No Angel Essay

In “Whoever We Are, Loss Finds us and Defines Us”, by Anna Quindlen, she brings forth the discussion grief's grip on the lives of the living. Wounds of death can heal with the passing of time, but in this instance, the hurt lives on. Published in New York, New York on June 5, 1994, this is one of many Quindlen published in the New York Times, centered on death's aftermath. This article, written in response to the death of Quindlen’s sister-in-law, and is focused on an audience who has, currently is, or will experience death. Quindlen-a columnist for the New York Times and Newsweek, Pulitzer Prize winner and author-has written six bestselling novels (Every Last One, Rise and Shine, Object Lessons, One True Thing, and Black and Blue) and has

Imagine being stabbed by an unrepentant murderer before a date, but you realize only then your life truly begins. The protagonist in Gary Soto’s The Afterlife, Chuy, becomes a spirit and finds himself stuck in a world between the living and the dead. Chuy observes the daily lives of his grief-stricken family and friends which sparks a sudden hatred towards his murderer. As he transitions into the afterlife, he undergoes several significant physical and emotional transformations and develops a love for a ghostly girl who committed suicide.

“What the dead don’t know piles up, though we don’t notice it at first,” is an insight in Roger Angell’s descriptive memoir, “Over the Wall” (414). Emotional responses, stimulating thoughts and solid feelings are elicited through the use of personal reflection, regarding the death of his wife, Carol. This literary nonfiction, memoir uses the present tense, a constant tone, and an informal view to help add immediacy, by keeping the reader involved step by step as the author connects his personal present and past experiences regarding death. Readers are continually intrigued by Angell’s literary nonfiction essay, with provoking thoughts focusing on death, while using figurative language to keep Carol alive, with the use of vivid personal reflections and descriptive personal experiences.

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).

In a letter to the reader, Michael Shaara states that his purpose is similar to Stephen Crane's in The Red Badge of Courage. He wishes to display history not as cold facts, but rather in such a way that the reader can live the history. This is to be accomplished through extensive detail of the emotions of the men, the atmosphere of the battle, and strategies of the commanding officers. Accepting this as Shaara's intent, it can be justifiably stated that he succeeds in his objective. The Killer Angels does not merely relate what assaults and defenses where made by which colonels and generals. Instead, the book delves into the emotions of the major figures of the battle and what they endured physically and mentally as they planned for

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

In The Killer Angels, Michael Shaara fictionally illustrates the historical facts of the battle at Gettysburg. Shaara gives action and words to characters of another time, and then places these players on the stage of this great battle. Through the use of powerful biblical and non-biblical imagery and themes the epic nature of the battle at Gettysburg and its characters are enhanced. Such imagery and themes, combined with Shaara's fictionalization, help to contribute to why this single battle holds such monumental significance and influence upon the lives of Americans over a century removed from its occurrence.

Honor played a major role in novel, Killer Angels. Throughout the book, Honor was a concept that remained important to members of the armies, regardless of whether they were supporting the Union or the Confederacy. Every action and decision was made with the intention of being heroic and as honorable as possible.

Killer Angels is a 1974 historical novel by Michael Shaara. The book tells the story of the Battle of Gettysburg in the American Civil War. The novel is told through the voices of both Union army and Confederate Army of Northern Virginia leaders who were in battle there. The novel is laid out in days and each new chapter for the day gives a number and the name of the man who is the focus of the chapter. In Killer Angels, the Army of Northern Virginia’s demise is highlighted by a few different features. The failing health and age of Robert E. Lee served to distract him from military obligations, the advantage point the Union side had over Confederate Army at the Battle of Gettysburg, and the most significant reason for demise, was the

The central character in which the story takes off upon is Mitchell Stephens. He is drawn into this case by his own anger. He has his own sense of suffering and confusion toward his own daughter. Stephens is torn by his urge to save her and his fear that he can't possibly do so. He recalls the flashback of his little girl as a toddler at a near death experience and him as her father while singing to her, held her life in his own hands prepared to perform an emergency tracheotomy. And in that way, Stephens' own experience bonds together with the nightmare of those pain stricken parents: the ultimate unbearable burden of caring for children where strength will be tested beyond its limits. Stephen's own daughter in whom he loves dearly has been taken away from him although she is not dead; she is practically gone out of his life. He is pissed off, "enough rage and helplessness, your love turns to steamy piss." (101). Stephen is set to find the cause, something or someone to blame for their misfortunes and to rage against whatever forces took their child, "I don't know if it was the Vietnam war…I don't know

Emily Dickinson is one of the most important American poets of the 1800s. Dickinson, who was known to be quite the recluse, lived and died in the town of Amherst, Massachusetts, spending the majority of her days alone in her room writing poetry. What few friends she did have would testify that Dickinson was a rather introverted and melancholy person, which shows in a number of her poems where regular themes include death and mortality. One such poem that exemplifies her “dark side” is, “Because I Could Not Stop for Death”. In this piece, Dickinson tells the story of a soul’s transition into the afterlife showing that time and death have outright power over our lives and can make what was once significant become meaningless.

A comparison of the ways that the dead affect the living in the novels Beloved by Toni Morrison and The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold.

“Ordinary people” everywhere are faced day after day with the ever so common tragedy of losing a loved one. As we all know death is inevitable. We live with this harsh reality in the back of our mind’s eye. Only when we are shoved in the depths of despair can we truly understand the multitude of emotions brought forth. Although people may try to be empathetic, no one can truly grasp the rawness felt inside of a shattered heart until death has knocked at their door. We live in an environment where death is invisible and denied, yet we have become desensitized to it. These inconsistencies appear in the extent to which families are personally affected by death—whether they

The tone of this story is one of fear, regret, and guilt. The story first leaves the reader with impression that it may be a recount of the life of a daughter who was lost due to neglect. Soon it is evident

In the last three paragraphs of the short story “The Dead” by James Joyce, Gabriel and Gretta Conroy attend a family function which ends in a marital dispute. Gabriel experiences a tense evening arguing with various family members and ends the evening realizing his marriage has been a facade. In “The Dead,” Joyce reveals the universal truth that what creates meaning in life and death is love not only feeling true love, but being loved.