In Russell Banks’ novel “Cloudsplitter”, the character of Owen Brown states: “We could slay a few men now, men who were guilty, perhaps if only by association, and save millions of innocents later. That’s how terror, in the hands of the righteous, works. (Banks: 607) This quotation helps to exemplify the structure of this novel, where Owen Brown recounts the actions of his father, the abolitionist John Brown, in the attempt to justify Owen’s own life as the shadow of his father. This paper explores Cloudsplitter” in terms of the literary elements found within this novel, including a focus on its plot, theme, characterization, setting and the author’s use of perspective.