THE KILLER ANGELS

THE KILLER ANGELS Chamberlain once wrote a paper in college

entitled “Man: The Killer Angel” based on a conversation he’d had with his father in high school. Therefore, The Killer Angels is a book about _ _ _.

Look for references to:heatvisionrock

as they form motifs throughout the novel. Keep a vocab. list (West Point = Army

training academy for officers.)

TKA: NOTICE AND NOTE

Parallels between Confederacy and Union commanders. There are more than are obvious at first; read closely to find them and think carefully to connect them to theme.

Quad packets: Use these to guide note-taking. You are responsible to know material covered by inquiry guide questions on back of each quad.

JUNE 29, 1863 - CHAPTER 1:THE CONFEDERATE SPY, HARRISON

•Hired by Longstreet•Paid in GOLD•Loyal to Confederacy•Actor by profession•Provides crucial information about the position of the Union army (Army of the Potomac )

THINK. TALK. CONNECT. INFER

1) “My kingdom for a horse” is an example of a Shakespearean ________________.

2) Harrison says, “Your servant, General” (7). What does this mean? Can you translate it?

3) Why is the spy nervous about riding through the picket line in the dark?

4) Find the first references to Stuart’s missing cavalry. Keep track of these through July 2.

5) Why is General Lee sorry that Hooker is no longer in charge of the Army of the Potomac? (11)

6) How does the spy reveal the idealism in Lee and the realism in Longstreet?

THINK. TALK. CONNECT. INFER

Are there any references to the motifs of heat, vision, and rock in the Foreword and ‘The Spy?’ Find as many examples as you can.

Always include page numbers. FYI– When discussing the novel’s storyline,

we do NOT include information gleaned from the Foreword. Shaara utilizes ______________ characterization in the Foreword; as critical and analytical readers, we are more interested in _________________ characterization.

THINK. TALK. CONNECT. INFER

Why does Shaara begin his storyline with ‘The Spy’ followed by ‘Chamberlain?’

Find evidence for a ‘father-son’ dynamic between 2 characters in ‘Chamberlain.’

Find evidence of one of the above as a realist and one as an idealist– and keep an eye out for more evidence in future chapters.

Why is the title The Killer Angels more appropriate than The Angelic Killers?

THINK. TALK. CONNECT. INFER. CHAP. 3 ‘BUFORD’

Motif: vision, rock, angel Irony in army movement into Gettysburg Favorite scene in Chap. 4 ‘Longstreet’ Check on vocab. list. (I have one– do

you?) infantry battery cupola deploy

Note in entire novel: references to fences and walls

THINK. TALK. CONNECT. INFER. CHAP. 3 ‘BUFORD’

Parallels to Confederate side! Motif: vision, rock, angel Irony in army movement into Gettysburg Favorite scene in Chap. 4 ‘Longstreet’ Check on vocab. list. (I have one– do you?)

infantry battery cupola deploy

Note in entire novel: references to fences and walls

THINK. CONNECT. INFER. (DON'T TALK.) JULY 1, 1863

Chap. 2 ‘Buford’Vocab. List flank cover detail Re-read page 96 from its first full

paragraph. What is the most powerful line on the page? Why?

Why does Shaara include a seemingly random reference to a “wild-haired child?” What could this child symbolize? REMEMBER THE WILD-HAIRED CHILD!

THINK. CONNECT. INFER. (DON'T TALK.) JULY 1, 1863

Chap. 3 ‘Lee’Vocab. List front form/re-form artillery

Think over Chap. 1 ‘Lee.’ What is Shaara exploring in that chapter? How do you know?

Look through Chap. 3 ‘Lee.’ What has happened/ what has changed? What is Shaara exploring in this chapter?

Predict what will Shaara focus on in Chap. 6 ‘Lee.’

THINK. TALK. CONNECT. INFER. JULY 1, 1863

Chap. 3 ‘Lee’ Read over the disagreement between Lee

and Longstreet on pages 110-112. Choose the three most significant words

and phrases used by each man that encapsulate their disagreement.

THINK. TALK. CONNECT. INFER. JULY 1, 1863

Chap. 4 ‘Chamberlain’Vocab. List

colorsbivouac

What do you make of the references to the boulders in Maine?

What of perspective during a Maine winter? Does anything about Chamberlain’s internal

reaction to battle surprise you, coming from a professor of rhetoric as he is? Does this reaction make him seem more human or less human to the reader?

THINK. TALK. CONNECT. INFER. JULY 1, 1863

Chap. 7 ‘Buford’

Find the most notable quotations in the chapter. Explain what makes them notable.

What questions do you have? What parallels did you find?

FATHER-SON RELATIONSHIPS IN THE KILLER ANGELS

Answer each question as thoroughly, thoughtfully, and honestly as you can:

1. Are you a realist or an idealist? Explain.2. Would it be better to have a mentor/father

figure who has the same perspective as you have or who has the opposite perspective? Explain.

3. Which mentor or father figure would you rather have: the one who sees the world as it is and prepares you for it OR the one who sees the best in everything and tries to bring out the best in you? Explain.

Jackson is watching

LEE’S COMMANDER PROBLEM, JULY 1, 1863

Discuss and then write about the difference between “practical” and “practicable”?

Lee says to take the hill “if at all practicable.”

Ewell says he didn’t think it “practical.”

What difference does it make to the situation? (Hint: all the difference in the world!)

GO FORTH AND LOOK FOR STUART!

Don’t mess up my classroom!

CORPS GROUPS:

The following groups can look through the color of your assigned corps.

Gray: GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE ONLY! Black: General Longstreet’s corps Red: General Hill’s corps Green: General Ewell’s corps Yellow: General Early’s division

FORM YOUR CORPS GROUPS The commander will look in the box for 20

seconds and take notes/sketch to determine what the picture is.

Each soldier under his or her command will look for 10 seconds and take notes/sketch. Each soldier will report back to the corps commander (Early’s group to the division commander) what he/she has seen.

Each commander will report to General Lee, who will take all information with him/her and look for 30 seconds, and then make a determination on the picture.

WRITE A CONNECTION

1. How important is it to see the whole perimeter of the picture in order to make an informed decision about what the picture is?

2. How important is it for General Stuart to return with information about the entire presence of the Union army, the terrain, the roads, all of the intelligence he is ordered to gather?

3. How does not having the proper information make Lee’s army vulnerable?

JULY 2, 1863 SECTION

Chapter 1 ‘Fremantle’1. Explain Fremantle’s beliefs about class. 2. Identify prejudice or condescension in 2 other forms in the chapter.3. Where is there an inconsistency in Fremantle’s assessment of the South?4. What is it about Virginia that seems special to Fremantle? WHY?? How does that relate to the first item? 5. What is Shaara’s purpose in including Fremantle in the novel, even giving him his own chapter?** In Chap. 2, note Shaara’s use of juxtaposition.

JULY 2, 1863 SECTION

Chapter 3 ‘Longstreet’

Identify and discuss the 3-5 most important:

1. Quotations2. Theme connections3. Plot details4. Questions that need clearing up

To find Mrs. Ross’s choices for #s 1-3, see Rossnotes. The I. G. questions cover the plot details I thought important.

12 March 2015

JULY 2, 1863 SECTION

Chapter 3 ‘Longstreet’Re-read Lee’s and Longstreet’s discussion on pp. 190-194.

1. Is Lee correct in his assessment of Longstreet’s character concerning the reasons for his preference for defense, or has he misjudged Longstreet’s character?

2. What are the implications of Lee’s assessment on the characterization of the men as individuals and on their relationship?

12 March 2015

JULY 2, 1863 SECTION

Chapter 5 ‘Longstreet’1. When and why does Longstreet lie?

2. What does his lie say about his character?

18 March 2015

JULY 2, 1863 SECTION

Chapter 5 ‘Longstreet’3. Predict what will happen to Hood for the

remainder of the war.

4. Look on p. 239 and find the most remarkable line or lines.

1

8 March 2015

JULY 2, 1863 SECTION

Chapter 6 ‘Lee’Do NOT Look This Up. THINK!!

* What do you recall as the most repeated references in Lee’s thoughts as they came up in Chap. 6 ‘Lee’? Take 1 to 2 minutes to jot down the types of things Lee though about repeatedly in ‘Lee’ chapters in general and in Chap. 6 in particular.

WHERE HAVE YOU SEEN THESE BEFORE??

• Virginia

• Honor

• Faith

• Father figure

HEY! JUST REMEMBER:

If you’re tired of reading about war, imagine how tired the men must be of fighting in one! Most of them have been at it since April, 1861!

JULY 1, 1863 SECTION THINK. TALK. CONNECT. INFER.

Chapter 1 ‘Chamberlain’1. What is Chamberlain’s overriding

thought/feeling after the previous day’s battle?2. Re-read the discussion about bayonets that the

Chamberlains have. Draw a conclusion about why it is easier to shoot someone with a gun than to stab him with a bayonet.

3. Draw a larger conclusion. What pattern might emerge re. weapons and how easy or difficult it is to use them on other human beings.

4. Explain the dramatic irony on p. 283 (You need to have been paying attention to Chap. 6 ‘Lee’ to get it.)