Journal 60: Think About…

Civil War was the first photographed war. This really brings all the gory, bloody, violent sides of war to people for the first time realistically and graphically. People used to believe, like Henry Fleming in Red Badge of Courage, Henry fantasized battle as being a hard labor that involves glory and honor and no risk. That is because before wars are photographed and later filmed, people have no idea how horrific wars are. Wars are told by the people who returned, and although battered, the people that returned will want to tell a story that portrays them as heroes. Naturally, the stories told about war, though hard and tragic, are glorious and exciting. This motivates people like Henry to have silly fantasies. After Civil War became photographed and ordinary people began to be exposed to the horrific and terrible scenes of war, it's the first time that people truly realize why and to what extend the saying, "War is hell" is true. The realists began to portray the ugly side of war and the ugly side of people because everyone, no matter how good and how virtuous they are, they all have some kind of vice. The basics of realism is that a hero can not be all good because no one is perfect and being the hero simply means that this ordinary person performed unordinary deeds that combated his vice and eventually did good.