Essay on Killer Angels by Michael Shaara - 677 Words

Killer Angels by Michael Shaara Most people think of the Civil War as a military battle between the North and South. Without studying the subject, they do not appreciate the facts that make up this historical event. When one reads the novel, Killer Angels, the reader is given a much better perception and understanding of what actually happened during the war. Killer Angels, by Michael Shaara, is a realistic historical depiction of the great battle of Gettysburg, which left 50,000 Confederate and Union soldiers dead, wounded, or missing. The novel is set up in chronological order of events that took place during the four days of the bloody and decisive battle of the Civil War. The tale is told from an alternating north and south†¦show more content†¦Lee, Major General John Buford from the South and from the North, Brigadier General Lewis Armistead, and Colonel Joshua Chamberlain. The main generals for the South were Lee and Longstreet. For the North there was Buford and Chamberlain. These men truly believed in what they were fighting for. Chamberlains sight on Little Round Top was very moving and courageous. I realized all the things the men had to give up and how amazing it was to see that they still had hope they would win and be back home with their families. I enjoyed how the book made me feel like I was directly involved with the incidents that occurred. The book instills in ones mind what a battle fought during the Civil War was actually like. This is a tremendously moving novel, completely unforgettable. Throughout the book, the reader is exposed to the pain, difficulty, anguish, and other dilemmas the armies face leading up to the final confrontation. There is extreme loss and unimaginable pain expressed as General Lee realizes that he is close to losing the war, as quoted in the book, No blame can be attached to the army for its failure to accomplish what was projected by me . . .. I alone am to blame, in perhaps expecting too much of its prowess and valor . . . could I have foreseen that the attack on the last day would fail, I should certainly have tried some other course . . . but I do notShow MoreRelatedThe Killer Angels By Michael Shaara1634 Words   |  7 PagesPulitzer Prize-winning author Michael Shaara, the author of The Killer Angels, was born on June 23, 1928 in Jersey City, New Jersey. He was an author of science fiction, sports fiction, and historical fiction. Although writing was his passion, Shaara was very athletically successful in high school, winning more awards than any other student in the history of the school for sports such as basketball, track and baseball. He acquired a skill in boxing, and of the 18 matches Shaara fought as a young man, heRead MoreThe Killer Angels By Michael Shaara1290 Words   |  6 Pages The Killer Angels Essay â€Å"There is no honorable way to kill, no gentle way to destroy. There is nothing good in war. Except its ending.† Stated by Abraham Lincoln, this quote embodies the essence of war, its tragic character and unfortunate occasional necessity. Accordingly, the outcome of war and its battles is often determined by the attitudes of the leaders of the opposing sides, including their causes for the willingness to fight and to be fought. Such was the case with the Battle of GettysburgRead MoreThe Killer Angels By Michael Shaara1521 Words   |  7 PagesThe book The Killer Angels was published in 1975 by the Ballatine Booksand was written by Michael Shaara. The Killer Angels is a historic novel about the time of the American Civil War, more specifically The Battle of Gettysburg. Shaara wrote this historical masterpiece with the sole purpose of letting the reader know exactly how the war was for the men actually putting their lives on the line to get this great country of America to the stature it is today. In order to accomplish his goal of creatingRead MoreThe Killer Angel By Michael Shaara1248 Words   |  5 Pages The Killer Angel is a book elaborating on the history of the American civil war authored by Michael Shaara. The book has gained popularity among American citizens as it covers one of the deadliest battles in American history that took place at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, hence the title of the battle of Gettysburg (Shaara 5). The crash involved two major groups, the Confederacy, and the Union. The Confederacy constituted of seven secessionist states from the South who advocated forRead MoreThe Killer Angels By Michael Shaara1947 Words   |  8 Pagesthe 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 this full day-to-day account of the battle that shaped America’s future. Michael Shaara author of â€Å"The Killer Angels,† tells the story of the Battle of Gettysburg through the eyes of generals Robert E. Lee, Joshua Chamberlain, James Longstreet, and John Buford, and the other men involved in the actionRead MoreKiller Angels By Michael Shaara850 Words   |  4 Pages 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 reliedRead MoreThe Killer Angels By Michael Shaara1117 Words   |  5 Pages Michael Shaara’s 1974 historical novel, The Killer Angels, covers the story of the four days of the Battle of Gettysburg that also features maps for visualization. The format of the story is well organized. It begins with a Foreword, which describes in great detail the armies and soldiers involved in the battle. It follows up with four sections and within each section there are chapters that are written in chronological order, covering the events between Monday, June 29, 1863 and Friday, July 3Read MoreThe Killer Angels By Michael Shaara Essay1255 Words   |  6 Pages In the novel The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara, the story is told from the perspective of the men that fought in the war of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania on July 1863. We are able to see both sides of the combatants, their struggles they faced, friendships acquired, losses, personal stories and their views. In history we only learn the superficial information of how it occurred in the battle and the outcome of it, but we do not know how it happened and how much effort it took to fight in thatRead MoreThe Killer Angels By Michael Shaara1123 Words   |  5 PagesThe Killer Angels Novel written by Michael Shaara describes the Gettysburg battle from the perspective of Robert E. Lee, James Longstreet, various soldiers from both sides, and other men who fought in the battle. This author makes the reader go back in time and actually makes the reader depict the circumstances, and situations that soldiers and generals faced. This Novel makes the reader know that both sides were eager to win, and bring this bloodshed to an end. This amazing Novel shows how neighborRead MoreThe Killer Angels By Michael Shaara852 Words   |  4 PagesThe 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