"The Killer Angels"

Paper Summary:

This paper examines Michael Shaara's 1974 Civil War novel, "The Killer Angels." The paper specifically analyzes, compares and contrasts four major historical Civil War characters, as they are described and depicted within Shaara's book: General Robert E. Lee, General James Longstreet, Colonel Joshua L. Chamberlain and General George Pickett. The paper describes how these characters caused the Battle of Gettysburg to turn out as it did thereby determining the outcome of the Civil War.

From the Paper:

"General George Pickett, of these four key characters, is the character with the most pathos. Having yearned for a long time to prove himself and his men in battle, Pickett is finally ordered by Longstreet to charge, at Gettysburg, through the center of the Confederate Army, the result of a poor tactical move that ends in bloody disaster for Pickett and his men. Pickett is also a sympathetic character, due not so much to his strengths as a general or a person, but rather, to his eccentricities, foibles, and weaknesses. Of all of Shaara's characters, in fact, Pickett often seems the most human and three dimensional. Pickett is no academic star like General Lee, and was in fact so busy socializing, and therefore not studying, that he finished last in his class at West Point. In terms of his personality, unlike either the staid Lee or the sullen Longstreet, Pickett is "lovable, long haired, perfumed" and full of "exuberance" (Shaara, The Killer Angels, p. xvii). He is 38 years old, only three years younger than Longstreet but a full eight years older than the Union's main, unlikely, Battle of Gettysburg hero, Joshua Chamberlain. Still, in Shaara's descriptions of him, Pickett has a lively boyishness of character about him that the other four key characters lack."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Shaara, Michael. The Killer Angels. New York: Ballantine (Reprint edition), August 12, 1987.

More papers on "The Killer Angels":

• Book Review # 87720 : "Book Review: The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara"
• Book Review # 50980 : "The Killer Angels"
• Essay # 28104 : "The Killer Angels" by Michael Shaara"
• Analytical Essay # 6693 : "The Killer Angels"

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