Michael Shaara's The Killer Angels

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“The Killer Angels” by Michael Shaara is a historical novel based on the Battle of Gettysburg, the day leading up to it, and the people involved in it during July of 1863. Shaara tells the book in third person through the usage of each of the main characters’ personal experiences and descriptive emotions before and during the tragic event. This allows the reader to grasp the situation unlike any other Civil War book; that is, through the eyes of those who experienced it.
It is no surprise that at the beginning of the novel, the Army of Northern Virginia is content with the direction the war is going. Up to this point, they have completely trampled the Northern Armies by beating them in battles fought on their land (in the South). Robert E. …show more content…
After all, according to today’s society, Yankee beliefs are the only politically correct ones in the Civil War. Over the course of reading this novel, the reader will understand that it is not fair to judge the South based on today’s standards. Shaara presents an equal interpretation of both sides positions and a message is revealed: both sides were fighting for freedom-the freedom to be who they …show more content…
The title is “The Killer Angels”, which almost could be an oxymoron. How is it that creatures, which we as humans depict as kind or as holy, could become cold murderers? This is precisely what Shaara tries to explain throughout the book by the use of his unique writing style. The reader knows by the way that each character is described and portrayed in their chapters that the men involved in this gory battle were by no means evil creatures. They began as men wanting to be heard, as any human wants to be. With morals and guidelines as to how far they would actually go to be heard. However, soon after the war began they became people with ideals of which they would go to any degree to protect, even as far as fighting their own

Michael Shaara's Killer Angels

at the expense of a battle within the same nation, North versus South. Both sides, although they are irreconcilable, both dealt with similar hardships. Every side has their own cognition for fighting and their own strategy to fight. In “Killer Angels” by Michael Shaara both sides have different conspiracies and reasons for fighting but they shared same objective, which is to win for their side. Confederate James Longstreet and Colonel Chamberlain were both in charge of their men and had to try to…

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The Role Of Leadership In Michael Shaara's Killer Angels

everyone slowly. In the midst of the battle, one leader from each army had a unique set of characteristics that helped them command their army. This description is a perfect resemblance to the Battle of Gettysburg in the Civil War. The novel Killer Angels by Michael Shaara takes place during the Battle of Gettysburg, and two leaders Joshua Chamberlain, from the Union Army, and James Longstreet, from the Confederate Army, have similar yet different characteristics as displayed throughout the novel. Chamberlain…

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Essay Killer Angels

The Killer Angels Michael Shaara was born in New Jersey, in 1928. There, he attended Rutgers University and discovered his passion for the written word as well as teaching. He became a professor teaching over creative writing in Florida State University and would use the rest of his time writing little short stories that eventually led to writing a book. His novels didn’t acquire much attention in the beginning of his writing career, but he never gave up. On journeying to the battlegrounds…

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The Killer Angels Essay

The Killer Angels, written by Michael Shaara, attempts to capture the raw emotions, thinking, and action that occurred throughout the five days encompassing the battle at Gettysburg. Shaara submerses the reader directly into the thoughts and dialogues of the commanders, allowing the reader to feel the struggle of sending men into a bloody battle. The Killer Angels is a true piece of historical fiction, as it grasps the core understandings of the battle at Gettysburg, while incorporating ideas and…

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Essay on Killer Angels

Venessa Rivera Professor Lockwood History 1301.C001 9 December 2014 The Killer Angels 29 June 1863 by far the most tragic day in American history. The day brothers struck fighting to the death against their own brothers quite literally in some cases. The book Michael Shaara and copy written in 1974 wrote The Killer Bees is a civil war novel that has sold over 2.5 million copies. Although the book is a novel of great insight and awakens all of one’s senses and it could possibly distort the true quite…

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Research Paper

also an officer of the 20th Maine. Chamberlain’s legend was secured at the Battle of Gettysburg, where his valiant defense of Little Round Top became the focus of many writings and other entertainment outlets, including Michael Shaara's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Killer Angels, and the movie based on that novel, Gettysburg. Sent to defend the hill by Col. Strong Vincent, Chamberlain found himself and the 20th Maine at the far left end of the Union line, with the 83rd Pennsylvania, 44th New York…

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Civil War Essay

Presented by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the American Library Association Camp of 31st Pennsylvania Infantry near Washington, D.C., 1862 1 | F rom the moment Americans found themselves pulled into a civil war of unimaginable scale and consequence, they tried desperately to make sense of what was happening to them. From the secession crisis into the maelstrom of battle, from the nightmare of slavery into the twilight of emancipation, Americans of all backgrounds…

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Combat Orders Essay example

Combat Orders format Introduction. Combat orders instruction at TBS is a detailed, rigorous package that strives to develop and evaluate your ability to arrive at a tactical decision, communicate that decision, and execute your plans in a time competitive environment. The focus throughout will be on action. Your tactical actions and necessary communication for action will be evaluated under the dynamic, chaotic, and uncertain lens espoused in MCDP-1. You will be required to brief and/or write…

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