Killer angels the human factor

Essay by EssaySwap ContributorHigh School, 11th grade February 2008

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Killer Angels Paper The Human Factor in the American Civil War Michael Shaara's fictional novel, The Killer Angels, is based on the Battle of Gettysburg in the American Civil War. The novel allows the reader to recognize the heart and courage of the more than two million men that fought in the war. Shaara focuses the reader to better understand the reason why these men fight and the meaning of the war. Ultimately, the reader observes that the war is fought on an individual level as much as a governmental level. These men are there to fight for what they believe is truly right. The Confederates fought for their rights to hold slaves, their freedom tyranny of the Federal Government, and their independence from the Union. The Federal soldiers fought for the Preservation of the Union, the freedom of black men, and the Constitution's integrity. In this is book the reader is able to perceive the human element of battle that creates a very unpredictable outcome.

Factors of humanity, such as friendships, sense of character, conflicts and brotherhood, play an important part in making the war. The friendship between Confederate General Lewis Armistead and Union General Winfield Scott Hancock has an effect on their fighting. Garnett's sense of honor effects his psychological outlook on the battle and how he is to fight. The Chamberlains are two brothers in the Twentieth Maine of the Union Army. Both men are constantly looking out and worrying about the other. The men of the Second Maine are men who have a conflict with the government that turns them off to the war. All these factors show that American Civil War, in some cases, fought on an individual level as well as for the government.

The friendship between General Armistead and General Hancock affects their...