In the anti-war short story "The Sniper" written by Liam O Flaherty, a Republican sniper embraces his rifle and conceals on the roof top without a sound, waiting to kill his enemies. The sniper accidentally gives away his location when he lights up a cigarette and exposes himself to the enemy sniper on the opposite roof. The two snipers from two conflicting sides then faces each other off through an innovative war; using both their shooting skills and intelligence. Subsequently, the Republican sniper pulls out a brilliant plan and he successfully shoots out a deadly bullet to the enemy sniper. After the line of life and death, the Republican sniper decides to identify the enemy sniper's face; he slowly turns the dead body around and finds …show more content…
In addition, when the Republican drops to the ground after his injury, he leans against a parapet, which can also be explained as a protective barrier that the sniper uses to hide from all the cruelty and brutal faces of war. All these images demonstrate isolation, desolation and the brutality formed by the war and the images are formed by intention to show the readers the identifiable harmful impacts that a war can carry.
The author not only uses the settings to intensify the evilness of war; but he also introduces several scenes of situation irony into the story to further explain the downside effects of war. For instance, when the Republican sniper riskily lights up a cigarette, the light will glow and expose his location on the rooftop. The irony unpredictably occurs when an old lady spy points at the sniper's location to his enemy. This is ironic because no one expects an old and weak lady with trembling legs would secretly be a spy. This forces the Republican sniper to kill the lady instantly because otherwise, he will be killed by his enemies. Another ironic situation takes place when the Free-stater soldier arrives at the O'Connell bridge in an armoured truck; a tank-like transportation machine, and yet he is killed by the Republican sniper when he peeks out the car window with half of his body outside. This is ironic because it is surprising that someone would be that imprudent when knowing that there is a sniper watching his every
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
The main character in The Sniper was in a fire fight. He shot and killed 3 people. After the fire fight he started to dwell on what he did .In the story it said, “The lust of battle dies in him. He became bitten by remorse.” As a result, “he looked at the smoking revolver in his hand, and with an oath he hurled it to the roof at his feet. The revolver went off… The bullet whizzed past the sniper’s head.” Because of him dwelling, he almost killed himself.
War is something that can change the very principles of a person, it can change a person and leave multiple effects that can last for their entire life. The sniper is fighting in a civil war where friends and family can turn into enemies at a moment's notice. The fight is between the Republicans and the Free Staters, the protagonist is a sniper for the Republicans. Throughout the story, we go into the state of mind of the main character and learn some ramifications that he gained in the war. The text, “The Sniper” by Liam O’Flaherty shows us the physical and psychological results of war, that happens to people.
The story sniper is a story about a man that's in the army which his perfection is with a sniper rifle the story's theme is based on dublin and the sniper which will be called sniper is on the tower looking down on an empty road with hail of gunshots in the distance but he decides to eat a sandwich and light a cigaret but he doesn't want to take the risk of the spark to light the cigarette to give out his position and because the sniper was tired and needed the break he took the risk and lit his cigarette and soon as he blew out the light a gunshot and a crack flew by him
This essay will begin by examining the importance of O’Flaherty’s description of the setting in his short story “The Sniper”, and how his description of the setting emphasizes the reality of war. From the beginning of the story, O’Flaherty portrays a dark and dull setting of war. “Dublin lay enveloped in darkness but for the dim light of the moon that shone through fleecy clouds, casting a pale light as of approaching dawn over the streets and the dark waters of the Liffey.” (O’Flaherty) In this passage, O’Flaherty describes the setting of a simple street in Dublin at dawn. This creates a dreary tale to read. The setting in this short story emphasizes how tedious war can really be and how sometimes there can be no action for a long period of time. Usually, when there are wars in movies or novels, the plot does not focus on the
The violent nature of war destroys everything about humanity, both physically and psychologically. There is no escape anywhere. By the light of the shells, I try to get a view of the fields. They are a surging sea, daggers of flame from the explosions reach up like fountains. It is impossible for anyone to break through it" (66).
thinks is right or a person who fights because he has to? “The Sniper” tells a story of a sniper who is in a fight between another sniper. The story takes place in Dublin Ireland and is considered Civil War. In ¨The Sniper,” Liam O’Flaherty uses diction, point of view, and plot to create a story of loss, pain , and an intense mood.
War is a horrible and devastating event that hurts many people in many ways. This something many people have to cope with. Authors are among those who have to cope with war as well. Many people cope different ways but authors cope by protesting war. To do this authors use imagery, irony, and structure.
Between the three stories, “The Dogs Could Teach Me,” “The Flowers,” and “The Sniper.” “The Sniper” demonstrates the best suspenseful text between the three stories. To create a suspenseful story, “The Sniper” develops multiple moments of suspense. For instance one illustration of suspense in “The Sniper” is, “He paused for a moment, considering whether he should risk a smoke. It was dangerous. The flash might be seen in the darkness, and there were enemies watching. He decided to take the risk.” This is a suspenseful moment in “The Sniper” because if the sniper risks to smoke, he will be giving away his position and could be shot at by the enemy's. Another representation of suspense is, “Pressing his lips together, he took a deep breath
Adversity is when people have to overcome a problem even though it might be hard for them to do. Overcoming a problem can make people stressed out or nervous that they are doing something wrong. Liam O’Flaherty made The Sniper from “The Sniper” face many hard times throughout the story. While The Sniper was protecting himself from danger, Richard Connell made Rainsford from “The Most Dangerous Game” run from his own game. The Sniper faced adversity by being in the military and making the decision to kill people who were after him. Rainsford faced a problem when a psycho man would not let him leave the island until he made it 3 days without getting hunted. People need to
The sniper in the story struggles to survive while he fights with a sniper across the street. After a long squall of shooting, he finally strikes his enemy. For example,“Then when the smoke cleared, he peered across and uttered
In this story the author shows how location plays a big part in how physically dangerous a war is. Gunshots heard throughout the city are a sign of how close the fighting between the “Republicans and Free Staters…” is to innocent citizens (this is most often the case in civil war). The sniper’s positioning “on a rooftop near
"The Sniper" places a strong emphasis on the evils of war, and yet paints a vivid image of mankind's qualities and their society. Employing the technique of describing one particular sniper to symbolise a general subject, readers are able to gain a deep insight into the evils of war. In this story, the assembly of setting, contrasting characters and themes of fanaticism and division of loyalties are vital to conveying the horror of war. On the other hand, "The Sniper" also discusses the power of war, depicting it as the decider of life and death for men. Its force is further emphasised when neighbours are turned into enemies under war's influence.
In this Irish war we have two sides, but this can also be reflected in the two sides within the Sniper himself. The Sniper seems experienced yet amateur, cold yet emotional, lusting for war yet hating it, self-assured yet vulnerable, and clear-minded yet mad; he is a living contradiction.
The Sniper, written by Liam O’Flaherty, is a story about a Republican sniper in the Irish civil war in 1922. This story tells of a night spent on a roof looking for the enemy, the Free-Staters. In this short description of the nights events, the sniper kills 3 people; a soldier, an informer, and finally an enemy sniper on the roof across the road from him. In the end this enemy sniper turns out to be the republicans brother. This story shows the the specific characteristics a sniper must have to carry out their duty. A key moment in this text which influenced the sniper is the Civil war itself.