Belief is defined as “a state or habit of mind in which trust or confidence is placed in some person or thing,” according to Merriam-Webster Dictionary 1998. Throughout the civil war people believed many different things. My mandala shows how the north and south believed in different things and what the characters in the book believed; furthermore, what each group or individual learned from there original beliefs. In the book “The Red Badge of Courage,” the main character or youth believes.
He believes that he wants to be a hero. He believes that when he becomes a hero he will become a man and know about life. The youth believes becoming a hero will make him the person he wants to be. In reality he doesn’t know what he wants, or if he truly wants to be a hero. He runs from a battle confused, he believes that he was better off than the other soldiers who might die were. In the end the character in the book believed that it was better not to run and to make up for his running he fought as hard as he could.
The youth believed in what he fought for and even risked his life to hold the flag in the heat of a battle. The other characters also believed in what the fought for in the end of the book and for example the loud soldier who (believed that he wasn’t afraid ended up changing and becoming a nice person as well as a good friend. He learned that what he originally believed, which was I am not afraid of anything wasn’t what he truly believed. He was terrified; he even gave the youth his will.
The Union or blue sky with sun, believed in what they fought for. They believed that a state cannot succeed from the union and a state cannot make a law null and void. In the back of their minds they believed that slavery was wrong and ended up fighting against it. The sun with rays represents common beliefs among the old Union. The Confederacy or gray clouds with lightning, believed in what they fought for. They believed that a state can succeed from the union and a state can make a law null and void. In they truly believed that slavery was good.
The thought that blacks liked it and that they were treated better than the northern labor workers were who had to take care of themselves. The south ended up fighting for slaver. The lightning represents the touching and friendship of the states that were once one Union. The swirl in the middle is the mixing of two separate beliefs into one common nation. The words mix into one also to represent unity. In the end I felt both the character in the book and the north and south in the war, all believed in something and fought for it.
In the end the all learned from their actions. The north learned that the south had great ambition and the north felt great honor toward the south. The north also felt the south was part of the union and will always be a part. The south learned that they cannot succeed from the union or make federal laws null and void in the separate states. The character learned what a man is and how to learn from mistakes and about life lessons. Now he is considered a man.