Chapter 2: Review of Sources

In order to analyze a work such as Crane’s Badge, a work with so many details and pieces, it is good to have an idea of what one is looking for. Thus, the following questions were created to give some direction to the paper:

1-How did this book change the attitude toward the common man, and how does that view relate to the one today? 2-How did this book influence the literature of writers that came after Crane and during his time? 3-What methods did Crane use to make this book a story that the common man, or almost any man, could relate to? 4-What methods did Crane use to bring the reader inside the book? 5-What was Crane’s purpose for writing the book? 6-How did Crane use the characters to create an any-man/place feel? 7- How did Crane use the battles to do the same? 8-What was the response of people of the time to the book? 9-How does the predicament of Crane's hero compare to that of the common man in war today?

To answer these questions, the opinions of some "experts" on the subject matter were used. Contributing to the knowledge were several persons. James B. Colvert, in his extensive article on Crane’s life in Dictionary of Literary Biography, provides biographical help. Similarly assisting is Ken Chowder, who makes interesting observations on Crane’s life and its ironies in his article from Smithsonian. Albert Marrin provides useful contemporary information. Providing a swarm of critical opinions are Joseph Conrad, Ford Madox Ford, Alfred Kazin, Robert Stallman, and George Wyndham, all of whom have articles in Twentieth Century Literary Criticism. Some of these men, such as Wyndham and Conrad, who was Crane’s friend, are contemporaries of Crane, and their opinions therefore provide a good look at the differing views of Crane’s work over time. Conrad argues and explains why Crane's Henry Fleming seems so regular. Wyndham offers finer observations into Cranes actual techniques, and presents some arguments that are contradictory to that of the other scholars. Stallman focuses on the symbolism and mood of the book. Ford, in addition to showing the normalcy of Crane's characters, shows how they changed the way people looked at war, soldiers, and themselves. And finally, Kazin, eloquently puts into words how Crane's characters are the every-man.