Chamberlain also reflects back to his discussion with Kilrain about men and divine spark. He concludes Kilrain's bitterness is wrong. Instead, he feels pride for the men who attacked, as if they were his own men and he was with them. He feels pity for their loss and believes that all are equal now in sight of God.
At the end of the novel, Tom sums up the confusion that others felt then and now. What were they fighting for? Was it really necessary to fight? So many died, and a good portion of them probably never even knew why.
The men in this story have a hard time expressing their emotions. Longstreet feels deep emotions for Armistead, Lee, his men, and his wife, but cannot show them. Chamberlain feels deep love for Tom, but cannot show it. Armistead had the same problem with his feelings for Longstreet. It is hard to know whether this is the way men were at that time, or whether the pressures of command or the pain of the war itself caused them to be this way. Perhaps if men had been able to speak to each other more, battle would have been unnecessary.
The motif of rain is used as a symbol for cleansing and rebirth. The rains come, wash away the blood and evidence of death, clearing the way for new life.
