JAFD26 | 19 Aug 2017 3:10 a.m. PST |
Salutations, gentlefolk ! If I may ask: Have you read Stephen Crane's _The Red Badge of Courage_? Yes, it was assigned reading in junior high or high school Yes, because I wanted to No I think it is: A Really Great Work Of American Literature Not That Great, but… meh There should be a marker or plaque at Stephen Crane's birthplace: Definitely Maybe Who cares As his birthplace is a few blocks from my home, and is not currently marked, am thinking of writing letter to Mayor about it, so "running idea up the flagpole" here. Thanks for your thoughts about this. |
ZULUPAUL | 19 Aug 2017 3:33 a.m. PST |
Yes I read it, several times. I think it is a great work of literature. Plaque certainly. |
Whirlwind | 19 Aug 2017 4:52 a.m. PST |
Yes, because I wanted to (directly as a result of an article in a wargaming magazine I think. IIRC Arthur Harman did a scenario for it, which I actually tried out on my friends! I think was 10 at the time, using unpainted plastic Esci figures…) A Really Great Work of Literature Definitely |
21eRegt | 19 Aug 2017 6:03 a.m. PST |
Yes, more than once. Don't recall with certainty. I think maybe it was on an optional reading list. I wouldn't be opposed to a plaque. |
dmebust | 19 Aug 2017 6:12 a.m. PST |
Nope, liked the movie, original version thank you. |
Florida Tory | 19 Aug 2017 6:58 a.m. PST |
Yes, I read most of Crane's novels in high school. I was a fan of his writing. Rick |
Bob the Temple Builder | 19 Aug 2017 7:06 a.m. PST |
I've read it several times and watched the movies at least three times. It is a very good story, and one felt that it told one soldier's story of battle in a very believable way. |
45thdiv | 19 Aug 2017 7:59 a.m. PST |
I was assigned it to read in highschool. I did not care for the writing style and it was a trudging read. I don't have an opinion on the plaque. I know others think it is a great piece of work, but for me it was just so so. Now, I may have a different view if I were to read it again some 40 years later, but there are too many other things I could read or do. My wife also read it and found it to be "chore to read." She is a voracious reader of everything. |
donlowry | 19 Aug 2017 9:20 a.m. PST |
No, have never read it (there's a copy on my to-read shelf, been there for years). Have seen 2 movie versions: B&W with Audie Murphy and Bill Mauldin, and a color made-for-TV version with John-Boy Walton (or the actor who played him). Both were pretty good. Enjoyed the B&W more, but then I was younger when I saw it, so less critical. |
79thPA | 19 Aug 2017 9:42 a.m. PST |
I read it so long ago I don't have any lasting impressions to give. Lately, I have been thinking that I should pick up a copy at the library and give it a go. |
Scott MacPhee | 19 Aug 2017 10:21 a.m. PST |
I read it on my own and loved it. I smuggled a paperback copy into basic training and read it probably once a day. I have returned to it many times and taught it in middle school and high school classes. It is indeed a great work of literature, unlike anything that came before. It may be the best example of naturalism in literature. Certainly Crane's birthplace should have a plaque, a statue, and a shrine. Maybe even a temple to his genius. |
14Bore | 19 Aug 2017 10:34 a.m. PST |
I too read it in jr high but don't remember the text, but have seen the Audie Murphy movie many times, its a good story with a moral ending |
Herkybird | 19 Aug 2017 10:42 a.m. PST |
I saw the Audie Murphy film and read the book afterwards. I preferred the film. I definitely didn't like the re-make! |
Glengarry5 | 19 Aug 2017 12:28 p.m. PST |
I started with the Classic comic book, read the story and saw a couple movies adaptations. Yes to a plaque. |
robert piepenbrink | 19 Aug 2017 2:31 p.m. PST |
Haven't forgiven Fort Wayne Community Schools for assigning it yet, and it's been about 50 years. I'll grant you it beats out Silas Marner, Great Expectations, The Pearl and The Yearling. |
Trajanus | 19 Aug 2017 3:49 p.m. PST |
Never read it but then I hate historical novels so that sort of rules me out! I know the book was rated highly when it first appeared, for the authors writing on the moral struggles of the main character and a sound treatment of the War's detail. Not sure if I've seen the "John Boy" movie but I didn't like the original, mostly because I can't stand Audie Murphy. Also a bit like Don, by the time I saw it I knew too much about the Civil War for the production values not to be a big distraction. However, the treatment of issues raised in the book, that war films of that vintage seldom covered, was sound enough, I thought. |
Ottoathome | 20 Aug 2017 11:45 p.m. PST |
Before I could read my mother read it to me. She read me many of the children's classics. Read it again in school. It is one of the great works of the American Literature canon. |
ScottWashburn | 21 Aug 2017 5:13 a.m. PST |
I've read it and it is indeed a great work. Apparently many CW veterans read it and felt it was so realistic they couldn't believe that Crane wasn't a veteran himself. |
Old Wolfman | 21 Aug 2017 7:30 a.m. PST |
Also saw the "Wishbone" version some time ago. |
Old Contemptibles | 21 Aug 2017 8:14 a.m. PST |
A Really Great Work Of American Literature. |
COL Scott ret | 22 Aug 2017 10:18 p.m. PST |
Great book IMHO, good original movie (really Traj who could not like Audie Murphy). |
Clays Russians | 22 Sep 2017 9:54 a.m. PST |
I really wish this would be remade by Ridley Scott. |