killer angels

            
             Out of the wake of the Civil War came two of the greatest Civil War novels ever written. These two novels are The Killer Angels by Michael Schaara and The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane. The Killer Angels is a direct representation of the Civil War, yet The Red Badge of Courage is an emotional narrative of the same subject, both in comparison are original works. In order to fully understand these novels, the reader must also recognize the Civil War as well as its great significance and history.
             The Civil War not only an emotional war over beliefs and tradition, but it contained political, economic, social, and psychological elements so complex most historians argue over the cause. The Civil War thought to be a struggle over slavery and prejudice, was actually a war over territory. The Missouri Compromise of the 1850 which was supposed to solve the slavery problem but instead brought on controversy thus creating hostility between the northern and slave states. As this hostility escaladed the outcome would be the bloodiest war ever waged on American soil.
             The characters of the two books are both alike and different. The Killer Angels main characters are Robert E. Lee, James Longstreet, and Lawrence Chamberlain. Lee, as well as Longstreet are regarded as the highest ranking commanders of the Confederate army, while Chamberlain commands only a small brigade from Maine. In The Red Badge of Courage Henry, a youthful soldier, is the main character. Henry is a lone soldier, and Chamberlain is a courageous leader. Both characters are trying to find themselves in a world of agony and pain. Lee and Longstreet are the true definition of soldiers, the same goes for Henry. Henry's nave and innocent sense of war differs from Lee's proud and patriotic perspective. These characters similarities make the story interesting and exciting.
             The setting of each story is different that has an effect on the reader's perception.