The Red Badge of Courage: Chapters 14-19

Lesson Plan - Get It!

Audio:

• Many literary critics describe Stephen Crane as the father of modern American Naturalism, but what does that mean?

Other writers before Crane were writing about nature; indeed, someone had to describe trees, lakes, hills, and fields before the late nineteenth century, so this term has to have some other meaning.

Modern American Naturalism is more than just describing scenery. This literary movement attempted to capture events, characters, and scenery as accurately as possible to show that a person's environment determines their character.

For example, in another one of Crane's novels, Maggie: A Girl of the Streets, Crane wrote about how life in the slums of New York City fostered violence in families because they were frustrated with their unsanitary and crowded living conditions, low wages, and brutal occupations with long working hours.

Read to learn more about Naturalism in American literature. Click the pink More button at the bottom of the first page to access the second page. Then, read about Stephen Crane in Naturalism.

As you read, answer the following questions for this series in your notebook or journal.

• In which country and in which era did Naturalism begin?
• How did Darwin's ideas about evolution influence Naturalist writers?
• How does a Naturalist writer treat the audience of a Naturalist text?
• What is one outcome of Naturalist fiction?
• What literary genre did Naturalist writers most often use?
• Why does Naturalist writing often have a detached tone?
• Other than physical traits, what else can be inherited from one's parents, according to Naturalist writers?

After answering, check your thinking against the answers below.

• Why do you think this literary style became popular in America in the late nineteenth century?
• What historical conditions might have influenced writers to feel pessimistic about the state of humanity and how people were victims of the social forces surrounding them?

Record your thoughts in your journal or notebook.

Before reading the next section of the novel and witnessing the second day of battle, here are some vocabulary terms that will help make the reading easier.

Use Merriam-Webster to define the following terms. After each definition, write a sentence in your journal using the word correctly in context based on its meaning.

After you've noted the definitions and created your sentences, read Chapters Fourteen through Eighteen in The Red Badge of Courage online or a hard copy if you can access one.

As you read, note where you see any Naturalist techniques used. Note any objective descriptions of the battle and anywhere that Henry appears to be the victim of forces beyond his control. You can use these notes to help you later in the lesson.

When you've finished reading and taking notes, move to the Got It? section to explore the details of these chapters more closely.