According to the Poetry Foundation, critics have had numerous debates over which literary movement The Red Badge of Courage should be classified. Crane's novel has been considered a work of realism, naturalism, impressionism, and symbolism. Those who consider the novel realistic see it as the “first non-romanticized account of the Civil War” and a truthful depiction of the war and the soldiers (Poetry Foundation). Naturalistic viewers believe that the characters and experiences of the novel “are shaped by social, biological, and psychological forces” (Poetry Foundation). The Red Badge of Courage also displays many unique symbols and images and also a "consistent use of color imagery" which leads critics to also classify the novel as Symbolist and Impressionist (Poetry Foundation). To summarize the novel's literary movement, Edwin H. Cady said: “'The very secret of the novel's power lies in the inviolable organic uniqueness with which Crane adapted all four methods to his needs. The Red Badge method is everything and nothing'” (Poem