Coming of Age in That Thing We Call a Heart — Quiz
Question 12 • English Language Arts 10
Read the excerpts from The Red Badge of Courage. In the first excerpt, Henry Fleming is fighting in his first battle. In the second excerpt, he has deserted his regiment after the soldiers were defeated in battle. Excerpt 1: He suddenly lost concern for himself, and forgot to look at a menacing fate. He became not a man but a member. He felt that something of which he was a part—a regiment, an army, a cause, or a country—was in crisis. He was welded into a common personality which was dominated by a single desire. For some moments he could not flee, no more than a little finger can commit a revolution from a hand. Excerpt 2: Thoughts of his comrades came to him. The brittle blue line had withstood the blows and won. He grew bitter over it. It seemed that the blind ignorance and stupidity of those little pieces had betrayed him. He had been overturned and crushed by their lack of sense in holding the position, when intelligent deliberation would have convinced them that it was impossible. He, the enlightened man who looks afar in the dark, had fled because of his superior perceptions and knowledge. He felt a great anger against his comrades. He knew it could be proved that they had been fools. How does Henry’s perspective differ in these excerpts?
Answer
A
He grows to accept the cause for which he is fighting.
B
He realizes that he should not have become a soldier.
C
He agrees with the decisions of his regiment.
D
He values his own survival over that of the group.
Explanation
In the first excerpt, Henry feels bound to the regiment and its shared purpose, so he cannot flee on his own. In the second, after deserting, he blames his comrades for holding their position and presents his own escape as sensible. This shift shows that he values his personal survival over the group’s, so D is correct.
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