Symbolism in Red Badge of Courage

When reading the Red Badge of Courage, it is necessary to understand the symbolism that Stephen Crane has created throughout the whole book. Without understanding the true intent of color use, this book loses a meaningful interpretation that is needed to truly understand the main character, his feelings and actions. Crane uses very distinct colors in his text to represent various elements that the main character, Henry or “the youth”, is feeling along his adventure of enlisting into battle. Red, yellow and gray are the main color's Crane uses consistently in the majority of the chapters to describe Henry’s inner conflicts and feelings. The color purple is mentioned very briefly but reflects Henry’s feelings in a powerful manner. Certain colors dominate throughout the book and there is a change of domination as Henry matures into a real soldier.

The color yellow, when mentioned in the text, represents Henry feeling like a coward and knowing his actions were cowardly. Crane uses the color yellow more in the beginning as Henry was just learning to become a soldier. As the book goes on and Henry matures, the color yellow is not mentioned as often. The color yellow appears in the first chapter when Henry’s mother states that enlisting is a bad idea. He feels his mother’s words were putting a “yellow light upon the color of his ambitions.” This is a significant statement because at this point in the book, Henry’s cowardice has not yet emerged and his only visions of battle are of him becoming a brave, heroic soldier. Henry’s feelings switch from confidence to cowardice as he runs away from his very first battle. When he looks back at the battlefield with shame, he can see nothing but yellow fog. Crane intended this yellow fog to represent Henry’s feelings of cowardice after running from his first opportunity of battle. The color yellow appears again in chapter nineteen, as Henry is about to face another battle. The guns that are fired are described as having a yellow flame. This image brings the reader back to the fact that Henry still has cowardice feelings about-facing this battle even though his actions may be contradicting.

The color red takes on various contexts in this book and is often used when there is some reference to battle, war, and rage. Unlike the color yellow, Crane used the color red consistently throughout the text. The title itself includes the color red relating it to battle. A red badge would be a wound left from fighting in war and a symbol of bravery. Chapter 2 is where Crane begins to really use the color red. The fires were described as being red as well as the eyes of the enemy, symbolizing that battle is in the near future as well as presenting an image of rage that the enemies posses. In chapter four Crane uses the color red to represent a would that the lieutenant had just received. Henry, who had hoped for a ‘red badge of courage’, is surprised to witness the lieutenant trying to avoid the blood from getting on his uniform because it was not a true battle wound. In the incidence when Henry is running from battle, he mentions hearing a “crimson roar from the distance.” This signifies that he is running from battle, the thing he fears most at that moment. When Jim is found lying on the ground, Henry realizes that red wounds could equal death and are not as glorious as he had once thought. There is a red sun setting during the moment when Henry realizes that war is “hell”. In the final chapter of the book, Henry completes his journey of courage content that he is finally a man and feels that he had been released from the red sickness of battle.

Gray is used consistently throughout the book to represent a sense of the unknown and death for Henry. In chapter three, the vivid colors used previously now slightly shift to become dark and dreary, they become gray. Crane often makes a point to describe the smoke and fog as being very gray. Using gray to symbolize the unknown parallels to the fact that Crane often used these colors to describe smoke and fog, two things that block ones view of what lies ahead. Also in chapter three, Henry continues to