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Abstract
It is propounded to initiate in this paper through the study of Stephen Crane’s The Red Badge of Courage deglorification of war as it has catastrophic consequences to humanity. The term “war” as used in this paper implies not only the actual military conflicts but also its effects on the psychological and social life of the characters directly or indirectly involved with wars. The critical analysis of the war-fiction of Crane establishes that their plots consist of exciting interactions between violent external forces and their protagonists between ruthless machines and men. This novel is extensively preoccupied with the portrayal of the collective and individual suffering, variegated emotional reactions and material and moral turmoil following the violent war encounters. The central structuring principle in this novel is to expose the absurdity in the life of the protagonist and to accentuate the destructive, irrational nature of life and the universe.