Editing Stephen Crane (section)

===Novels===
Beginning with the publication of ''[[Maggie: A Girl of the Streets]]'' in 1893, Crane was recognized by critics mainly as a novelist.  ''Maggie'' was initially rejected by publishers because of its atypical and true-to-life depictions of class warfare, which clashed with sentimental tales of that time. Rather than focusing on the rich or middle class, the novel's characters are lower-class denizens of New York's Bowery.<ref>Gibson (1988), p. 2</ref> The main character, Maggie, descends into prostitution after being led astray by her lover.  Although the novel's plot is simple, its dramatic mood, quick pace and portrayal of Bowery life have made it memorable.  ''Maggie'' is not merely an account of slum life, but also represents eternal symbols. In his first draft, Crane did not give his characters proper names. Instead, they were identified by epithets: Maggie, for example, was the girl who "blossomed in a mud-puddle" and Pete, her seducer, was a "knight".<ref>Knapp, p. 44</ref> The novel is dominated by irony, anger, and destructive morality. Critics would later call the novel "the first dark flower of American Naturalism" for its distinctive elements of naturalistic fiction.<ref name="kna1"/>

[[File:Ernest Hemingway 1950.jpg|thumb|Ernest Hemingway (shown on his boat circa 1950) believed ''The Red Badge of Courage'' was "one of the finest books of [American] literature".]]
Written thirty years after the end of the Civil War and before Crane had any experience of battle, ''The Red Badge of Courage'' was innovative stylistically as well as psychologically.  Often described as a [[war novel]], it focuses less on battle and more on the main character's psyche and his reactions in war.<ref>Gibson (1988), p. 3</ref>  It is believed that Crane based the fictional battle in the novel on that of [[Battle of Chancellorsville|Chancellorsville]]; he may also have interviewed veterans of the [[124th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment]], commonly known as the Orange Blossoms, in Port Jervis, New York.<ref>Sorrentino, p. 59</ref>  Told in a [[third-person narrative|third-person limited point of view]], it reflects the private experience of Henry Fleming, a young soldier who flees from combat.  ''The Red Badge of Courage'' is notable in its vivid descriptions and well-cadenced prose, both of which create suspense within the story.<ref>Knapp, p. 61</ref>  Similarly, by substituting epithets for characters' names ("the youth", "the tattered soldier"), Crane injects an [[allegory|allegorical]] quality, making his characters point to a specific characteristic of man.<ref>Knapp, pp. 62–63</ref>  Like Crane's first novel, ''The Red Badge of Courage'' has a deeply [[irony|ironic]] tone which increases in severity as the novel progresses.  The title of the work is ironic; Henry wishes "that he, too, had a wound, a red badge of courage".  The wound he does receive (from the rifle butt of a fleeing [[Union Army|Union]] soldier) is instead a badge of shame.<ref>Gibson (1988), p. 42</ref>

The novel expresses a strong connection between humankind and nature, a frequent and prominent concern in Crane's fiction and poetry.  Whereas contemporary writers ([[Ralph Waldo Emerson]], [[Nathaniel Hawthorne]], [[Henry David Thoreau]]) focused on a sympathetic bond on the two elements, Crane wrote from the perspective that human consciousness distanced humans from nature.  In ''The Red Badge of Courage'', this distance is paired with references to animals, and men with animalistic characteristics: people "howl", "squawk", "growl", or "snarl".<ref>Gibson (1988), p. 74</ref>

Since the resurgence of Crane's popularity in the 1920s, ''The Red Badge of Courage'' has been deemed a major American text.  The novel has been anthologized numerous times, including in the 1942 collection ''[[Men at War: The Best War Stories of All Time]]'', edited by [[Ernest Hemingway]].  In the introduction, Hemingway wrote that the novel "is one of the finest books of our literature, and I include it entire because it is all as much of a piece as a great poem is."<ref>Gibson (1988), p. 15</ref>

Crane's later novels have not received as much critical praise. After the success of ''The Red Badge of Courage'', Crane wrote another tale set in the Bowery.  ''George's Mother'' is less allegorical and more personal than his two previous novels, and it focuses on the conflict between a church-going, temperance-adhering woman (thought to be based on Crane's mother) and her single remaining offspring, who is a naive dreamer.<ref>Knapp, p. 86</ref>  Critical response to the novel was mixed.  ''The Third Violet'', a romance that he wrote quickly after publishing ''The Red Badge of Courage'', is typically considered as Crane's attempt to appeal to popular audiences.<ref>Gibson, p. 140</ref>  Crane considered it a "quiet little story." Although it contained autobiographical details, the characters have been deemed inauthentic and stereotypical.<ref>Knapp, pp. 99–100</ref>  Crane's second to last novel, ''Active Service'', revolves around the Greco-Turkish War of 1897, with which the author was familiar.  Although noted for its [[satire|satirical]] take on the [[melodrama]]tic and highly passionate works that were popular of the nineteenth century, the novel was not successful.  It is generally accepted by critics that Crane's work suffered at this point due to the speed at which he wrote.<ref>Knapp, p. 119</ref>  His last novel, a suspenseful and [[picaresque]] work entitled ''The O'Ruddy'', was finished posthumously by [[Robert Barr (writer)|Robert Barr]] and published in 1903.<ref>Gibson (1966), p. 145</ref>