Crane shows a new characterization of Henry in this chapter. Henry realizes that he is, in fact, a soldier and that he must kill or be killed. Henry becomes angry with the idea that the enemy never seems to tire. In Henry’s mind, “Those other men seemed never to grow weary; they were fighting with their old speed. He had a wild hate for the relentless foe.” Henry is a changed person; he is now a soldier.
In allowing Henry to reflect on what happens in this small battle, Crane further reveals Henry’s evolving character. For example, Crane states that “These incidents made the youth ponder. It was revealed to him that he was a barbarian, a beast.” What’s more, Henry comes to the realization that “By this struggle, he had overcome obstacles which he had admitted to be mountains. They had fallen like paper peaks, and he was now what he called a hero.” This is the new Henry, the soldier-hero. The new confidence that was borne of a lie has finally become the truth.
This chapter shifts the reader into a different relationship with Henry. To this point, the reader has seen Henry move between paranoia and schizophrenia. Henry has been a person for whom the reader has had little respect and less sympathy. By the end of this chapter, however, the reader is willing to forgive and to forget all that has happened and to agree that Henry, if not a hero, is certainly a courageous, confident soldier.
