.. It was a goddess, radiant, that bended its form with an imperious gesture to him. (Conrad 81)

Crane thus suggests how the heat of battle becomes focused on a symbol, in this case the flag, and soldiers emerge from battle with this new symbol clearly in mind. The imagery used makes an association between the flag and a goddess, thus indicating a sexual appeal at the same time.

Henry changes in the course of his experience, moving from the group of unseasoned soldiers toward the group that has been in battle and now knows the reaity of war:

He had rid himself of the red sickness of battle. The sultry nightmare was in the past. He had been an animal blistered and sweating in the heat and pain of war. (Conrad 100)

Again, Crane here recalls the idea of war as an animal activity, though the dedication of the...
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