New Perspectives on "Medal of Honor"

Author: Mitchell, Lee Clark
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2007-01-01
Features: The Red Badge of Courage was first published in 1895 and immediately achieved success, making the author a household name overnight. In the introduction to this book, Lee Clark Mitchell discusses how Crane broke the old conventions of novels and journalism, creating a unique "fragmentary" prose style. Five essays explore different aspects of the novel. The first essay examines the issue of establishing a realistic text, the second positions the novel as a war novel, the third critiques the novel as the height of military imperialism in the 1880s, the fourth focuses on the shift between the hero's perspective and the broader "cosmic" perspective, and the fifth explores the deconstruction of courage/fear in the novel. The articles are well-written and easy to understand, representing the highest academic level in recent years.