A charger is a horse that has been trained to carry a soldier into battle. Once relieved from duty, the wounded lieutenant observes a horse and then a charger from a distance. Crane’s switch in language from the simple “horse” to the more poetic “charger” helps illustrate the wounded man’s aesthetic epiphanies once he’s had some distance from battle.
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Charger Term Timeline in An Episode of War
The timeline below shows where the term Charger appears in An Episode of War. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
An Episode of War
...a bugler, some orderlies, and the bearer of the corps standard. They all ride “quivering” chargers into battle while shells explode overhead. The lieutenant pauses to watch a “shining [and] […]...
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