Abstract

The Red Badge of Courage, a masterpiece of the famous American novelist Stephen Crane, is a novel mainly describing the war experience of a young man called Henry Fleming and the psychological changes he has undergone due to the war. This thesis aims to explore the psychological process of Henry Fleming through a detailed analysis of his psychological states before, during and after the battles. By analyzing his transformation from an innocent young man to a mature and brave hero through the agent of battles, this paper further demonstrates its theme ── the battles have played the most significant role in the psychological process of Henry Fleming.

Key words: The Red Badge of Courage, Henry Fleming, battles, psychological process, maturity

摘 要

《红色英勇勋章》是美国著名小说家斯蒂芬•克莱恩的杰作。小说主要描述了一位名叫亨利•弗莱明的年轻人的战争经历以及由于战争而发生的心理变化。本论文旨在通过详细分析主人公亨利•弗莱明在战前、战中、战后的心理状态来探讨他的心路历程。通过分析他在战争的洗礼中从一个无知的青年变成一个成熟而勇敢的英雄来进一步阐述本文的主题——战争在亨利•弗莱明的心理成长中扮演了最为重要的角色。

关键词：《红色英勇勋章》；亨利•弗莱明；战争；心路历程；成熟

1.     Introduction
Stephen Crane (1871 – 1900) was born at Newark, New Jersey in 1871. He was educated at Lafayette College and Syracuse University. When the Spanish-American war broke out, he went to serve as a journalist in Cuba. However, his health was seriously affected in Cuba, and on his return he settled down in England. He died at Badenweiler, Germany in 1900.
It is universally known that Stephen Crane is a forerunner of American naturalism, and he is recognized by modern critics as one of the most innovative writers of the realistic period. He has used many writing techniques in his works, such as irony, symbolism and so forth. Maggie: A Girl of the Streets was Crane’s first novel, and it was also the first naturalist novel in American history. This book was published in 1893 at his expense. Then in 1895, he published his most famous novel The Red Badge of Courage which “won the admiration of such writers as William Dean Howells1, Joseph Conrad2 and Henry James3, and brought him into prominence”. After that, he was sent to Cuba as a correspondent to cover the Spanish-American War. The Open Boat, his famous short story, was based on “his experience as a correspondent in Cuba and his shipwreck on the way there”.