“They were going to look at war, the red animal — war, the blood-swollen god. And they were deeply engrossed in this march.”

—  Stephen Crane, book The Red Badge of Courage

Source: The Red Badge of Courage (1895), Ch. 3
Context: The line, broken into moving fragments by the ground, went calmly on through fields and woods. The youth looked at the men nearest him, and saw, for the most part, expressions of deep interest, as if they were investigating something that had fascinated them. One or two stepped with overvaliant airs as if they were already plunged into war. Others walked as upon thin ice. The greater part of the untested men appeared quiet and absorbed. They were going to look at war, the red animal — war, the blood-swollen god. And they were deeply engrossed in this march.

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Stephen Crane42
American novelist, short story writer, poet, and journalist 1871–1900

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