A Comparative Study of the Escape Motif in The Red Badge of Courage and A Farewell to Arms

Abstract

Stephen Crane and Ernest Hemingway expose the survival dilemma faced by the ordinary people, through focusing on real experiences and feelings of the ordinary. With the same setting of war, the plot of escape in both novels reveals not only human instincts to get rid of disasters, but also humans’ psychological changes. The essay analyses reasons and results of protagonists’ escape, followed by social meanings of authors’ description of escapism. Regarding reasons for escape, two Henrys both experience the disillusionment of individual dream. As for the two protagonists’ reasons respectively, Fleming’s determination is worn down by the boring camping and hesitation of other soldiers, which lead to his final escape; Frederic’s escape is the accumulation of constant disillusionment, coupled with his desire for survival. Considering the differences in escape results between the two Henrys, for Henry Fleming, escape is more like a process to realize his insufficiency of sense of responsibility, stimulating his steps towards maturity on personality and recognition; While for Frederic Henry, escape is the inevitable result of his final emotional outburst, plunging him into the bitter tribulation where he suffers the pain of losing Catherine forever. The social meanings of escapism can be discussed from three aspects: characters’ resistance to the vicious social reality, cognitive and ideological construction of humans, and people’s desire to seek belonging in society. Exploring the escape motif in The Red Badge of Courage and A Farewell to Arms is important for establishing the relationship and discussing the differences of them.