Leslie Manning's Reviews > The Red Badge of Courage

I try not to leave two-star reviews for authors who are still living. But for those that have passed, well, Stephen Crane's soul might be a bit sad regarding what I have to say. As a former English teacher, a published YA author, and a current private tutor, I have to offer one word to perfectly describe this 1895 novel: Boring. Yes, with a capital B. I LOVE so many classics for so many reasons. Like maybe a book was ahead of its time. Or it enlightened the reader. Or it taught the reader to be a better person. And so on. With my private students, I have re-read Bradbury, Orwell, Fitzgerald, Golding, Steinbeck, Lee, Twain, Austen, Hawthorne, Dickens, Poe, Plath, Hemingway, Capote...the list goes on and on. And the critical thinking that goes into my students' analyses is a wonder to behold. There are a lot of older classics that at least have a plot that follows the expected plot diagram. You know, exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and denouement, or some variation of that. But this Red Badge book. I'm nearly at a loss for words. I do not have one student who has enjoyed it in my 20-plus years of combined teaching/tutoring. Not one! Not my 4.5 students, not my boys who are military bound, not the ones who use books on tape alongside the book. That's a pretty sh***y consensus if you ask me. Even the teacher who assigned it this past summer has decided not to use it again. Look, I'm not a snooty intellectual who goes around spouting quotes from the tomes of world literature, but I do like to be entertained at least a little bit. Maybe this book would have been better if written by someone who had actually been a part of the Civil War. Not calling out "own voices" here, but at least give me something with a little meat on its bones. Stephen Crane did later become a foreign war correspondent, but maybe he should have spent a day with some other regiment in some other war for a first-hand perspective. And maybe he did, but he just didn't know how to convey it. While I do think he demonstrated the internal emotions of the young protagonist Henry, quite frankly I didn't care what happened to the young man because there was so much telling and very little showing. Henry does grow up through his time on the battlefield, but it is painstakingly slow to watch him do it. Anyhow, as always, this is my opinion only. Some of you may feel differently. More power to you. With so many awesome classics out there--old and new--I'd leave this one to lie in its cardboard coffin in your attic or basement.