BLOG 10: Stephen Crane

Stephen Crane, author of “The Red Badge of Courage”, exemplifies a good deal of Naturalism. This is shown when he wrote: “A man said to the universe: “Sir, I exist!” “However,” replied the universe, “The fact has not created in me a sense of obligation” (Crane 492). This shows that the universe is not going to help the man in his life, but, at the same time, the universe is going to contribute to the formation of the man’s life. The universe does not revolve around the man, but instead the man revolves around the universe. In “The Red Badge of Courage”, the main character, Henry Fleming, is modeled by his environment. When Fleming flees from battle, afterwards wanting a “red badge of courage”, the universe ironically gives him a red badge of shame in the form of a soldier hitting him on the head. In the beginning, Fleming seemed to admire war, but at the end he thinks fondly of “images of tranquil skies, fresh meadows, cool brooks--an existence of soft and eternal peace” (Crane). Consequently, Crane’s philosophy must be Naturalistic, so he believes that ordinary people are shaped by their environment and are against “an indifferent society” (Crane 492).

Thoreau could definitely be classified as a Naturalist. One of his main topics, nature, is even the root of the word. Thoreau even went to Walden pond to “live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach…” (Thoreau). The important part here is that he is learning from nature. He is not just unknowingly being influenced by his environment, but he is going out to deliberately learn from it.

Emerson’s emphasis on self-reliance relates him to Naturalism. When a person is self-reliant then they do not need help, and because, as Crane said, the universe is not obliged to help, they are living naturalistically. In “Nature” Emerson says that when man and nature are in harmony there is delight (Wayne). This sort of seems like impossibility in regard to Naturalism because man should not be able to be in harmony with the universe.

Crane, Stephen. “from A Red Badge of Courage.” Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 492-493. Print.

Crane, Stephen. "Untitled Document." The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane. Web. 27 Feb. 2012. .

Thoreau, Henry David. "Thoreau's Walden - an Annotated Edition." The Thoreau Reader. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. .

Wayne, Tiffany K. "Nature." Critical Companion to Ralph Waldo Emerson: A Literary Reference to His Life and Work, Critical Companion. New York: Chelsea House Publishing, 2010. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=&iPin=CCRWE0088&SingleRecord=True (accessed January 30, 2012)