The Killer Angels
By Michael Shaara


Important Characters

1. Robert E. Lee: Commanding General in the Confederate Army, he believes he is to blame for the loss at Gettysburg.Robert E. Lee

2. James lengthier: He is a General in the Confederate Army, he is second in command after Lee.

3.Joushua Chamberlain: A Colonel in the Union Army, he is noted for his defense of Little Round Top at Gettysburg.

4. John Buford: general for the Union Army he held good ground for the Union at Gettysburg.

5. George Meade: New Commanding General for the Union Army.George Meade

Setting

1. The book takes place during the Civil War during the Battle of Gettysburg

2. The battle takes place from June 30, 1863 to the night of July 3, 1863

3. The battle is fought in Gettys burg Pennsylvania

4. There are three important hills they are Little Round Top, Big Round Top, and Devils Den.

5. The Union won the battle the night before the fourth of July. Little Round Top

Poem

"Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord"
We have won the battle and victory is now in hand,
Let Freedom Ring
The rising sun is shone across the field of death and life,
Though it is a sad and a disheartening thing to see,
The valiant efforts of these men has brought us life today,
Let Freedom Ring.
American Flag

Information on the Author

Michael Shaara was born in 1928 in New Jersey. He attended Rutgers University and later was a paratrooper in the 82 Airborne Division. He later became a professor at Florida State University. He wrote man short stories and novels including "The Broken Place", "The Herald", and "For the Love of the Game" He died at the age of fifty-nine in 1988. Michael Shaara

Conflict

-Man vs. Society- One of the major conflicts in this book is man against society. Freedom was a something that our country was built upon, that freedom was threatened. It would almost seem as if a hierarchy was being established. This was the society that people wanted to be rid of.

-Man vs. Self- There is a constant battle for Robert E. Lee against himself. He is constantly unsure of the decisions that he makes. He can feels his body getting older and along with it his discernment hindering his ability to make wise decisions.

Wow Writing

The two example of "wow" writing are both from the thought of Colonel Chamberlain. Chamberlain

"Truth is too personal. Don't know if I can express it. He paused in the heat. Strange thing. You would die for it without further question, but you have a hard time talking about it." (page 29)

"The Frenchman may fight for France, but the American fights for mankind, for freedom; for the people, not the land." (page 30)

"He had grown up believing in America and the individual and it was stronger than his faith in God. This was the land where no man had to bow. In this place at last a man could stand up free of the past, free of tradition and blood ties and the curse of royalty and become what he wished to become. This was the first place on earth where the man mattered more than the state." (page 29)

Dialogue

This is a dialogue between General Lee and General Longstreet after Gettysburg.

Longstreet: Sir, if we would've only done what I said this wouldn't have happened.

Lee: I don't want to think about what we could have done, we can't redo the past.

Longstreet: But if you had listened to me we would still have Garnett and Armistead, and the thousands of men that were lost today. We gave the rebels a chance to win. .

Lee: We need to move forward from this point, not move back, or we'll never win this war.

Longstreet: I sure am missing Armistead right now.

Lee: He was a good man. Lets go out and talk to the troops and move out.

Symbolism

1. Gettysburg ended the night before the fourth of July. This symbolizes the freedom that is to come

2. The fact that the Union won this battle is symbolic of them winning the war and is a turning point for them

3. General Lee didn't want to use the new ways of warfare instead he wanted to use old tactics when in the end this is what helped the Union win the war. This sybolizes not letting go of the past and the human desire for thins to remain the same.