The Red Badge of Courage

by Stephen Crane

The Red Badge of Courage: Situational Irony 1 key example

Chapter 12
Explanation and Analysis—Henry's Wound:

In an instance of situational irony, Henry’s first battle wound comes not from a Confederate soldier but a comrade in his own army. When Henry flees the front lines during his first battle, he eventually finds himself in the midst of a convoy of retreating wounded soldiers. At one point, he sees a column of soldiers, whom he describes as a "procession of chosen beings" heading toward the front lines; the sight makes him feel guilty and ashamed of having fled himself. Not long after, he sees the same column retreating through the woods. Unable to comprehend the possibility of a large-scale defeat for the Union army, Henry seizes a retreating soldier and stammers out his confusion, asking, “Why—why—”

The other soldier, likely terrified and traumatized himself, responds by attacking Henry:

He adroitly and fiercely swung his rifle. It crushed upon the youth’s head. The man ran on.