How Does Liam O Flaherty Use Suspense In The Sniper

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John F. Kennedy once said “Mankind must put an end to war before war puts an end to mankind”. War runs the danger of destroying a soldier’s mind and body. When a soldier does leave the battlefield he/she still has to carry the burden of war. Servicemen and women have to go on living and hiding the emotional and physical wounds of war. In the short story “The Sniper” author Liam O’ Flaherty includes the element of surprise to real that war not only causes physical risk, but also psychological suffering.
Liam O’ Flaherty uses suspense in order to convey war’s physical risk. In “The Sniper” the author uses pacing to reveal the use of suspense. In the story when the republican sniper was shot Liam O’ Flaherty prolonged his suffering. The sniper’s injury seemed to have more of an impact because the author is waiting until the last moment to reveal if he will be okay. The author also uses pacing when the sniper is planning his fake death and sneak kill. The author slowly sets up the republican sniper’s planned kill, this begins to make the mood tenser then finally he kills …show more content…

In the short story the author uses the sniper’s actions and reactions to create a feeling of anxiety or dread. In “The Sniper” before the republican shot his brother, he began to feel a lust for battle. The author describes what the sniper did before taking the shot, he was smiling, and most sane people are not happy looking in the face of death. The author makes something seem amiss by the characters actions. Liam O’ Flaherty creates suspense through actions, when the sniper goes to check out the body, the author then reveals it is his brother. Through the characters action up into the reveal the mood was anxious. The revealing of it being his brother must have badly affected his mind, after all he did kill his own brother. Liam O’ Flaherty uses suspenseful actions to show how war affects the

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