The Red Badge of Courage: Chapters 9-13

Lesson Plan - Get It!

Audio:

In your notebook or journal, write down as many differences as you can think of between newspaper articles and novels.

Then, consider if there are any similarities.

• What did you come up with in your responses?
• Why do you think a journalist might want to be a novelist?
• Why would a novelist want to be a journalist?

Stephen Crane was both a novelist and journalist. He wrote for The New York Tribune and New York World newspapers in the 1890s while writing fiction and poetry.

To learn more about Stephen Crane's life, read the biography, Stephen Crane, from the Poetry Foundation. As you read, answer the following questions in the notebook or journal you are keeping for this series before checking your answers:

As a journalist, Crane was precise with his use of language. He incorporated his large vocabulary into his fiction to create precise imagery as well. Using Dictionary.com or another dictionary of your choice, define the following words that Crane uses in Chapters Nine through Thirteen in your notebook or journal. Then, write a sentence using each word correctly within the sentence's context. The words are:

• jouncing
• ague
• philippic
• imprecations
• malediction
• sublime
• cowled
• craven
• compunctions
• derisive
• gesticulating
• gamin
• visages
• languor

Once you've defined the vocabulary and written your sentences, read Chapters Nine through Thirteen in the novel. You can use the online copy of The Red Badge of Courage: An Episode of the American Civil War by Stephen Crane, from Project Gutenberg, or a print copy of the book. Use the same version you used in the previous two lessons. As you read, take notes on Henry's experiences and his emotions as he goes through the different stages of the battle and the aftermath.

When you've finished reading and taking notes, move on to the Got It? section to explore the material of these chapters more closely.