Shaaras The Killer Angels Analysis - Book Report/Review Example

The Killer Angels "I wrote only what came to mind, with no goal and little income, always forthe joy of it, and it has been a great joy." To Michael Shaara, the joy of carefully crafting a great story meant more than a mass-market audience or a lot of money. What hooked him was the fun of the story "waiting to be told." Michael Shaara was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, on June 23, 1929. His father, Michael Joseph Sr., was an Italian immigrant active in local unions and politics. Shaara described his father as being similar to Shakespeare: "political, but no good with money." His mother, Alleene Maxwell Shaara, provided the opposite perspective in life. She was from the South, with family roots going back to Thomas Jefferson and "Light-Horse Harry" Lee. The diversity in his parents brought him in touch with both worlds, North and South, a factor that probably allowed him to understand both sides in the Civil War. Shaara did extremely well in school, winning more awards in high school than any other student in the history of the school. He received letters for basketball and track and excelled as a baseball pitcher. His father also taught him to box, something that remained a passion in his life and figured in his writing. Important books written by Michael Sharaa include; the killer Angels ,For Love of The Game, The Herald, The Broken place, Soldier Boy, The Noah conspiracy, ,Gods and Generals, Conquest Over Time and THE Book (Biblio.com) The killer angel is a famous book by Michael Shaara. It is a historical novel written in 1974, which won famous prize for fiction in 1975. Novel is about four days of the battle of Gettysburg in the American civil war. Book starts from 29 June 1863 to 3 July. During this time, Union and Confederacy troops moved and fought in the battlefield. The novel is character driven where many of them talk and openly give their viewpoint. A film basing on novel was also released in 1993, named as Gettysburg. Tone of novel is sad covering era of 19th century. Mainly main gender is covered in the character of infantry soldier with white race. A significant amount of violence has been used. Main characters and adversaries are sensitive to others feelings. Sense of humor is displayed but gently. Setting used is USA with area of northeast- mid Atlantic states with small town. Michael Sharaa writes in preface ( Michael Sharaa) “This is the story of the Battle of Gettysburg, told from the viewpoints of Robert E. Lee and James Longstreet and some of the other men who fought there. Stephen Crane once said that he wrote The Red Badge of Courage because reading the cold history was not enough; he wanted to know what it was like to be there, what the weather was like, what mens faces looked like. In order to live it he had to write it. This book was written for much the same reason. You may find it a different story from the one you learned in school. There have been many versions of that battle and that war. I have therefore avoided historical opinions and gone back primarily to the words of the men themselves, their letters and other documents. I have not consciously changed any fact. I have condensed some of the action, for the sake of clarity, and eliminated some minor characters, for brevity; but though I have often had to choose between conflicting viewpoints, I have not knowingly violated the action. I have changed some of the language. It was a naive and sentimental time, and men spoke in windy phrases. I thought it necessary to update some of the words so that the religiosity and naivetZ of the time, which were genuine, would not seem too quaint to the modern ear. I hope I will be forgiven that. The interpretation of character is my own”. There are following characters appearing through out the book South Robert Edward Lee (Commanding general, Army of Northern Virginia) James Longstreet (Lieutenant General) George Pickett (Major General) Lewis Addison Armistead (Brigadier General) John Bell Hood (Major General) Isaac Ridgeway Trimble (Major General) James Lawson Kemper (Brigadier General) Henry Heth (Major General) Jubal Anderson Early (Major General) James Ewell Brown Stuart (Major General) Richard Stoddart Ewell (Lieutenant General) Ambrose Powell Hill (Lieutenant General) Richard Brooke Garnett (Brigadier General) Moxley Sorrel (Lieutenant Colonel) Walter H. Taylor (Major) Arthur Fremantle (Lieutenant Colonel, British Coldstream Guards) Henry Thomas Harrison (Confederate spy) North Joshua L. Chamberlain (Colonel) John Buford (Brigadier General) Thomas Chamberlain (Lieutenant) Winfield Scott Hancock (Major General) William Gamble (Colonel) John Fulton Reynolds (Major General) George Meade (Commanding general, Army of the Potomac) Ellis Spear (Captain) Buster Kilrain (Private, Former Sergeant) The book is written from the perspective of the people fighting and shares their thoughts and feelings about the situation, people and plans of battle as it goes on. The book begins on June 29, 1863 with a spy informing the Confederate army of the location of Union troops near them. Two of the Confederate generals, James Longstreet and Robert E. Lee, are doubtful at first but then believe what the spy says he saw and begin to move the Confederate troops toward Gettysburg. The fighting begins in the morning on June 30 between a group of Union cavalry soldiers on foot and a small group of Confederate infantry. The Confederate soldiers begin the attack believing the Union soldiers are only a state militia. On July 1 the Union soldiers are outnumbered and fear reinforcements may not come soon enough. The Union reinforcements arrive just in time, but General Reynolds, the general who has been leading the Union soldiers that just arrived, is killed and the troops must attack without their commander. The troops are depressed and demoralized. Robert E. Lee arrives in Gettysburg and observes the battle; he is informed by General Heth, who has been leading a group of soldiers, of how the battle started and what has happened so far. Lee instructs Heth to continue the attack along with another general. Later, Lee is informed that Heth has been injured and the Union army is fighting better than they have in the past. The Union army is pushed back by the Confederates and retreats to nearby hills. General Lee instructs another general to pursue them and take the hills as well, but fearing an attack the general does not follow the Union troops to the hills. Longstreet tries to convince Lee to move the Confederate troops southeast and cut off the Union troops from the capitol, but Lee sees that action as a retreat and refuses. On July 2 the Confederate troops are ordered by General Lee to attack the Union troops in the hills. When the troops arrive at the hills they see the Union troops have moved to an orchard near one of the hills and are  not where they had expected them to be. Longstreet decides it would take too long to reach General Lee and he believes Lees decision would still be to attack, so Longstreet tells the other generals to gather whatever best they can, prepare for a desperate battle and attack. Meanwhile, the Union army moves a group of troops lead by Colonel Chamberlain to be the left edge of the Union line. They are instructed not to retreat for any reason. Some time later they are put in position they are attacked by the Confederate forces. They hold off the first wave of soldiers, but they are followed closely by another wave. It becomes extremely difficult to resist the momentum of attack. Every wave of Confederates they hold off another is right behind, and the Union soldiers begin to run out of ammunition. When they were low enough on ammunition that they couldnt hold back another wave of soldiers the Union troops charged down the hill towards the Confederates with their bayonets. In the morning of July 3 the Union moves the troops lead by Chamberlain to the center of the Union line so they can rest in an area without fighting. However, Lees plan is to attack the center of the Union line, he tells Longstreet the plan and Longstreet disagrees continuing to propose they move between the Union and the capitol. Lee refuses Longstreets plan and orders him to prepare for the attack. Meanwhile, General Ewells troops are attacked by the Union army as they prepare for attack. After attacking the Union line with artillery, the Confederates begin their march towards the center of the Union line. The Confederate soldiers were being hit with artillery from the Union and many soldiers were dying. Very few Confederate soldiers made it to the Union line and those that did were killed soon after getting there. Lee rode into the battlefield and tried to tell the troops that the loss was his fault though they did not accept it, and told him it was not his fault. The Union stopped firing and the Confederates retreated. Longstreet told Lee he did not think they could win the war after that battle and Lee neither agreed nor disagreed. (Eugene) “The book was linked to the historical events of the time because it was about the Civil War and the Battle of Gettysburg. The novel helps bring more understanding of the war and what they were fighting for and why. It explains some of the reasons each side made the decisions they did during the battle. (Jeanne) “The battle starts out with the Confederacy (South) winning, but at the pinnacle of the story, a desperate charge by the South turns into a slaughter, and the Union soldiers finally win a significant battle. This is the turning point of the Civil War. "Michael Shaara gives an accurate and fair account of the battle of Gettysburg in his book The Killer Angels. In the introductory letter to the reader, Shaara states that he used primary sources and documents and did not consciously change any facts. His purpose was to bring this part of American History to life. Throughout, Shaara attempts to evenly show both sides of the war and explain why the soldiers were really fighting. By using Harrison, an actor who is hired by General Longstreet to spy on the Union forces, as a narrator, Shaara is able to remain neutral as he tells the events leading up to and during the battle. He is able to tell what both the Confederate and Union forces are planning. This story begins in June 1863. It is the third summer of the Civil War and just days before what will become the infamous Battle of Gettysburg, a battle called the biggest and bloodiest battle ever fought on American soil. Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, who is in command of the 20th Maine, is given command of 120 mutinous men. By accident, these men signed three year contracts, rather than the two year contracts the rest of the men in their regiment had signed. When the other men returned home, these men wanted to return as well. They were starved, punished, and taken to Chamberlain who is ordered to kill any who refuse to return to fight.” The books genius is in Shaaras ability to narrow down a huge subject to a few people and events that could make it personal for the reader. Shaaras background provided the insight to see both sides of the conflict. The results are crisp characters, vivid images, and an objectivity that avoided making heroes out of one side or the other. The book is a good to read and recommended for reading by people from all walks of life. It is a historical novel blended into fiction without use of difficult language. Author chose to write this book due to his love for exploring history in the footsteps of his grand father who was a soldier. The book is not pure fiction but a piece of history written well. Works cited Biblio.com Michael Shaara Biography and Notes Biblio.com Copyright © 2000-2011 Biblio web. 7April 2011.https://www.biblio.com/create_account.php?location=/review.php?work=50867906 Cliff Notes Copyright © 2000-2011 by Wiley Publishing, Incweb. 6 April 2011 www. killer angels\The Killer Angels Michael Shaara Biography - CliffsNotes.mht Michael ShaaraThe Killer Angels, 2010-2011 ePub Bud, a not-for-profit organization.Web.6 April 2011.www.killer angels\done\The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara - read the free ebook now from ePub Bud!.mht Eugene Kim, Resident Scholar, Jeanne Milligan, Resident Scholar, all readers .com H:\ACADEMIA\killer angels\The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara Detailed Book Review.htm Jeanne Resident Scholar, Jeanne Milligan, Resident Scholar, all readers .com H:\ACADEMIA\killer angels\The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara Detailed Book Review.htm Read More