Stephen Crane was born in New Jersey on November 1, 1871. He was the youngest of 14 children. His mom, Mary Helen Peck Crane, was a writer and women’s rights advocate. His father, Jonathan Townley Crane was a Methodist minister. He was raised by his older sister Agnes. He went to preparatory school at Claverack College and later studied at Lafayette college for two years and Syracuse University. Then he moved back to New Jersey after being in college in Pennsylvania and New York and started writing short stories on his experiences. He moved to New York in the early 1890s and started writing and observing life on the streets and poverty in New York City. In New York he engaged himself into the world of saloons and dance halls.

While Crane’s first novel, Maggie: A Girl of the Streets, is very well known, his masterpiece is said to be the Red Badge of Courage. This story follows the internal emotions of a union soldier in the Civil War. It describes realistic violence and authentic emotions even though it was not a first hand account of Crane’s own experiences. The story follows Henry Flemming, a cowardly solider who wants to become stronger. Throughout the novel he faces injury, his friend dying, and an internal struggle to conjure bravery. Eventually he summons up his courage and fights well in battle.

• When I was looking through famous quotes of Stephen Crane I found this one and it really stood out to me because I feel like it applies to everyone and it actually inspired me a lot.
• “You cannot choose your battlefield, God does that for you; but you can plant a standard where a standard never flew”
• What he’s saying here is that no matter where you are placed in life you can always find a way to be an example to someone around you.

He developed Naturalism which is a style of writing which accurately depicts important details and events. Crane touches on fear, courage, pride, and humility in his novels. To research the Civil War, which was impossible for him to recreate, he used his own experiences in a football game. Symbolism is often in his books. Stephen Crane is known as one of the most skillful writers in America.

I think it is incredible that he was able to put himself in the shoes of a soldier and create a story without ever experiencing any of it and I think he deserves to be a famous American Author because he wanted to learn so much about other people.

Why are authors attracted to people who are misunderstood?
because Stephen crane felt a concern in his heart for others such as soldiers in internal battles or those in poverty struggling and decided that he needed the world to see these people’s perspective on life. Authors want to tell a story that is worth reading and convince readers to look further into what they don’t already know