What Is The Theme Of The Killer Angels By Michael Shaara

Michael Shaara, in The Killer Angels, gave life to the events and to the individuals involved in it, providing us with a more customized and adapted comprehension of the war. In The Killer Angels the lives of some of the survivors of Gettysburg are relived. The book portrays slavery as the major reason the civil war started. The South was against freeing the slaves, and the North fought for the latter.

In the introductory letter to the reader, Shaara states that he utilized primary sources and records and did not deliberately change any realities. His purpose was to breathe life into this a portion of American History. These primary sources helps readers relate actually to occasions of the past. Shaara’s foreword contains brief biographies

Shaara's novel is separated into four chapters joined by numerous maps of critical occasions that occurred at Gettysburg. The four sections are titled after days the battle of Gettysburg occurred between Monday, June 29, 1863, and Friday, July 3, 1863. The four sections are further subdivided by leaders who assumed real parts on every particular day.

Important events are uncovered in Shaara’s novel. Shaara’s attitudes toward his characters reflects his own interpretations of the historical figures. Longstreet and Chamberlain as Shaara’s most developed characters in the book. While Shaara is sympathetic to the idea of a visionary Longstreet who understands the nature of modern warfare, he utilizes Chamberlain–a typical citizen and Main professor who became a soldier–to give the thinking man’s view of the Civil War because Chamberlain has the clearest perspective of both sides of contention– the military as well as the civilian’s perspectives (Sparknotes

For instance, General Buford, though he could not see his enemy or the battle, he could tell where they were, what they were doing, and how many of them were attacking from the silence and the sounds. As Shaara states, “Buford listened for the scattered fire of patrols coming in, moving along his flanks, outlining him, but there was nothing. A long silence, then a massed assault” (84). Buford's two mounted force units, who have gotten off and are fighting on foot also waited for reinforcement from John Reynolds infantry division on July 1, 1863. “…He wrote to Reynolds: “Rebel infantry attacked at dawn. Am holding west of Gettysburg, expecting relief” (84). Unfortunately, Reynolds is killed that same the day, and Buford suffers injuries which eventually led him to his death. According to Shaara Buford’s choice to attempt and hold the “high ground” on June 29, 1863 is very important. “He was in possession of good ground at Gettysburg …there was no ground near that was any good”