The Red Badge Of Courage

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Lastly, the positive outlook is the third characteristic of realism. Henry is overwhelmed with fear and abandons the war. Surprisingly, he escapes unscathed and later learns that his regiment had ended the battle victoriously. Although traits of realism are very evident, naturalism is the dominant technique used by Crane.
Crane used naturalism to show Nature’s hostility towards man, to describe the practice of using scientific theory to develop and explain characters and events, and to emphasize Henry’s regiment uncontrollable destiny. As Henry and his regiment attempt to pass through the dense foliage, they constantly find themselves caught in the never ending vines of thorns. "The branches, pushing against him, threatened to throw him over upon it"(35). Henry portrays nature as the enemy of man. Another tenet of naturalistic writing is the application of scientific descriptions to the plot and characters. For example, Henry is called "an unknown ...

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