...During the Civil War, a lot of things changed in America. Ranging from lines being drawn, friendships coming and going, policies being made and changed, and above all, people’s ideas and beliefs being reshaped to accommodate what they saw and felt during the war. It has been said that the war can change a person. Meaning that one can go into the war with no experience and be innocent as a lamb, and then come out being haunted by what they saw. Over the century and a half since the war, there have been many novels written by writers who have had military experience or are more experienced altogether. A writer such as Michael Shaara, winner of the Pulitzer prize, for his novel, The Killer Angels. Shaara’s novel is written in an entirely different light than Crane’s. In particular, the way that Shaara starts The Killer Angels, is...
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...The Killer Angels is a Civil War novel specifically centered on the Battle of Gettysburg. The novel is written as a human drama of some well known Confederate army officers and their Union army counterparts in the Civil War, notably from the Battle of Gettysburg. Thus, the novel is classified as historical fiction. While people who like history would be interested in this book, it is also enjoyable for people who are not drawn to the factual accounts of war, but prefer the presentation of the human emotions, struggles, decisions which are presented in this work of historical fiction. This book was a trendsetter. Books about the Civil War and the Battle of Gettysburg usually contained the strategies and outcomes as facts. This novel includes...
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...Author, Michael Shaara, in his novel, The Killer Angels, recounts the battles of the Civil War. He enhances the reader’s knowledge through the different perspectives of both positions on the war. Shaara’s purpose, in the above excerpt, is to emphasize the persistence of the Union throughout the war. The Union carries several hardships and losses. He inputs a nationalistic and courageous tone in order to inspire his audience, his troops, to fight and not give up the line to the rebels. Shaara begins his passage by establishing the courage and persistence of the Union and General Chamberlain. He appeals to the fighting spirit of the Union by admitting “He leaped down from the boulder still screaming, his voice beginning to crack and give, and...
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...The Killer Angels, written by Michael Shaara is a representation of the experiences of those who were present for the Battle of Gettysburg during the Civil War in 1863. The book portrays what it was like to be a soldier for those three days. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain was one of these soldiers. He fought for the Union and was colonel of the 20th Maine. Chamberlain is a dynamic character who goes through development during the story while interacting with others. In The Killer Angels, Chamberlain is an important aspect of advancing the stories plot and displaying what the author, Michael Shaara, was trying to convey. First of all, Lawrence Chamberlain went through a great deal of change and development throughout the story. Towards the...
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...Michael Shaara, the author, was born in 1928 in Jersey City, his writing career began in the early 1950s, and wrote numerous short stories he published “The Killer Angels” in 1974. Shaara also taught Creative Writing and Literature at Florida State University, he died in 1988 at age 59. This review will be discussing the novel titled “The Killer Angels”, Shaara does an exemplary job of telling the story of the Battle of Gettysburg from the soldier’s perspective on both fronts. This novel depicts, one of the most historically important events in American history, as being the bloodiest battles to ever happen to the United States. *** When a spy named Harrison travels to general Longstreet’s headquarters in Virginia to report back of Union...
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...The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara was not just a fiction novel, it was a story of a man who actually saw the battlefield of Gettysburg and learned about the battle and its importance. When he returned from the battle sight he decided to write a novel based on his experience there. Instead of creating fictional characters he used the names and experiences he had directly with the main characters of the novel. Not only did Shaara study and review letters, documents and journal enteries of the men for the interpretation, he made it more realistic and personal by the portrayal of his characters. In the paper we will address four of those main characters with their background and how they were relevant to the war. Shaara, gave us a look at each...
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...The novel The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara is the day-by-day story of our nation's most deadly and valiant battle, the battle of Gettysburg. It is told in the point of view of soldiers from both sides of the war and describes the emotion and experiences that each character went, though. The character Joshua Lawrence Chamberlin is the main voice of the Union and most relatable character in the novel. He is the classic citizen gone soldier and provides the book with some its most insightful words. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlin, a man of the union, he was tall, striking in a boyish way, and had had a virtuous and delightful way about him. Chamberlin was a very nice man, he grew up in New England and was a remarkable student. He was a professor at Bowdoin University, he taught language there, which mad sense because Chamberlin could speak seven. Though, he was exceptional at his occupation Chamberlin longed to be a soldier. However, Bowdoin University would not allow him to go to war. So, in 1862 he went to study in France. but, when it was time to leave he enlisted in the army instead and became a part of the 20th Regiment of Infantry. He has...
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...forced to battle. Even Robert e Lee was facing heart problems and still had to continue. Unfortunately when a soldier was injured badly in a limb or shot amputation was the solution. Basically they had to cut their limbs off from getting further infections in the wounded area. This was a very dangerous procedure if the man wasn't strong enough he could could die from shock. If they did survive the procedure then instead of having some limb cut off with no infections, they ended up getting infections because the doctors used tools like a saw to cut the limbs off. Most of the time the saws were used and thats one of the reasons they got infected in their cut off limbs. Buster killrain is a fictional character in Michael shaara’s novel. Buster according to the killer angels died on the morning of July 3, 1863 due to blood loss sn amputation. Kilrain was seriously wounded during a battle to fight off southern...
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...commission to join the Confederacy. Dozier describes this decision as one that, “led to an emotional farewell party hosted by the wife of his closest army friend.” In Michael Shaara’s The Killer Angels, Armistead is believed to have said, “Win, so help me, if I ever lift a hand against you, may God strike me dead” upon parting from his best friend (258). The two friends knew that eventually they would meet on a battlefield. This happened to be at Gettysburg. Armistead’s story is a calamitous one, for as he began to penetrate Hancock’s infantry on July 3, 1863, he was shot and mortally wounded, making his quote so powerful. His story represents the immense mental strength and horror that soldiers had to endure during the Civil War, through the attempted penetration of the American brotherhood. It shows that with the Civil War came not only physical destruction, but mental obliteration as well. The “Friend to Friend” Monument at Gettysburg marks the place where Armistead heroically fell. The monument depicts the Confederate brigadier general handing his watch to a Union soldier, Captain Bingham, who is close with General Hancock (“Friend to Friend Masonic Memorial at Gettysburg”). This statue is a perfect representation of the essence of the moral toll that came with the Civil War. In The Killer Angels, Longstreet wonderfully sums up the humanity of the war with his line, “They’re never quite the enemy, those boys in blue” (191). Armistead dying alongside his supposed...
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