Read the excerpt from The Red Badge of Courage. In this excerpt, Henry Fleming and the tattered man have just witnessed the death of another soldier, and Henry decides to leave the tattered soldier.The youth, who had been holding a bitter debate with himself and casting glances of hatred and contempt at the tattered man, here spoke in a hard voice. "Good-by,” he said.The tattered man looked at him in gaping amazement. "Why—why, pardner, where yeh goin’?” he asked unsteadily. The youth looking at him, could see that he, too, like that other one, was beginning to act dumb and animal-like. His thoughts seemed to be floundering about in his head. Now—now—look a—here, you Tom Jamison—now—I won’t have this—this here won’t do. Where—where yeh goin’?”The youth pointed vaguely. "Over there,” he replied."Well, now look—a—here—now,” said the tattered man, rambling on in idiot fashion. His head was hanging forward and his words were slurred. "This thing won’t do, now, Tom Jamison. It won’t do. I know yeh, yeh pig-headed devil. Yeh wanta go trompin’ off with a bad hurt. It ain’t right—now—Tom Jamison—it ain’t. Yeh wanta leave me take keer of yeh, Tom Jamison. It ain’t—right—it ain’t—fer yeh t’ go—trompin’ off—with a bad hurt—it ain’t—ain’t—ain’t right—it ain’t.”
Which statement is the best example of conflicting perspectives?
What is the definition of a bildungsroman?
Read the excerpt from The Red Badge of Courage. In this excerpt, Henry Fleming is reflecting on his mother’s reaction to the news that he enlisted in the Union Army during the American Civil War.Still, she had disappointed him by saying nothing whatever about returning with his shield or on it. He had privately primed himself for a beautiful scene. He had prepared certain sentences which he thought could be used with touching effect. But her words destroyed his plans. She had doggedly peeled potatoes and addressed him as follows: "You watch out, Henry, an’ take good care of yerself in this here fighting business—you watch, an’ take good care of yerself. Don’t go a-thinkin’ you can lick the hull rebel army at the start, because yeh can’t. Yer jest one little feller amongst a hull lot of others, and yeh’ve got to keep quiet an’ do what they tell yeh. I know how you are, Henry.”
Read the excerpt from The Red Badge of Courage. In this excerpt, Henry Fleming has deserted his regiment after the battle.He had fled, he told himself, because annihilation approached. He had done a good part in saving himself, who was a little piece of the army. He had considered the time, he said, to be one in which it was the duty of every little piece to rescue itself if possible. Later the officers could fit the little pieces together again, and make the battle front. If none of the little pieces were wise enough to save themselves from the flurry of death at such a time, why, then, where would be the army? It was plain that he had proceeded according to very correct and commendable rules. His actions had been sagacious things. They had been full of strategy. They were the work of a master’s legs.
Read the excerpt from The Red Badge of Courage. In this excerpt, a soldier, the tattered man, has been telling Henry Fleming about watching a man die. He warns Henry that he should look out for himself.The youth had been wriggling since the introduction of this topic. He now gave a cry of exasperation and made a furious motion with his hand. "Oh, don’t bother me!” he said. He was enraged against the tattered man, and could have strangled him. His companions seemed ever to play intolerable parts. They were ever upraising the ghost of shame on the stick of their curiosity. He turned toward the tattered man as one at bay. "Now, don’t bother me,” he repeated with desperate menace. "Well, Lord knows I don’t wanta bother anybody,” said the other. There was a little accent of despair in his voice as he replied, "Lord knows I’ve gota ’nough m’ own t’ tend to.” The youth, who had been holding a bitter debate with himself and casting glances of hatred and contempt at the tattered man, here spoke in a hard voice. "Good-by,” he said. The tattered man looked at him in gaping amazement. "Why—why, pardner, where yeh goin’?” he asked unsteadily. The youth looking at him, could see that he, too, like that other one, was beginning to act dumb and animal-like. His thoughts seemed to be floundering about in his head. "Now—now—look—a—here, you Tom Jamison—now—I won’t have this—this here won’t do. Where—where yeh goin’?”The youth pointed vaguely. "Over there,” he replied.
Read the excerpt from The Red Badge of Courage. In this excerpt, Henry Fleming and the sergeant are talking with a tattered soldier about their experiences in battle.There was a tattered man, fouled with dust, blood and powder stain from hair to shoes, who trudged quietly at the youth’s side. He was listening with eagerness and much humility to the lurid descriptions of a bearded sergeant. His lean features wore an expression of awe and admiration. He was like a listener in a country store to wondrous tales told among the sugar barrels. He eyed the story-teller with unspeakable wonder. His mouth was agape in yokel fashion.
Read the excerpt from The Red Badge of Courage. In this excerpt, Henry Fleming is realizing that he will face battle for the first time.He wishes, without reserve, that he was home again making the endless rounds from the house to the barn, from the barn to the fields, from the fields to the barn, from the barn to the house. He remembered he had so often cursed the brindle cow and her mates, and had sometimes flung milking stools. But, from his present point of view, there was a halo of happiness about each of their heads, and he would have sacrificed all the brass buttons on the continent to have been enabled to return to them. He told himself that he was not formed for a soldier. And he mused seriously upon the radical differences between himself and those men who were dodging implike around the fires.
Read the excerpt from The Red Badge of Courage. In the excerpt, Henry Fleming and the soldiers in his regiment are marching after performing poorly in a battle. Henry is expressing discontent about his commanding officers’ leadership and the lieutenant of Henry’s regiment expresses his feelings toward his men."Good Gawd,” the youth grumbled, "we’re always being chased around like rats! It makes me sick. Nobody seems to know where we go or why we go. We just get fired around from pillar to post and get licked here and get licked there, and nobody knows what it’s done for. . . . Now, I’d like to know what the eternal thunders we was marched into this woods for anyhow, unless it was to give the rebs a regular pot shot at us. We came in here and got our legs all tangled up in these cussed briars, and then we begin to fight and the rebs had an easy time of it. Don’t tell me it’s just like! I know better. It’s this derned old—”The friend seemed jaded, but he interrupted his comrade with a voice of calm confidence. "It’ll turn out all right in th’ end,” he said."Oh, the devil it will! You always talk like a dog-hanged parson. Don’t tell me! I know--”At this time there was an interposition by the savage-minded lieutenant, who was obliged to vent some of his inward dissatisfaction upon his men. "You boys shut right up! There no need ’a your wastin’ your breath in long-winded arguments about this an’ that an’ th’ other. You’ve been jawin’ like a lot ’a old hens. All you’ve got t’ do is to fight, an’ you’ll get plenty ’a that t’ do in about ten minutes. Less talkin’ an’ more fightin’ is what’s best for you boys. I never saw sech gabbling . . .”He paused, ready to pounce upon any man who might have the temerity to reply. No words being said, he resumed his dignified pacing.
Read the excerpts from The Red Badge of Courage. In the first excerpt, Henry Fleming has decided that he is going to enlist as a soldier in the Union Army. In the second excerpt, Henry leaves for war as his mother watches.Excerpt 1:One night, as he lay in bed, the winds had carried him to the clangoring of the church bell as some enthusiast jerked the rope frantically to tell the twisted news of a great battle. This voice of the people rejoicing in the night had made him shiver in a prolonged ecstasy of excitement. Later, he had gone down to his mother’s room and had spoken thus: "Ma, I’m going to enlist.”Excerpt 2:Still, when he had looked back from the gate, he had his seen his mother kneeling among the potato parings. Her brown face, upraised, was stained with tears, and her spare form was quivering. He bowed his head and went on, feeling suddenly ashamed of his purposes.
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