Crane continues to develop the theme of fear by allowing the soldiers to comment on rumors. For example, one soldier says, "They say Perry has been driven in with big loss" and "Hannises' battery is took." The reader also sees the battle through the eyes of a novice and shares the fears of the youth. The reader shares Henry's curiosity as he watches the frontline troops do battle.
Crane's technique of allowing the reader to watch the battle through the eyes of another in some ways limits the reader's perspective, but, in other ways, it increases the concern for personal safety. The theme of fear, in this case fear of the unknown, grows because the soldiers don't see, and have not, as yet, seen, the enemy — the force, the monster, causing all this chaos, and the reader, as a result, hasn't yet seen the monster, either. Indeed, the fear of the unknown is greater than the fear of facing the enemy directly. This fear of the unknown is a normal human behavior, one with which all people can identify, and, as a result, the reader empathizes with Henry.
