Considering Henry’s private (unspoken) sense of “self” in relation to his “social” self. What does the latter consist of (for him, for the reader: how is the difference constituted?) To what extent (for example) does he test his own sense of self by volunteering for the army? How does Crane provide a wider perspective than Henry’s own? To what extent is his sense of self, dependent on his image as reflected back to him by the expectations and assumptions of other soldiers?
Henry’s sense of self is tested repeatedly from the moment he decided to volunteer for the army. At this stage, Henry knows very little about himself and about the tragedy of war. He has this idea that war is a glamorous thing in which he gets to play the part of the hero in. As a result, Henry’s sense of “social” self consists of the honor that he so desperately desires when the novel begins and his sense of self is especially reliant on the image that is reflected back to him through the expectations and assumptions of the other soldiers around him. Henry is attached to the idea of fame, honor, and an immortalized reputation as a hero in the eyes of those around him which is supported by William James’s “social” me. James says that the “social” self is a man’s honor or dishonor, in which James states, “…. a man has as many social selves as there are individuals who recognize him and carry an image of him in their mind” (192).
Henry tests his own sense of self when he volunteers for the army in hopes of receiving an honorable red badge of courage. Ma Fleming has a more realistic view of what Henry would face in battle when she says, “Yer jest one little feller amongst a hull lot of others, and yeh’ve got to keep quiet an’ do what they tell yeh” (Crane 13). After his many daydreams of winning a glorious battle without the bedlam that comes along with it, Henry is faced with the confrontation of a true battle, which consists of panic, confusion, and death. The results of his illusions of...