The Sniper: The Killing Of The German Sniper

The rabbits reminded him of Rowena because she shares the same characteristics as her rabbits such as fragility and innocence. Therefore he risks "a blow on [his] head...to help the helpless [animals]" (Quenneville 1). He even helps a rat, an animal associated with disease and death, escape a muddy grave. His conduct greatly contrasts that of the soldiers who kill and torture cats and vermin. This only further exemplifies his compassion for the lives of even of the smallest of creatures.

This paper will try to explore two theories of the beltway sniper. The first is the conflict theory and the second is the psychological theory. There will be summarizing of the crime (dates, offenders, how they were caught if they were). The two theories will try to explore the crime. Each of the theory will shed light on the reasons for the crime. For this paper, I will provide evidence to which theory seems to be stronger. I will also show any evidence that will lead to the deviant path that was taken. I will be explaining how you determine the path that was taken for the crime. I hope that after reading this the audience will have a better understanding of the conflict and psychological theory of the beltway DC sniper.

His mom didn’t really want Robert at first and Vincent was very, very supportive about whether she wanted to bring Robert home or not. She said no until one night, when Mary and Vincent went home to their other children, Micheal, Gary, Paula, and Catherine and asked what they thought about bringing hime. All of Robert’s soon-to-be siblings said yes. While at first, Vincent and Mary were a little weirded out at first, their love for Robert grew stronger and stronger. Especially his mom’s, her love grew fast and fierce. His parents got over their “weird” feeling, they decided to take Robert out in the real world without getting

A similar theme was developed between The Sniper and Ambush. The Sniper’s theme is Stay Focused, What has happened… Happened. Ambush’s theme is Don’t Dwell on the Past.

     Through despair, Robert forces himself to keep with his ideals, which shows just how strong his resolve is. When Robert was in despair, he took his mind off his problems by keeping himself busy. After losing Rowena, Robert decides to join the army to replace taking care of Rowena, by taking care of the human condition. Later when Robert loses Harris, he busies himself by performing the last rites over his good friend. “This is not a military funeral. This is just a burial at sea. May we all remove our caps? (p107)” Later when Robert is attacked in the bath house, he finds that he is still trying to protect Rowena. He does this by lighting her pictures on fire to remove her from this cruel world. “Robert sat on the mutilated mattress and opened his kit bag. Everything was there – including the picture of Rowena. Robert burned it in the middle of the floor. This was not an act of anger – but an act of charity. (p172)” These show that even through despair, Robert manages to stick to his ideals.

Robert's ethics return to him and take priority over military obedience when he tries to rescue horses from the cruelties of war. Robert disobeys Captain Leather's orders and tries to free the horses from the barn that is threatened by falling shells. Unfortunately, the horses die before he can save them all and Robert is filled with anger, shooting Captain Leather between the eyes for causing their death. From this moment on, he rebels against anyone who does not respect his love for animals. This rebellion continues when he barricades himself in a barn with the horses and shouts, "[w]e shall not be taken" (212). It is Robert's strong connection with the horses that leads to his downfall, because the "we" implies to Major Mickle that Robert has an accomplice, and for that reason an attack is ordered. Robert burns

Parallels are drawn between the protagonist, Robert Ross, and many of the animals that appear throughout the novel. Robert appears to have a strong kinship with his animal counterparts. After enlisting in the army, Robert takes a run out on the prairie, where he encounters a coyote. He instinctively begins to follow the creature, and it leads him to a valley where it stops to drink at a small pond. As it drinks, "the sound . . . [crosses] the distance between them and . . . [seems] to satisfy his own thirst" (The Wars 28). Before the coyote leaves, it turns and "[looks] directly at him . . . and [barks] . . .The coyote had known he was there the whole time: maybe the whole of the run across the prairie. Now it was telling Robert that the valley was vacant: safe-and Robert could proceed to the water's edge and drink" (28). Later that night, as he sits alone, Robert finds himself "wishing that someone would howl" (28). Robert also seems to have a special bond with birds, which often appear in the novel, frequently at times of crisis for Robert. After unwittingly leading his men through the fog onto a collapsing dike, the air is suddenly "filled with the shock waves of wings . . . [and] the sound of their motion [sends] a shiver down Robert's back" (81). Subsequently, Robert steps into the sinking mud and is nearly sucked down to his death beneath the earth. Later in the novel, Robert again encounters a bird, and it is at the same

Which is most likely due to the brutality witnessed in the war and loss of friends. My father recounts Robert as being very reserved, strict, and constantly on edge. Furthermore, he attributed Robert’s actions to “having seen things that no one should ever have to see” (Randle, 2014).

Not only does Robert’s killing of the German soldier expose humanity’s inherent savagery, but his fellow soldiers’ brutal rape of Robert also shows the brutal nature of humankind. After his shower, Robert senses a human presence in his cell and he

The aggressive brush strokes coupled with the raised texture of the painting shows the intensity of taking a life and the experience of loss. During his voyage to England, Robert is forced to kill an injured horse; his first time taking a life, “He fired. A chair fell over in his mind. He closed his eyes and opened them” (Findley 62). This is Robert’s realization that there is no place for mercy in war. This quote shows a loss of innocence inside of Robert’s mind as he is forced to take the life of another animal. Robert equates the life of humans to that of the animals which is why the killing of the horse is significant moment in his development. The reader is shown a rebirth inside the mind of Robert Ross; a gentle soul turned jagged. A journal entry from John M. Connor, provided by Joanna Bourke, depicts the theme of loss and death during World War I: “...seeing your pals blown into bits, it makes a new man fellow in spirit, moral [and] character… it will make many changed man…[all sic]”( Burke 11). The black acts a visual representation of the feelings of loss, regret, and death in its entirety for a better understanding of war.

Robert was once a timid individual who valued his privacy. And as noted with the encounter with Heather Lawson, we see that Robert is awkward around women. However, after thrusting himself into war he can no longer hide himself or his capacity for sexuality and violence. With the experience with Ella at the brothel he feels ashamed and now has been exposed, at such a young age, to a morally corrupting way of life. He has leaped so far, from ‘making love to his pillows’ to encounters with a prostitute. His morals are disintegrating; his childlike innocence is fading. His character is altering dramatically. When he sees his ‘role –model’ Taffler engaging in homosexual actions he is shocked, enticed and disturbed. This reaction gives way to anger and violence. The world as he knew it, one in which he could hide, no longer exists.

Many of the symbols in the novel remind Robert of his troubled past. Some of the symbols in the book appeal to both the reader and Robert, exacerbating his struggles. After finishing his training, Robert boards a ship headed for the war zone. When tasked horse injured onboard the ship, he is clearly troubled; as he is unsuccessful in killing the horse the first time, “[a] chair [falls] over in his mind” (Findley 60). The horse is a symbol of Rowena, an innocent person who dies because of her disability. During training, he feels socially obliged to go to a brothel with his peers, and experiences shame associated with the death of Rowena. Instead of watching over her, Robert was “[m]aking love to his pillows” (Findley 16). As a result, he is very insecure about his sexuality and his private life in general. The scene where he is sitting in the bathtub after Rowena’s death is symbolic of Robert giving up his childhood, concomitant with his innocence. The tub represents the womb; his mother tells him a story of his childhood one last time before he joins the army, becoming an adult in some sense. Through symbolism, one can make the connection between Robert’s troubled past, the cruel world he lives in, and his experiences in the war.

First, the main character, Robert Ross, was an innocent child at the beginning of the novel. He loved his sister, Rowena, and felt guilty not being able to save her. He then decided to enlist the army because he wanted to protect innocents in order to redeem himself to the death of Rowena. He got beaten up the night before he enlisted the army, “That night, Robert was lying in the bathtub, smoothing his aches and bruises with water…”(23). If he was in the army, he would have to fight people much stronger than Teddy Budge. Robert would not be able to fight them since the fight between him and Teddy was one sided already. However, Robert was only thinking about how he could redeem himself, but not his own capability to be a soldier. This showed how naive Robert was, he didn’t see the danger he was stepping into. Also, when Mrs Ross told

Once Robert is back in the battle, there is another, worse attack on the Canadian lines by the Germans. They are being rained on by shells, and Robert fears for the lives of the horses in a nearby barn that is being hit by the shelling, and which Robert fears will collapse at any moment. Over the course of the war, Robert has grown more and more attached to horses, and it’s in his benevolent nature to care for other animals. When Robert tells Captain Leather that he will go back to the barn to save the horses, Leather refuses, saying that it is not necessary. Robert, thinking back to the last time he wanted to go against Captain Leather’s orders, and what arose when he didn’t, realizes that he must go against his orders and free the horses. As Robert is running back to the barn to free the horses, Leather screams at him to stop what he is doing and to follow his orders, but Robert is determined. When Leather pulls his gun on Robert, Robert stops to shoot him, killing Leather. In this time, the barn has been hit by a shell, and is burning, but Robert still runs inside to try to save the horses moments before the roof of the barn collapses on Robert, burning him

International sporting events continually face political terrorism, bringing fear to those who gathered for entertainment. According to articles published in the Guardian, Time Magazine, and CNN, the most detrimental disruption by politics in the Olympics occurred at the 1972 Germany Summer Games. On 5 September 1972, the Palestinian group Black September broke into the Israeli athletes’ quarters armed with guns. The 21 hour standoff, more famously known as the Munich massacre, resulted in 17 deaths. The Games were suspended for the first time in modern Olympic history, but the Olympic Committee decided to continue days after. The Olympic Committee 's decision was met with harsh criticism from the public (Burnton; Cosgrove; "The Munich Massacre: A Survivor 's Story”).