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. Which quotation shows the effect of differing perspectives on Henry?
Answer
A
“This voice of the people rejoicing in the night had made him shiver in a prolonged ecstasy of excitement.”
B
“Later, he had gone down to his mother’s room and had spoken thus: “Ma, I’m going to enlist.”
C
“Still, when he had looked back from the gate, he had his seen his mother kneeling among the potato parings.”
D
“Her brown face, upraised, was stained with tears, and her spare form was quivering.”
Explanation
Henry views enlistment as exciting and glorious, while his mother sees his departure as painful and frightening. Her tears and trembling show that different perspective, and seeing her grief makes Henry feel suddenly ashamed of his purpose. Choice D best captures the mother’s emotional response that affects him.
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