Red Badge Of Courage Essays (1368 words) - The Red Badge Of Courage

Red Badge Of Courage The Red Badge of Courage, by Steven Crane, has been proclaimed one of the greatest war novels of all time. It is a story that realistically depicts the American Civil War through the eyes of Henry Fleming, an ordinary farm boy who decides to become a soldier. Henry, who is fighting for the Union, is very determined to become a hero, and the story depicts Henrys voyage from being a young coward, to a brave man. This voyage is the classic trip from innocence to experience. The story starts out with a heated debate between the soldiers. One boy had heard a rumor that the regiment would be moving on to fight a battle the next day. Some of the soldiers agree with this boy, while others think that their regiment will never partake in a real battle. While watching this argument, Henry, the protagonist, decides that he would rather go lay down and think rather then take part in the heated argument between the soldiers. Henry, a simple farm boy, is rather excited when he hears the rumor that they will be fighting soon. It had always been a dream of his to fight in a war, and become a hero, and now his dream was coming true. Henry begins to think about what life was like before he entered the army, and remembers the stories of war he has heard from old veterans. This flashback is very effective in showing how his previous experiences have affected his thoughts on war now. It is blatantly obvious that he is afraid that he will not be able to withstand the pressures of a battle. He keeps telling himself that if he wants to become a hero, he can not run away. He must stick out the battle with the rest of his comrades. While marching along, Henry sees the first corpse he has ever seen. He shows pity for the man, because the dead man had died in such poor conditions. The souls of his shoes were worn bare. When Henry sees the corpse, he begins to wonder if his generals actually know what they are doing. He thinks that the generals are leading him right into a trap, right into the middle of the rebels. Henry deals with his fear of battle by acting arrogant. He acts as if he has been in a thousand battles, and complains about the walking, even though the reader knows that he would rather be walking forever then go to battle at this point in time. It shows one of Henry's defense mechanisms, how he uses his arrogance to hide his innocence. Regiment 304 moves on to battle the next day. Henry becomes very scared, but is too proud to talk to any of the others soldiers about his fears. All the soldiers are very anxious to fight in the war, and Tom and Henry talk about how they are not going to run away from war, and how they want to become big time war heroes. This is ironic, because in the end of the book their wishes come true. When the battle starts, all the soldiers get very anxious and nervous. Tom and Henry don't turn out to be as brave as they think that they could be. While hiding, Tom finds Henry, and gives him a manila envelope of letters for his family. Tom believes that this will be his first and his last battle. Henry ends up fulfilling his worst nightmare. Instead of sticking out the battle with the rest of his regiment, he hides behind some brush in order to spare himself from dying. He listens in on the battle, and to much of his surprise, he hears cheering from what's left of his regiment. He then takes off into the woods in anger. While running through the woods his conscience begins to speak to him. His conscience calls him a coward, and a deserter. Out of guilt, Henry runs back to the battle site, and meets again with his regiment. These actions showed Henry's maturity, and desire to be a war hero. When Henry meets up his regiment and older tattered man begins to have a discussion with him. The old man asks Henry "where yeh hit, ol' boy?" meaning, where he got shot. With massive feelings of guilt, Henry shrugs away from the man and runs back into the woods. From behind a tree, he looks at all the wounded soldiers. "At times he regarded

Be Different. 9 Easy Tips to Standout from Others

Be Different. 9 Easy Tips to Standout from Others Be Different. 9 Easy Tips to Standout from Others A great number of articles and psychological investigations are dedicated to the issue of personality traits. However, life’s circumstances as well as typical problems somehow make people all look very much the same. Individuals tend to lose confidence, get easily bewildered and misled. At times, it may even seem that many lose their identity. However, the ability to stand out and achieve personal and professional success greatly depends on the power of one’s spirit coupled with certain personality traits. So, how do you demonstrate your originality without showing off and looking stupid or arrogant? First, self-awareness is important. Know what you want and how you are going to get it. You should be able to set goals and plan how to achieve those goals. Here are some tips on how to be different from others while highlighting your gifts and natural abilities that lead to success. Tip 1. Maintain confidence that you can be successful. First, think in positive terms about your ability to succeed. Avoiding self-doubt and thinking positively increases your chances of becoming successful. Every time you think about good things, like success and prosperity, you will attract them into your life as if you were a magnet. Try this. It works! Tip 2. Stay positive and optimistic. Staying positive and optimistic in ordinary everyday situations is very important as the power of positive thinking can help remove obstacles, making hardships much easier to deal with! Having a positive attitude helps with your level of energy. In addition, you are less likely to accept the situation as it is and more likely to problem-solve if you think something can be done about it. Tip 3. Be well-organized. Your emotional disposition is truly essential. So, pay special attention to the way you arrange your time, address everyday concerns, and plan meetings. Make sure you use your time effectively so that every moment of your life is used in the best possible way. Keep in mind there are no unimportant periods of time or insignificant breaks in terms of ones determination to experience true success! Tip 4. Complete each step in the best possible way. Famous actors often say that There are no minor roles, only minor actors. To apply this idea to everyday life could be interpreted as the need to do any job you have in the best possible way, no matter how unimportant this job may seem, whether delivering the mail, babysitting, or walking someones dog. All actions are important, and a job well-done will continue to pay you in the future through your reputation and recommendations from others. A capable and diligent attitude toward even the smallest and insignificant tasks will develop a professional approach to everything that may come your way in the future. Tip 5. Master communication skills. The ability to communicate effectively with other people can lead to fruitful collaborations. Its impossible to achieve your goals without help from others. Moreover, people eagerly socialize and work with those who have good communicative skills, a willingness to compromise, and respect for other’s opinions (Vail, 2013). Tip 6. Practice the idea of continuing education and strong emotional stamina. Getting involved in the process of self-improvement will keep you on the cutting edge. It will provide you with a fundamental advantage over your competitors with relevant knowledge, experience, and skills. Increasing your emotional stamina is vital. You must be able to reject the emotional pressure from those whose main intention is to discourage you. Often, these individuals are insecure in their own abilities and so they seek to pull you down in an attempt to appear superior to you. Tip 7. Pay attention to your manners and project a positive self-image. The statement that People are likely to treat you the way you treat them works equally well both in business and in personal relationships. Try to be polite on every occasion. Respond in a timely fashion and professional manner to e-mail messages and phone calls. Make your friends, relatives and colleagues feel that you respect them and their points of view. Stress their importance in your life (Vail, 2013). Tip 8. Dont get discouraged by mishaps. No one is perfect. Mishaps occur for everyone, with no exceptions! Learn to take your failures as a significant part of practical experience. Wise people say that Experience is the best teacher. Regardless of whether the experience is positive or negative, you can benefit from the experience. Make good use of it! Tip 9. Stay focused on your goals. Always keep your goals in mind. Choose no more than 3 long-term goals at a time. This number is enough for major projects. Avoid suddenly changing your goals. The ability to concentrate on your aim is likely to sharpen your spirit and build a persistent, strongly-motivated and, thus, successful personality. All these tips are good for helping you to stand out from others and moving toward your aims, making your dreams come true. Be yourself by cultivating the best traits you have. In addition, remain calm and goal-oriented, friendly, and easy-going. Also, demonstrate enthusiasm and let the success and prosperity you deserve enter your life!