<P> The novel is known for its distinctive style, which includes realistic battle sequences as well as the repeated use of color imagery, and ironic tone . Separating itself from a traditional war narrative, Crane's story reflects the inner experience of its protagonist (a soldier fleeing from combat) rather than the external world around him . Also notable for its use of what Crane called a "psychological portrayal of fear", the novel's allegorical and symbolic qualities are often debated by critics . Several of the themes that the story explores are maturation, heroism, cowardice, and the indifference of nature . The Red Badge of Courage garnered widespread acclaim, what H.G. Wells called "an orgy of praise", shortly after its publication, making Crane an instant celebrity at the age of twenty - four . The novel and its author did have their initial detractors, however, including author and veteran Ambrose Bierce . Adapted several times for the screen, the novel became a bestseller . It has never been out of print and is now thought to be Crane's most important work and a major American text . </P> <P> Stephen Crane published his first novel, Maggie: A Girl of the Streets, in March 1893 at the age of 22 . Maggie was not a success, either financially or critically . Most critics thought the unsentimental Bowery tale crude or vulgar, and Crane chose to publish the work privately after it was repeatedly rejected for publication . Crane found inspiration for his next novel while spending hours lounging in a friend's studio in the early summer of 1893 . There, he became fascinated with issues of Century Magazine that were largely devoted to famous battles and military leaders from the Civil War . Frustrated with the dryly written stories, Crane stated, "I wonder that some of those fellows don't tell how they felt in those scraps . They spout enough of what they did, but they're as emotionless as rocks ." Returning to these magazines during subsequent visits to the studio, he decided to write a war novel . He later stated that he "had been unconsciously working the detail of the story out through most of his boyhood" and had imagined "war stories ever since he was out of knickerbockers ." </P> <P> At the time, Crane was intermittently employed as a free - lance writer, contributing articles to various New York City newspapers . He began writing what would become The Red Badge of Courage in June 1893, while living with his older brother Edmund in Lake View, New Jersey . Crane conceived the story from the point of view of a young private who is at first filled with boyish dreams of the glory of war, only to become disillusioned by war's reality . He took the private's surname, "Fleming," from his sister - in - law's maiden name . He would later relate that the first paragraphs came to him with "every word in place, every comma, every period fixed ." Working mostly nights, he wrote from around midnight until four or five in the morning . Because he could not afford a typewriter, he carefully wrote in ink on legal - sized paper, occasionally crossing through or overlying a word . If he changed something, he would rewrite the whole page . He later moved to New York City, where he completed the novel in April 1894 . </P> <P> The title of Crane's original, 55,000 - word manuscript was "Private Fleming / His various battles", but in order to create the sense of a less traditional Civil War narrative, he ultimately changed the title to The Red Badge of Courage: An Episode of the American Civil War . In early 1894, Crane submitted the manuscript to S.S. McClure, who held on to it for six months without publication . Frustrated, the author asked for the manuscript to be returned, after which he gave it to Irving Bacheller in October . An abbreviated version of Crane's story was first serialized in The Philadelphia Press in December 1894 . This version of the story, which was culled to 18,000 words by an editor specifically for the serialization, was reprinted in newspapers across America, establishing Crane's fame . Crane biographer John Berryman wrote that the story was published in at least 200 small city dailies and approximately 550 weekly papers . In October 1895, a version, which was 5,000 words shorter than the original manuscript, was printed in book form by D. Appleton & Company . This version of the novel differed greatly from Crane's original manuscript; the deletions were thought by some scholars to be due to demands by an Appleton employee who was afraid of public disapproval of the novel's content . Parts of the original manuscript removed from the 1895 version include all of the twelfth chapter, as well as the endings to chapters seven, ten and fifteen . </P>

Who kills henry in the red badge of courage