Comparing O 'Connor, And The Sniper'

Throughout the story the theme that actions have serious consequences is evident. In the moment the sniper is ready and eager to shoot at the enemy. But after the moment is over, the sniper realizes just how awful his actions are.

In the book Hatchet written by Gary Paulsen I noticed that he was brave. The author developed this theme by expressing emotions.

     The sniper develops insensitivity to death during the war. When he kills the old woman, she’s trying to run away and isn’t really a threat. He even “utters a cry of joy” when he finally shoots the enemy sniper. This shows how war can get people caught up in the cat-and-mouse “game” aspect of it and forget what they’re actually doing—killing people. People get so caught up in the “game” that they don’t think about the repercussions for their actions.

The term “sniper” means someone who shoots from a hiding place at a long range with extreme accuracy. It is said that it takes the average sniper only 1.3 bullets to kill his target. In the military the sniper has two jobs. The first job is to deliver long range fire on selected targets. The second job is is to collect and report information about the battlefield. Snipers have been used in the united states military as far back as the American Civil War, but they were called sharpshooters then. From then to now both their techniques and technology have changed together.

During the times of war, lines are blurred and deaths arise where guilt has no room to wrap itself around a soldier’s head as they choose between killing and being killed. Under the summer evening and heavy artillery fire of Dublin, Ireland, a republican sniper lays waiting, in a fanatical haze, behind the parapet of a building’s roof. He decides to light a cigarette, despite the risk of exposure, and encounters an enemy sniper opposite the street from his position. Promptly after, an enemy vehicle approaches, met by an informant, who divulged the sniper’s location. Having to execute the informant and a soldier exposed in the open turret, the marksman seeks upon the rival sniper, killing him by a ruse of playing dead along with an arm shot and feebly. Following a moment of hysteria, he evades the bullets of a machine gun, throwing himself aside the corpse only to find it to be his brother. In “The Sniper”, Liam O’Flaherty suggests the

Bravery is demonstrated by the desire for lawfulness. Atticus Finch tries to teach his children that throughout the book To Kill a Mockingbird. He leads by the example of himself, and others in the sleepy country town of Maycomb.

In “The Sniper” by Liam O'flaherty, the sniper is shown as courageous, strong, and curious. The sniper is shown to be courageous when he risked his life to fight for what he believes in. “Cautiously he raised himself and peered over the parapet. There was a flash and a bullet whizzed over his head(O’Flaherty 437). This quote proves that the sniper was courageous because that bullet could have killed him, when he raised his head over the parapet.

The Men at War is somewhat similar to the movie American Sniper. In The Movie The American Sniper the main character almost had to shot a child. One of the stories on the Men At War talked about how he watched as a little girl got ran over and no one stopped. In Both of the stories it shows how difficult it is being a service member. Some man come back with nightmares, Flashbacks and they be paranoid.

In the middle of his concentrating efforts to split the rations of coffee for his troops, “a shot rings out”. While the shock settles in he does not understand how he has been shot when he is not in a state battle. His mind warps ideas about his existence and the meaning of life. As his dumbstruck, sympathetic troops try to assist him, he realizes his helplessness. At this point in the story he realizes he is doomed to this reality.

He felt that the regiment was losing or weakening and that they couldn’t handle it. He looked around to see how the others were feeling, so he didn’t think he was the only one. He runs once he sees others soldiers start to run away. “We ain’t never goin’ to stand this second banging. I didn’t come here to fight the hull damn’rebel army.” “The youth stared. Surely, he thought this impossible thing was not able to happen. He waited as if he expected the enemy to suddenly stop, apologize, and retire bowing. It was all a mistake. But the firing began somewhere on the regiment line and ripped a long in both directions.” “The words that comrades had uttered previous to the firing began to recur to him.” He saw other soldiers talk negatively and that affected what he was going to do. “He caught changing views of the ground covered with men who were all running like pursued imps and yelling”. “There was a revelation. He too threw down his gun and fled. There was no shame in his face”. “He ran like a rabbit.” “They seemed to be patting them on the back and encouraging them with words”. The other soldiers were happy about not staying and about running. In his head he made running away and being a coward okay because in his point of view it was self-preservation. If he would have died where would the army be? He didn’t want to die for nothing and pretends he was acting smart by running. He did it out of fear for survival and to save the army. His conscience was making up for the wrongs he did by covering it up with other things. It would have been different if the other soldiers didn’t put things in his head. He is young and young people usually follow others so to him it was okay to follow the soldiers that were running. Henry runs from the second battle because of the other soldiers peer pressure and influencing him to

The sniper was scared to shoot the other person. “He was frightened back to his sense but the shock. His nerves strayed,the cloud of fear scattered from his mind and he laughed.” Being a sniper you are supposed to be able to not show emotion, but the sniper did. He was somewhat nervous and maybe scared, but then he build up the courage to fire. He fired and all signs of emotions and fear vanished it was

He also was brave enough to go out in the open where he could get shot. It just shows he isn't a baby and can handle the pain. “He rolled over the roof to a chimney stack in the rear, and slowly drew himself up behind it, until his eyes were level with the top of the parapet” (Liam O’Flaherty, 2)This is another way to prove that he is brave because, instead of staying in his spot he moved away to try and find the person that tried to shoot him. By staying calm and addressing the problem without much fear he showed bravery.

Bravery When heroes are brought up, many people think of a few characteristics. Perhaps one of the most commonly thought of characteristic is bravery. Many stories have at least one “hero figure”, so bravery is a theme in lot of novels. Harper Lee’s

Conflicts happen very often. It can happen in life, it can even happen in a story. Sometimes a conflict can have a positive outcome, but will the snipper have one? Unfortunately the sniper didn't have a positive outcome, he shot his brother. We will analyze the short story The Sniper by Liam O'Flaherty and how the author uses internal conflict man vs self to reveal the character's motivation and development.

He remembers taking a hit for another soldier, so then he could fight another day.