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Red Badge of Courage
Henry Fleming is a recent recruit to the 304th Regiment of the Union Army. Drawn to the glory of military combat, Fleming nevertheless worries about how he will react to battle. He questions his courage and fears that he will run from the fighting. When the regiment is finally given orders to march, its first egagement in conflict is met with success. Following a brief nap, Fleming wakes to the reality that his regiment is once again under attack. This time, filled with a terror that he managed to avoid the first time, Fleming flees from the line of fighting. Telling himself he was right in fleeing and that those who stayed behind were fools, Fleming is filled with shame when he receives word of the regiment's success in holding the enemies at bay. Upon later joining with a group of wounded soldiers, he admits to being envious of their wounds, their "red badges of courage." When Fleming finds himself in the midst of more fighting, will he run again or will he find the strength and courage to stay and fight? The Red Badge of Courage is a powerful account of a young man's maturation to manhood from a youthful, inexperienced soldier scared of being in the line of fire. Unabridged, pb. ~ Enh
