Henry Fleming's Assertion of Free Will in an Indifferent Universe

摘要

Different from his naturalistic followers,Stephen Crane develops his naturalism in a restricted and special sense that contains many non-naturalistic elements.In his masterpiece The Red Badge of Courage,Crane scrutinizes the position of man in the universe through the depiction of a youthful private's war experience and spiritual growth.Despite the fact that war is extremely cruel and Nature is indifferent to man's sufferings,the protagonist Henry Fleming,after a series of trials and mental struggles,finally succeeds in asserting his free will.Seen in this light,this novel can be read as a piece that transcends the boundaries of Determinism and reflects the author's not altogether pessimistic tendency in spite of the naturalistic features in his writing.