Jacob Ruiz 213186
Coach Shock
U.S. History
August 3, 2016
Emotions of the Angelic Killers The novel Killer Angels by Micheal Shaara is a novel about the Civil War, more specifically about the 1863 battle in Gettysburg. The novel goes into a lot of detail about war and describes the range of emotions of many of the characters who fought in the war and how war affected them. The war was between the Confederate (South) and the Union (North) armies. The emotions, reactions and sentiment of the main characters is what I will focus on.
Before describing the main characters of the novel, I want to describe the tone, setting, and point of view of the novel in general so we can better understand the landscape at the time. The novel is written in an epic tone. The primary battle of Gettysburg takes place in a borough of Pennsylvania. The historical setting and the dramatic use of real historical characters set it apart from most fictional novels. In Gettysburg, Pennsylvania the two opposing forces face each other in an epic battle that would define the Civil War and American history. The Civil War was fought from 1861 to 1865 and was the result of eleven Southern states (known as Confederates) electing to secede from the Union (Northern states). Part of the complexity in this story is that there are social and economic issues that are being resolved by individuals – such as classism and racism. The narrator sticks to a third-person, omniscient form of narration. The
The Battle of Gettysburg is the most recognizable battle throughout the every other battle in all of the Civil War. It had the most casualties out of any battle within the Civil War with 46,000 to 51,100 people between both armies together. The Battle of Gettysburg took place on the third of the Civil War (Background Essay) and both sides of the war , The Union and The Confederacy, were in a deadly stalemate at the time. The Civil War was going on because the country was divided because of slavery and sectionalism. The South was pro-slavery because most of their economy depended on their slaves and the work they did on the plantations in the South. The election of Abraham
Lincoln was transformed from a controversial and often unpopular leader into a martyr and hero.” The other revolves around John Wilkes Booth as he tries desperately to survive until he can escape deep into the heart of the Confederate states. In the beginning of the book the North and South were at war and at the point the South gave up starting a small “war” between Lincoln and the North. At that time while the war was going on President Lincoln, His wife, Major Rathbone, and his fiance Clara went to a play where Booth snuck up behind the president and killed him
The Battle of Gettysburg was fought by the largest number of soldiers, totaling 172,000 young men (“American Civil War”). During the Civil War, our nation was divided by the North (Union Army) and the South (Confederate Army) for opposing viewpoints on slavery and states’ rights. The Battle of Gettysburg was fought over three long, arduous days. The soldiers struggled under their respected generals in a 25 mile battle zone (“American Civil War”). This battle was a triumphant victory and a heart-wrenching loss for the troops of the Yankee North and Rebel South. The complexity of the Battle of Gettysburg brought together two fronts whose decisions and commitment would determine its outcome.
This is a brief thought of the events that came to unfold. Some say that Gettysburg was the battle that stopped the confederate advance to the north. In addition, that Lee only wanted to take the battle out the state of Virginia that had been hit rather hard by the unions Army . In this review of the Battle of Gettysburg, we will discuss the key events that people believed that allowed the Union Armies to cause the retrograde actions of the confederate forces. In addition, what each side wished to accomplish. And how the wished to accomplish these tasked the imagined
In the Pulitzer Prize winning civil war novel Killer Angels, Michael Shaara covers five days of the historic battle between the Northern and Southern United States at Gettysburg. Both the North and the South fought for freedom, although they did not have equivalent definitions of freedom. The North and the South were unwavering in their beliefs and their hope for a better United States, but what the two butted heads the most on was slavery. The South was a primarily agrarian region which relied heavily on the agriculture of crops like cotton and sugarcane, both of which required intense manual labor, unlike the North who was more so industrialized; however, as William Preston said, it was not cotton that was “the south’s king” but it was slavery that made them so prosperous. The South relied on slavery because having many workers to tend to these cash crops without having to pay them saved farmers and plantation owner’s money that they could use to buy more slaves that put out more work leading to more land for more crops, or to have more money to pay their taxes. Many Southerners like William Preston thought that owning other people was their divine right as white men. The Civil War was started over the North and South’s conflicting views on whether they had the “civil” right to own or not own slaves. The Northern and Southern states developed themselves much differently than one another because of their agrarian versus industrialized economy. As the states developed they
The killer angels is a world acclaimed novel that was written by an author known as Michael Shaara. In the year 1975, it was granted the Pulitzer Prize for creative writing. It gives us in details the occurrences of the four days in the Battle of Gettysburg. This was during the American Civil War that occurred in the year 1863. At this time, troops that comprised of both the Union and Confederacy were at war in town called Gettysburg in Pennsylvania. This is a piece of story that is driven by disposition and narrated from the point of view of various heroes (Hartwig, 1996).
Michael Shaara’s fictional novel, The Killer Angels, is based on the Battle of Gettysburg in the American Civil War. The novel allows the reader to recognize the heart and courage of the more than two million men that fought in the war. Shaara focuses the reader to better understand the reason why these men fight and the meaning of the war. Ultimately, the reader observes that the war is fought on an individual level as much as a governmental level. These men are there to fight for what they believe is truly right. The Confederates fought for their rights to hold slaves, their freedom tyranny of the Federal Government, and their
The Foreword began with describing the armies of the two armies. It states that the Confederate armies had a strong union among its men, because of their similarities in traditions, language, and religion. The soldiers had a strong belief in their leaders and were stronger together. This resulted in them beating much larger armies. The leader of this group on the battle of Gettysburg was Robert E Lee. A man who loves Virginia, who doesn’t partake in any bad habits, and who is a calm and composed man. However, the Union army was more diverse in their traditions, language, and religion, but this didn’t stop them from volunteering for their country. The leader of this group was George Gordon Meade. Unlike Lee, Meade was far more irritable and
Whether you wanted to or not, you were forced into conflict during this time in the area. There were many Unionist and Confederates who abused their powers during the war. And Paludan depicts this story in detail. However, the writing was very thorough in research, and as climatic as the events were, the reading was a bit dull. At some points I found myself drifting off while reading it, however, I would be quickly brought back in by some of the events taking
Wars have been fought for many different reasons through the years, and that holds true for the American Civil War (1861-1865). In Michael Shaara's Pulitzer Prize winning novel, The Killer Angels, the reasons for fighting the war are brought about through the officers and soldiers at a famous battle site of the Civil War, Gettysburg. Gettysburg was one of the most documented battles of the whole war. It took place over a span of three days and can be viewed as a turning point from Confederate prominence to Confederate demise. As in any conflict, there are two sides to the story. The Union and the Confederacy each had their own views as to why they were fighting the war. Victors write the history so too often only the Union side is
The Battle of Gettysburg brought the dueling North and South together to the small town of Gettysburg and on the threshold of splitting the Union. Gettysburg was as close as the United States got to Armageddon and The Killer Angels gives the full day-to-day account of the battle that shaped America’s future. Michael Shaara tells the story of the Battle of Gettysburg through the eyes of the generals and men involved in the action of the battle. The historical account of the Battle of Gettysburg gives the reader a chance to experience the battle personally and not the history book manner taught in schools. A historical novel gives the facts straightforward and provides no commentary by the people involved in history. The
The pain, joy, bloodshed, death, and sorrow of the Civil War are all contained in the book called, "The Killer Angels." This book will show you the thoughts, feelings and actions of many of the leaders of both armies. By reading this book you will get an in depth view of the bloodiest days of the Civil War. Even if you know absolutely nothing about this war, you can still read and understand everything that is portrayed. This story not only gives you the view of many of the major leaders, but it also gives you the maps an strategies used in this war. It also shows you the conflicts in making these strategies. This book has inspired many, but the true question is will it inspire you? Reading this book will cause
This book was a good analysis of Civil War soldiers' diaries, and letters to their loved ones. Which explains what they were going through in their lives and what they fought for and risked their lives for in this conflict. In the book the author James M. McPherson uses information from l00's of diaries and letters from the soldiers to learn why they fought in this war. The Union soldiers fought to preserve the Nation that was created in 1776, to save it from destruction. The Confederate soldiers fought for their independence, liberty, self government, and for revenge.
After the four year war the death toll was over 600,000 Union and Southern men. The war fought mostly in the south and left it in ruins. The Killer Angels tells the story of the Battle of Gettysburg.
Shaara made the battle of Gettysburg into vivid pictures through the actions of several generals and the events. In this book, Shaara’s way of writing pointed out that the outcome of the war was not an answer to determine who is good or evil. It is about how each character feel it and deal with the circumstance. Good people like Robert Lee could have made bad decisions based on his belief of honor; Harrison, an actor became a paid spy, was the one that was not supposed to be trustworthy performed heroically. These characters separated with their wives and kids, fighting against people from their own