The Killer Angels

I would agree that this is one of the themes of The Killer Angels. However, as with all books there are multiple themes and ideas expressed. It's especially true in a novel such as this where the...

There are endless examples of figurative language in Michael Shaara's Civil War novel, The Killer Angels. Figurative language can include a variety of literary devices, including the simile,...

Once in a while, we know why an author writes a book because they tell us why. We know, for example, that William Faulkner wrote one of his most well known short stories, "A Rose for Emily,"...

Lee and Longstreet at times reflect an almost father-son relationship (though not as dramatically as the the Lee-J.E.B. Stuart pairing). Lee is the unquestioned leader of the Army of Northern...

The spy in The Killer Angels, like such men everywhere, is a man whose loyalty to any cause is ambiguous or non-existent. Longstreet does not trust him, though he's indispensable because the...

The scout, Harrison, was actually a real-life spy for the Confederacy, working under the occasional supervision of Lt. Gen. James Longstreet. Harrison, a Richmond stage actor, had a cover story to...

Lee's invasion of Pennsylvania was done for a number of reasons. First, he thought that he would be able to get food and other supplies from the rich land of the area he was invading. Perhaps more...

General Robert E. Lee's Confederate Army of Northern Virginia was at the height of its power during the days leading up to the invasion of Pennsylvania. Lee's army had, only a month before, driven...

Before the Civil War, Lewis Armstead and Winfield Hancock are the best of friends. When the American Civil War reaches them, they end up on opposite sides of the battle fields. Lewis Armstead ends...

On the surface Kilrain is an Irish immigrant fighting for the Union Army, however I think your question can be better answered by digging deeper into the 'why' of Kilrain's fighting. Kilrain is...

In Michael Shaara's book, The Killer Angels, the lives of several people are followed—their thoughts and actions shared—over the course of four days... ...during which the Battle of Gettysburg,...

The main concentration of Michael Shara's Pulitzer Prize winning book The Killer Angels is on the development of the battle situation at Gettysburg in 1863, and how that plays out in the first part...

The Northern army believes that the Civil War is about freeing the slaves. While the Southern army sees it as a cause for state's rights. "Chamberlain, who is probably the most idealistic...

I believe that author Michael Shaara has bent over backwards trying to present an unbiased view of the Battle of Gettysburg. He manages to portray the Confederate characters in a chivalric, heroic...

Lieutenant General James Longstreet does not think much of spies, and he has apparently only met Harrison once, when the man was paid to bring him information concerning the movements of the Union...

I'm not sure my answer will help you with your essay, but I believe the late author Michael Shaara bent over backwards trying to maintain neutrality in telling his tale of the Battle of Gettysburg....

Southerners were quick to join the military ranks because they felt they were being invaded by foreigners. After all, they believed that they had the right to secede from the Union and form their...

A Maine man through and through, Colonel Joshua Chamberlain's stand at Little Round Top saved the Union army from disaster at the decisive battle of Gettysburg. With him in the 20th Maine regiment...

In Michael Shaara’s The Killer Angels, we can find examples of direct characterization of Joshua Chamberlain by looking for the places in which Shaara or the narrator tells us straightforwardly...

Death is something that is constantly on the minds of the soldiers, although most of them have accepted that it is a part of their duty. The fear of being killed in battle is not outwardly...

Aside from Lee's and Longstreet's disagreement about battle tactics--Lee prefers an offensive strategy with frontal assaults by massed forces, while Longstreet believes that a defensive posture is...

Unquestioned loyalty seems to be one of the themes that runs through The Killer Angels, and not only in the fictional characters created by author Michael Shaara but in the true historical context...

One of the main themes of “The Killer Angels” is the different beliefs about the cause of the war. Both the North and the South believed they were right in the beliefs that they fought for. The...

James Longstreet (1821–1904) was a Confederate general during the Civil War. He was a capable battlefield commander. He was not, however, as aggressive or as popular as Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall"...

General Richard Garnett is one of Longstreet's brigade commanders serving in the division of General George Pickett. Dick Garnett is a proud man, coming from an old Virginia family; his cousin,...

Since the early days of our country's history, the U. S. military has been blessed with overwhelming success, thanks in part to its strong leadership and faithful subordinates. Aside from a very...

A brigade commander serving in the Confederate division of George Pickett, Lewis Armistead laments that he has not seen his closest friend, Union corps commander Winfield Scott Hancock, since their...

As you know from the reading the novel, it relies heavily on real officers from America's Civil War. So, it is rather unusual that the author MichaelShaarachose to include a fictional...

Union Major General Winfield Scott Hancock and Confederate Brigadier General Lewis Armistead were the best of friends when serving together in the pre-war U. S. Army in California. "They had been...

When Chamberlain makes this statement, he is responding to a comment about how hard the Confederate army was willing to fight for the institution of slavery. Despite losing the battle, the...

The Killer Angels was actually made into a film called Gettysburg, starring Jeff Daniels, which released a number of soundtracks. The first album, Gettysburg, was the music from the original...

Brigadier General Lewis Armistead (1817-1863) is portrayed by author Michael Shaara as a romantic character--perhaps the greatest romantic among a soldierly sea of romantics. He dreams of being...

The issue of slavery does not seem to have much relevance to most the main characters at the Battle of Gettysburg in The Killer Angels, aside from the passionate anti-slavery views held by one of...

There is little documentation to the thoughts of the main characters during the days leading up to the Battle of Gettysburg, so author Michael Shaara fictionalized this aspect of his Pulitzer...

Since author Michael Shaara went to great lengths to make his 1975 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Killer Angels as accurate as possible, coming up with actual differences between the book and the...

Confederate General Robert E. Lee first questions the possibility of advancing into Pennsylvania "blind" during his momentous march toward Gettysburg in Michael Shaara's superb Civil War novel, The...

Joshua Chamberlain, commander of the 20th Maine, and his younger brother, Tom, were not unique in that many close relatives served together in units, particularly in the state-supplied volunteer...

One thing that is troubling Armistead prior to the battle is his old friend, Union General Hancock, whom he will soon face on the battlefield. He considers the possiblilty of crossing the lines to...

Just as you stated yourself, the North vs. the South is definitely a significant example of opposing points of view (or the Union and Rebel). Another example would be the opposing points of view...

Following the Army of Northern Virginia's decisive victory at Chancellorsville in May 1863, General Robert E. Lee decided the time was right for a second invasion of the North. Marching into...

Robert E. Lee was already a living legend in the South when he decided to invade Pennsylvania following the great Confederate victory at Chancellorsville less than a month before. No Union army had...

Fremantle believes that Southerners are essentially Englishmen at heart, or to be more specific, English aristocrats. And like the English aristocrats they feel themselves to be deep down, they...

Pickett's Charge proved to be one of the most significant--and, for the South, disastrous--actions of the entire Civil War. It culminated Robert E. Lee's dream of taking the fight from Virginia...

Allusion in The Killer Angels enhances the theme of the novel when the conversation between Kilrain and Chamberlain take place under the tree. Generally used as a reference to a person, place,or...

General Longstreet, along with General Lee, assumed that they would have known of the Army of the Potomac's movements because the main Confederate cavalry under J. E. B. ("Jeb") Stuart was...

It is not completely clear to whom Longstreet is saying goodbye. It seems, however, that he is saying goodbye to the Confederate dead left on the field. Longstreet has just met with Robert E. Lee,...