I found it disappointing that The Red Badge of Courage, an American classic, was dull, had poor pacing, and lackluster characterization. There might be historical value in this novel, written by Stephen Crane who was born nearly five years after America’s civil war ended, but there is little to enjoy. The novel does focus on the psyche of the protagonist – more so then on the war itself, but I found myself not caring. I didn’t care for the characters nor did I care about the battles or the war. I told myself that I would give the novel a fair review only by reading it in its entirety, which led me to gloss over the last few chapters as to end the torture.

I debated giving two stars as there was one scene that I noted as compelling – the scene where Henry Fleming watches Jim Conklin struggle to continue marching while Jim is dying of wounds from the battle. This was a moment where Henry experiences firsthand that war is hell. However, one powerful scene cannot resurrect this lifeless corpse of a book. I pity the High School student that is assigned this book and question the teacher that does the assigning.