Humanity has constantly been at war. Whether fighting for land, wealth or power or fighting for "more complex" or "more honorable" ideals such as freedom or equality, man has never lack of battle subjects. It's almost as if it's something innate, born and passed down from generation to generation. This has serious consequences – both for those fighting and for the civilians who watch their country fall into turmoil – and yet it is seen as a necessary evil. In The Red Badge of Courage, Stephen Crane weaves a tapestry of war themes using interwoven threads of personification, metaphor, symbolism, and color imagery to depict the dehumanization of man through war as Henry Fleming abandons his youth and takes up the banner of adulthood. war many human aspects using personification while the actual human beings in the novel are dehumanized with the stripping of their names and individuality. When the individuals of Henry's regiment move to perform a given action, the regiment, as a collective creature, is given the personification of a soldier's body: "The regiment's aching joints creaked as it floundered painfully in position” (Crane). Although many of Henry's regiment are young green recruits with only a few veterans, the diction of this phrase shows that they are all already war-weary; the consequences of the violence and horrors of combat on young men are terrible. This consolidation of men – individuals – into a single entity removes the little pretense of individuality that Crane gives to his characters. Even the protagonist, Henry Fleming, is referred to only as "youth." By neglecting to give names to his characters and by so often referring to men as parts of a larger whole, Crane s...... middle of paper ... man can delude himself into thinking that the battles are fought. for higher purposes like honor and glory, when the reality is that all men are equal – in death. Works Cited Albrecht, Robert C. “Content and Style in the Red Badge of Courage.” University English. 6th ed. Flight. 27. Urbana: National Council of Teachers of English, 1966. 487-92. Print. Crane, Stephen. “The red badge of courage.” Books page by page. Np, and Web. November 30, 2013. .Marcus, Erin. “Animal Imagery in the Red Badge of Courage.” Modern language notes. By Mordecai Marcus. 2nd ed. Flight. 74. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP, 1959. 108-11. Print.McDermott, John J. “Symbolism and Psychological Realism in the Red Badge of Courage.” » Nineteenth-century fiction. 3rd ed. Flight. 23. Berkeley: University of California, 1968. 324-31. Print.