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Buster Kilrain
Tom is Joshua Chamberlain’s younger brother, newly a lieutenant in the regiment and “worshipful” of his older brother. Still boyish and inexperienced, Tom often calls his brother “Lawrence” instead of “Sir.” He is quick to do what is asked in battle, even running to fill a gap in the line on Little Round Top, much to his brother’s horror. At the end of the book, Tom muses that he cannot understand the Confederates’ motives—how can they fight so hard for slavery? While Chamberlain agrees, Tom’s youthful innocence serves as a foil to Chamberlain, whose idealism has been somewhat chastened by both the horrors and joys of the past few days.
Tom Chamberlain Quotes in The Killer Angels
The The Killer Angels quotes below are all either spoken by Tom Chamberlain or refer to Tom Chamberlain. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Friday, July 3, 1863: Chapter 6
Quotes
Tom said, “When you ask them prisoners, they never talk about slavery. But, Lawrence, how do you explain that? What else is the war about?”
Chamberlain shook his head.
“If it weren’t for the slaves, there’d never have been no war, now would there?”
“No,” Chamberlain said.
“Well then, I don’t care how much political fast-talking you hear, that’s what it’s all about and that’s what them fellers died for, and I tell you, Lawrence, I don’t understand it at all.”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
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Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire The Killer Angels LitChart as a printable PDF.
Tom Chamberlain Quotes in The Killer Angels
The The Killer Angels quotes below are all either spoken by Tom Chamberlain or refer to Tom Chamberlain. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Friday, July 3, 1863: Chapter 6
Quotes
Tom said, “When you ask them prisoners, they never talk about slavery. But, Lawrence, how do you explain that? What else is the war about?”
Chamberlain shook his head.
“If it weren’t for the slaves, there’d never have been no war, now would there?”
“No,” Chamberlain said.
“Well then, I don’t care how much political fast-talking you hear, that’s what it’s all about and that’s what them fellers died for, and I tell you, Lawrence, I don’t understand it at all.”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
