Killing Lincoln lit analysis

Topics and/or Events

1. This book is about the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and the attempts of killing the others that make up the head of the government. this book follows the assassins before, during, and after the killing and failed attempts.

2. Bill O'Reilly co wrote this book with Martin Dugard. Bill said in an interview that he wanted to write it more like a thriller so people that aren't interested in reading a regular history book would want to read the story on how America was changed forever.

3. I chose to read this book because I am very interested in history and I like to learn new things about American history because it is what makes us what we are today. I have not read any other books by this author I had just happened to glance at it at the store and read the first page. Once opened I was compelled to read it because there were many things in the first couple of pages that I had not previously known about.

4. This book was very realistic I had learned a little about Lincoln's assassination in history class  but this was very in depth at the whole thing from the planning to the attempted escape. I did not make any connections between this story and my life.

People

1. Being since the authors did not get to meet or question the characters in the story they could be completely different then what they were described as and I might have slightly different views on their characteristics.

2. One of the main characters is John Wilkes Booth who is described as a 26 year old man that is very lean and athletic. He is said to be a very good actor that was a confederate sympathizer. if I were to describe Booth I would probably have to use direct characterization. the other main character was Abraham Lincoln who is described as a very sensible person who has had a huge weight lifted off of his shoulders with the surrender of the southern states. unlike Booth if I had was going to describe Lincoln I would use indirect characterization. Lincoln's actions speaks volumes on what he was all about and on his demeanor.

3. Theses characters are interesting to write about because their actions changed the course of history drastically. If it wasn't for the people in this book who knows how things would be right now today. That's why I find these characters interesting because without them this world would be drastically different.

Style

1. The books starts out describing Lee's final surrender and uses foreshadowing as it talks about how Lincoln wouldn't be there to finish rebuilding the United States. it has foreshadowing through out the story that was just one example of the tools the author used.

2. O'Reilly does use some lengthy descriptions when  he is introducing the setting of the current location or introducing a new character, but the way he describes them doesn't make you lose interest in it.

3. O'Reilly sets the mood with the words he uses to describe the characters. you can easily tell that he has a lot of respect for what Lincoln had done. you can also pick up on the fact that he despises Booth for what he and his colleagues had done.

4. I feel that the authors attitude towards the audience is one of that he wanted you to learn something new that you may have not known before and enjoy doing it at the same time.you can tell that he did not want it to sound like a boring documentary instead he wanted to make it exciting and thrilling.

5. the author did not give additional resources but I had known the basics of the story and this book just solidified my previous knowledge of the subject.

Enduring Memory

The main idea that I had learned from this book is that our actions have lasting effects on many people not just ourselves. You should really think things out instead of just making irrational decisions. Booth actually made it a lot worse for the south and the rest of the country by ending Lincoln's life.