The Slopes of War Essay
The novel, The Slopes of War by N. A Perez, exhibits numerous emotional and physical effects of the battle in Gettysburg between the Confederacy and Union armies. The writer utilizes different quotes providing information illustrating the various obstacles that both armies faced. Apart from demonstrating the troubles/difficulties that the armies faced, the author also provides excerpts from one of the Union soldier’s sister, Bekah. To begin with, the writer displays an internal conflict in the Union army by using imagery. For instance, “….among the ragged weeds, a long, delicate wasted hand was pointing at him…..Why did Tully had to take one grisly skeleton hand as some kind of sinister omen that he couldn’t shake out of his head?” (p.5) This internal conflict comes from Tully, one of Buck’s friends, who has mentally suffered causing him to become traumatized. This quotes illustrates how Tully become so traumatized from the war that after seeing a bony skeleton pointing at him
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A Perez exhibits the effects that Bekah receives from the war. “Custis was dead. She believed it. She had seen war face to face, heard it, smelled it, tasted its bitter smoke. Now she touched it, bending to pick up a broken branch, wrapping it with her handkerchief.” (p.179) This quote demonstrates how Bekah felt over the death of her cousin and love of her life. The emotions that she manifests over Custis’s death are described in the following quote. “He watched her go back down to the streaming hillside, an awkward, shapeless figure in the too-large boots, dignified by grief.” (p.180) Even the soldier who led Bekah to the body of Custis can clearly see how his death affected her. In conclusion, the book, The Slopes of War by N. A Perez, portrays multiple conflicts faced in the Civil War. Perez uses excerpts from passages of the novel to demonstrate various difficulties faced by both armies and Bekah, both a civilian and Union soldier’s