The Construction,Deconstruction And Reconstruction Of Hero

The Red Badge of Courage is the masterpiece of Stephen Crane�one of the most influential writers in America.The novel is about the initiation process of a young soldier Henry,who participates in the American Civil War out of his fantasy of being a Greek-like hero.Henry firstly escapes from the battlefield,then comes back claiming that he is injured during the fight.At last,he fights bravely and becomes a hero in his comrades' eyes.Instead of depicting the splendid battle scene and exciting heroic deeds like other war fiction,The Red Badge of Courage concentrates mainly upon the mentality of an ordinary or even cowardly new soldier.Among relevant researches at home and abroad,people have been arguing that whether the protagonist is a real hero.With the development of western literary critical theories,myth and archetype approach is applied to literary criticism by more and more scholars.The American comparative mythologist Joseph Campbell deepens and expands this approach in his masterpiece The Hero with a Thousand Faces.The hero archetype that he summarizes more scientifically demonstrates the dynamic process of becoming a hero: the Departure�Initiation�Return pattern.In Campbell's words,there is only one hero in mythology.Although there are all kinds of heroes different in times,races,districts,they are in fact the same hero with different faces.Heroes are no longer far and perfect.Everyone is a potential hero.The thesis concludes that Henry finally becomes a hero.Furthermore,as the historical background and time changes,the definition of hero also develops dynamically with various connotations.This thesis will try to uncover the new attributes of the new hero in the new era and point out the positive influences it would bring to the modern society.This thesis clarifies new hero by analyzing the construction,deconstruction and reconstruction of hero.The construction of traditional hero image is functioned by such aspects as the influence of the American literary hero images on the author,the American Civil War as the story background,the rumored hero models under Henry's living circumstances,etc.Henry's betrayal to the army and himself forms the deconstruction of traditional hero.The thesis analyzes Henry's psychological activities,and tries to seek out the reasons of the betrayal from the subjective reason: the weakness of human nature,and the objective reason: a soldier's status in the battle.Through the common function of the transformation and redemption of human nature,the social and environmental influences,the internal and external psychological hints,the work achieves the reconstruction of new hero.At last,the protagonist Henry is a new real hero who follows his human nature.The new hero exists not only in the battle field,but also anywhere around people's life.In modern new times,everyone is a potential hero facing potential challenges and trials.The definition of new hero is undoubtedly a profound enlightenment on those who have difficulty making choices when confronted with a similar dilemma.