Beginning of Essay
Throughout the novel The Red Badge of Courage, Henry Fleming is in a constant struggle between his illusions of war and reality. When Henry first decides to enlist their is a perception of war that he has in his mind; he later finds out that war is not as gloriou ....

Middle of Essay
.... the first time and stays and fights like a man should. This is the first time that Henry sees a realistic viewpoint of war. Henry begins to become angered for his government sending him on this deathmarch, then he realizes that he had enlisted voluntarily. Henry still had an idealistic thought of war and told himself that “a man became another thing in battle.”(Ch. 3) This fight proved to Henry that in battle he will stay and fight like a man. But, Henry sees soldiers retreating and thinks to himself that maybe he has not seen the actual enemy yet. He believes that maybe the first fight was just a prelude to the one that lies ahead, ....