Books

The Red Badge of Courage

A youth goes to war, gets scared, and then settles in and performs well.

It’s one of the most psychologically high fidelity books about the transition from boyhood to manhood. The narrator is spectacularly unreliable about himself, others, and the world. You live the experience from the first person perspective.

Early in his first battle, the youth flakes out and runs from the front lines, then spends a whole bunch of time rationalizing it to himself as virtuous and yearning for his side to lose so that his dereliction will be validated post hoc as a wise tactical retreat.

When he rejoins his comrades he’s petrified with shame and fear of being discovered as a coward.

In his next battle he manages to channel his intense nervous energy constructively and fights like a demon, earning redemption in the eyes of the reader and in his own heart.

It’s an absolute masterpiece. A scorching, incisive, unflinching portrait of the head and heart of a young man. Strongly recommended.

building farcaster infra @ /neynar 🪐 | casting @ /rish

Oh definitely great book, read that in middle school