Journal #23 Chapers 1-8 RBC

The Red Badge of courage is about a boy named Henry who goes off to fight in the American Civil War. He is just like everyone else in the fact that he views war as a glorious thing and that he will become a hero. However, he soon finds that life in the army is not what he expected at all. He assumed it would be battle after glorious battle. Instead he discovered that it was mostly camping and waiting for the next battle.

The American Dream is shown by how the crowds greet henry and the other soldiers. Everywhere they go they are greeted and sent off as heroes. During this point in time, the American dream was to go fight in the war, either for the south or the north. Each side saw their soldiers as heroes.

Personification was used when the author described how eyes stared up at henry and the other men when they marched through a creek before entering battle. He said that the creek seemed to have eyes and was staring at them. The creek did not really have eyes but it could have been bubbles foam that gave the appearance of the creek having eyes. The way he described the creek having eyes is personification because he made the creek seem human-like.

The government category in the story is the officers. The regular soldiers are given orders from their officers and they follow them. This is the government and governing way in the army. Men follow their superiors' commands and orders because that way things get done and rules are followed. Human Nature is shown in the fact that Henry believes he can beat the rebel army by himself. This is a common way for people (especially henry's age) to feel. However, Henry quickly begins to doubt himself and his abilities. He is unsure of how he will act in combat and how he will react to the confusion of battle. He show more human nature when he sees a small group of his comrades running during the battle. He turns and retreats with them because he gave in to his fear.