Stephen Crane's Man in war

UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Margaret Boaz Faison (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
Advisor
James Ellis

Abstract: Stephen Crane uses man in war to represent universal man in relation to a naturalistic universe. Therefore, an examination of his characters in his war fiction illuminates the author's concept of man's position in the universe. Crane's most important man in war is Henry Fleming in The Red Badge of Courage. Through Fleming the author indicates a learning process which is a development of both the character and a code of conduct. This code of conduct can be traced throughout Crane's war fiction and is the standard by which his soldier judges himself and his fellows. It consists mainly of courage, self-knowledge, and performance of duty. Adherence to a code leads to the achievement of human dignity--man's only hope in a naturalistic world. The process of learning is reiterated in "A Mystery of Heroism," which also shows the protagonist adhering to a code. In contrast, Crane portrays man's failure to learn in "Death and the Child."

Additional Information

Publication
Thesis
Language: English
Date: 1969
Subjects
Crane, Stephen, $d 1871-1900 $x Criticism and interpretation
Crane, Stephen, $d 1871-1900. $t Man in war

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