The Red Badge of Courage:
an Episode of the Civil War

The following definitions may be helpful to you as you analyze the novel:

Verbal Irony: The language of irony indicates a writer's objective, detached view of the material. Attacks on a character may be made with false compliments. Ironic language reflects the author's recognition of ambiguities and contradictions unknown to the characters.

Dramatic Irony: Conveying all the effects of verbal irony, dramatic irony occurs when the audience understands something about a character's situation that he does not understand himself. For example, in Oedipus Rex, the audience knows the secret of Oedipus' identity, but Oedipus does not.

Realism: In contrast to the symbolic fiction of the American Romantic period, realism refers to fiction that portrays real life as ordinary people live it. Rather than relying on imagery or symbolism to convey elusive spiritual or psychological experiences of the inner life, realistic fiction focuses on the exterior life, the world of society. Plots are organized around the events of normal daily experience, for in the realistic novel the focus is less on plot and more on character development. Characters are regarded as having the potential for control over their lives, and realistic writers hold characters accountable for their decisions. The characters are not mere victims of destiny. American regional and local color fiction are examples of realism, reflecting its emphasis on the actual details of a real geographical location and social milieu.

Naturalism: A term used to describe late nineteenth- and 20th-century literature, primarily fiction, that focuses on middle- or lower-class characters who suffer from harsh conditions in life. By responding to circumstances instinctually or passionately, they make poor decisions and become victims of an unkind fate. Such characters lack free will, and their destiny seems controlled by unseen forces, heredity, or environment. Influenced by a philosophy of determinism, naturalistic writers create characters who do not have the nobility to transcend spiritually the physical conditions of their lives nor can they sustain themselves with dignity in the face of personal defeat. The conditions of their lives and characters may or may not evoke the sympathy of the reader, depending on the author's attitude.