The Red Badge of Courage: Chapters 20-24

Lesson Plan - Get It!

Audio:

The above images showcase a style of painting popular in the late 1800s and early 1900s called Impressionism.

• Did you know there was a simultaneous Impressionist literary movement?

Just like impressionist artists tried to paint how they saw their surroundings with quick brushstrokes to capture the moment, impressionist writers tried to capture how they perceived their surroundings in words and thorough descriptions.

As you read Impressionism in Literature | Definition, Characteristics, Literary Example, Art to learn more, answer the following questions in your notebook or journal.

• How did the term impressionism originate?
• What goal do impressionists seek to achieve?
• What does an impressionist writer want the reader to do while reading?
• How do impressionist writers convey events to a reader?
• What type of setting do impressionist writers want to create?
• How do impressionist writers use detail?
• On what part of that plot do impressionist writers want readers to focus?

After answering, check your thinking with the answers below.

• Do you think Impressionism was more popular as an art or writing style? Why?

It's interesting to note that although Impressionist art is some of the most popular art in today's society, and Impressionist writers are some of the most famous, neither were very popular in their era.

Many critics mocked impressionist writers and painters and even said they would be forgotten in the future!

To help with reading the final section of The Red Badge of Courage, define the following list of terms.

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.

Once you've defined your words and created your sentences, read Chapters Twenty through Twenty-Four in The Red Badge of Courage either online or a hard copy if you have access to one.

As you read, note the impressionist qualities you see in the novel. As you read, think about what creates an impression of the battle for the reader.

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