Thesis

In the book “The Red Badge of Courage,” most of the main characters put on a figurative mask to try and be someone they are not or mask their true emotions.
The first character that I will illustrate this is with Henry. In the beginning of the book he says that he really wants to fight and that he is ready to fight. But inside he is very scared. He is scared that he will run when the battle comes. I also think that he puts on a mask for his mother because he doesn’t really want to go. Also he tries to become a leader so he can cover up him running. So basically he tries to cover up or mask is fear and guilt for running by trying to act very courageous. I also think that he has a fear of the unknown because he doesn’t know what is going to happen in the battle but he tries to make it look like he has got it all under control and is ready for whatever it throws at him but he is really not because he is constantly thinking about how he doesn’t know. “He had had the belief that real war was a series of death struggles with small time in between for sleep and meals; but since his regiment had come to the field the army had done little but sit still and try to keep warm.”(Crane1) I think that this quote shows that he fears what he doesn’t know and that he tries to make himself believe what he wants to.
The next person is Wilson. I think he is very scared also. He doesn’t want people to know this though. How he masks it is being very loud and obnoxious. I think that he also tries to get people to notice him like when he started the rumor that they were going to march and he almost got in a fight because of it. Also at the beginning of the story when him and Henry are just sitting there talking, Henry asks him if he thinks he will run when the battle comes and when he does this Wilson gets all mad and stands up and stomps away. So I think that that is his attempt at trying to mask his fear of the battle. I think that Wilson kind of breaks out of this mask because he turns very genuine towards the end of this book and really seems to act like himself and not try to just impress anyone. “He and the loud one came near to fighting over it.” (Crane1) This shows that he is trying to act all tough.
I think that another person that puts on a mask is the Captain. I think that inside he is not very confident. Also I think that he is also scared in battle especially the ones that he knows the odds are not in their favor. I think what he does is try and act very tough basically indestructible during the course of battle. Also when he sees a soldier running it is his duty to basically beat them so they will turn around and I think this makes him seem very tough. But also he is just really mean to the solders sometimes and I think this is an effort to hide his fear of the unknown which is he doesn’t know what is going to happen in the next battle. “The colonel came running along the back of the line. There were other officers following him. "We must charge'm!" they shouted. "We must charge'm!" they cried with resentful voices, as if anticipating a rebellion against this plan by the men.”(Crane23) I think that this shows how he was unsure of their actions.