. This is also the instance when he comes across the group of wounded soldiers trudging along, and realizes that these are the true men in the army and is ashamed to be around them. The last instance of irony is this scene is that it takes Henry seeing injured soldiers to realize that what he has been doing, fleeing, is the cowards way out. Also, when Henry obtains the flag from a fallen soldier, there is a trace of irony. As he is carrying the flag, Henry as well as Wilson both sustain themselves in the front of the regiment and assist in leading their comrades. The colonel even comments on how both Henry and Wilson kept the flag up in front and "were howling like Indians." Once Henry gets hold of the flag, he does not consider the dangers of war and puts himself right into the perils of the frontline but when it was just him, he would often fall back behind the rest of his regiment, frightened by war. Just holding the flag makes a entirely different Henry then at the beginning of the story.
Once these ironic situations transpire in the book, Henry often changes his thought process. Once Jim dies, he decides he desires to fight and not flee anymore and once he obtains the flag, he proceeds to the forefront of the regiment. The title of the story is even ironical since Henry by no means actually obtains his "red badge of courage." Crane uses irony to illustrate great moments in the book which makes it one of the preeminent war novels ever written.
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