Red Badge of Courage

Defining Courage On the surface Henry Fleming's red badge of courage was a gash in his head caused by the butt of a rifle. This wound actually being a fake medal actually representing his cowardice and fear of battle. While many men and women may criticize Henry for deserting his battalion, it is only human nature to want to survive. This is thoroughly explained in Walter Cannon's theory of the fight or flight mechanism. It …

…considered courageous by his colleagues, it is not their decision to make. Courage is defined by going against one's own fears. Henry clearly opposes all that his mind is telling him. The anxiety that plagued him throughout the novel is subdued and he becomes a hero among men, a soldier. Fornarola, Andrew, Letters to the Editor: Beyond the "Fight or Flight" Diplomacy, http://www.princeton.edu/~afp/archives/vol003_iss02/letters.shtml, February 1, 2004, Pages 1-2