Stephen Crane Educational Posters
for the literature, language arts and social studies classrooms and homeschoolers.

American Authors of the 19th Century -
Stephen Crane

Quote Appearing on This Print:
A man said to the universe:
“Sir I exist!”
“However,” replied the universe,
”The fact has not created in me
A sense of obligation.”
War is Kind

At age 20, author Stephen Crane was ... what he wanted to do with his life. He started writing for newspapers, and it was as a freelance journalist in New York Kity that he saw the rough way of life that inspired him to finish his first novel, Maggie: A Girl of the Streets (1893). This harsh story about a young woman who turns to prostitution and finally commits suicide was very controversial. No one would publish it because of this Crane decided to pubish the book at his own expense. Many people considered his second novel, The Red Badge of Courage (1895), to be his greatest work. He tells the story of Henry Fleming, a young Union soldier during the Civil War. Stephen Crane is also known for his short stories such as “The Blue Hotel,” “The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky”, and “The Open Boat,” which tells about his experiences in a shipwreck. In addition, he wrote several books of poetry, including War Is Kind (1899), from which the above quote is an excerpt. Before tuberculosis claimed his life when he was only 29, Crane had produced enough work as a novelist, short story writer, and poet to fill a ---. Toward the end of his life Stepen Crane travelled to Germany to read and recuperate from his failing helath. He died there in 1900.

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The Red Badge of Courage
Stephen Crane

Poster Text: Stephen Crane's The Red Badge of Courage was published thirty years after the end of the Civil War, but Crane's portrayal of Private Henry Flemings, a young soldier fighting with New York's 304th Regiment, has become one the most memorable pieces of literature about that war. The Red Badge of Courage ... Fleming's inner struggle with ... and his doubts that he can be a soldier in a war where bravery and honor are as important as winning. This photograph was taken during the Civil War and shows the men of Company C of the 41st New York Infantry.

Quote Appearing on This Print: “He suddenly lost concern for himself, and forgot to look at a menacing fate. He became not a man but a member. He felt that something of which he was a part – a regiment, an army, a cause, or a country – was in crisis. He was welded into a common personality which was dominated by a single desire. For some moments he could flee no more than a little finger can commit a revolution from a hand.”

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The Red Badge of Courage

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