The whole thought was now present—feeble, scarcely sane, scarcely definite,—but still entire. I proceeded at once, with the
nervous energy of despair, to attempt its execution.
For many hours the immediate vicinity of the low framework
upon which I lay, had been literally swarming with rats. They were
wild, bold, ravenous; their red eyes glaring upon me as if they waited
but for motionlessness on my part to make me their prey. “To what
food,” I thought, “have they been accustomed in the well?”

Why might Poe have kept this information form the readers?

The red badge of courage documents henry's growth and maturity as a soldier through the changes in his personality and behavior. during this transition, henry's emotions run the gamut from glory to fear to depression to anger to exhilaration to courage to honor. his personality and behavior move from innocence to experience, in essence from doubt to duty. henry's maturing process occurs very quickly. in the span of just a few days, henry experiences a lifetime's worth of growth — from his enlisting for self-centered reasons of glory, to the exhilaration of his first battle, to his running from his second battle for fear of being killed, and, ultimately, to his facing the enemy and leading a charge as he becomes one of the bravest soldiers in his regiment. several examples from the novel illuminate the changes which take place in henry's character and in their relationship to the themes of doubt and duty.