Patrick Richman F 5/08/2024 Liam O’Flaherty: The Sniper Liam O’Flaherty, born in 1896, grew up on the island of Inishmore, off the coast of Ireland. O’Flaherty was well known for his short stories, with authentic views on life. Throughout his career, he has written a total of 36 novels and short stories, one that's been turned into a movie, that he helped produce. Among these writings, one of his most popular stories is “The Sniper’’. The themes and characters in Liam O’Flaherty’s “The Sniper”, reflect his first-hand experiences of World War I, and the Irish Civil War, as a member of the lower class. Paragraph one- Birth, Childhood, Schooling O’Flaherty was born in 1896, on the island of Inishmore. Inishmore is located off the western coast …show more content…
The sniper, whose job it is to kill, has one reason he is doing it, and that is to defend his country. The old lady wants the war to end, so she informs one of the opposing soldiers of the sniper's position, which gets her killed. All of the characters, unnamed, have no true identity other than “The Sniper”, and “Old Woman.” The characters in “The Sniper” continuously support the theme of the story. War dehumanizes people, and there is no winner. Theme paragraph The theme in Liam O’Flaherty’s “The Sniper”, reflects his first-hand experiences of World War I, and the Irish Civil War, as a member of the lower class. His story illustrates the pain of war and the toll it takes on the people fighting in the war, and the people spectating it. For example, when the sniper was confronted with a sniper on the opposition, he pulled the trigger by thinking twice. Shortly after, he was stone cold, possibly regretting his decision. This event helps illustrate one of the themes in “The Sniper,” that nobody wins in war, even if one side survives longer than the other. The Sniper can be found in libraries of elementary schools in Ireland, due to the moral lesson it teaches, that fighting is not the
In the story, “The Sniper”, The sniper showed that he was an intelligent soldier. In the beginning, after Being shot by the enemy sniper the sniper took care of his wound and was able to compose himself and think of a plan. Thinking he had won the battle after the snipers successful decoy the enemy sniper dropped his guard and the second he did the sniper
In Liam O'Flaherty´s The Sniper, all of these are brought to an acute reality in a single war-torn city. Strong cerebral convictions and opposing philosophies, due to which people want to destroy.
Liam O’Flaherty’s realistic fiction story, “The Sniper,” takes place in Dublin, Ireland, where there is a civil war waging between Republicans and Free Staters. The Republican sniper, who is the main character in the story, is fighting in the civil war for the Republican organization. There are numerous amounts of people who are attempting to assassinate the sniper because of his organization, and his enemies are located all around him waiting patiently until they gain their chance. The Republican sniper, however, leaps before he looks most times, thus leading to severe consequences throughout the story. By using description and suspense, O’Flaherty creates the lesson that actions, without thought, will lead to consequences.
“The Sniper” and “The Most Dangerous” Game are both different stories, written by different authors. Liam O’Flaherty is the author of “The Sniper”. He was born on one of Ireland’s Aran Islands, in a large family. Since the Aran Islands have a tradition of oral storytelling, Liam O’Flaherty’s house was full of different kinds of stories. He also wrote about Irish peasant life and captured the struggles of the Irish Civil War. His best known novel is “The Informal”, and it talks about a betrayal set during the Irish Troubles.
The basic plot of the story is based during an evening within the Irish civil wars. It tells of a republican sniper sitting on a rooftop and neutralising enemy units as the cross a bridge. When a free-states sniper shows himself on an opposite roof they wage a fierce and innovative war to see who would end up the better. Eventually the republican sniper gains the upper hand and after taking a bullet in the arm destroys the worthy opponent. After a curious inspection to the identity of the enemy sniper he finds himself looking into the eyes of his dead brother.
In conclusion, the Sniper is, interestingly, a complete contradiction in himself. He is both experienced and amateur, cold and emotional, lusting after war and hating it, self-assured and vulnerable, and logical and mad. This stark paradox may create much of the inner conflict that goes on within the Sniper, and also reflects the outer conflict of the Irish war- a war where both sides are essentially opposing parts of the same whole.
A numerous amount of the population has committed to engage in war zones. War is an overwhelming matter to comprehend or to become involved in. Warfare does not only affect the people who are involved in the battle, but also the family members of war victims. War is a terrible conflict carried on by armed forces between nations or parties within a nation. It can also be defined as a struggle to achieve a goal. Not all battles end up as one side wins or loses. Most of the time, each side sacrifices something they did not aspire to give up.
However, 85 percent of the students wanted to learn more about World War II (McKinney). British and Soviet snipers were also highly successful, a byproduct of training extensively and enduring harsh combat conditions. Yet only 24 percent of seventh graders knew that they were part of the Allies (McKinney). James Riordan’s The Sniper describes the role of Snipers in World War II; Riordan addresses the issue students face when wanting to learn more about World War II snipers, by providing a way for students to learn about them in their free time. Men who risked their lives for their country, men who endured some of the harshest war conditions, men who tried hard to serve and defend their country do not deserve to lay forgotten in history books. Snipers were a huge part of World War II, but surveyed seventh graders do not know that. Their contributions to the war effort were irreplaceable. Whether they be British or Soviet, Finnish or German, World War II snipers were a powerful, but often overlooked,
“The Sniper” is a short story based during the Civil War between the Republicans and the Free Staters. A young Republican sniper, Dublin is on a night watch for enemies while under the cover of darkness on a parchment rooftop when he decides to take a risk of lighting a cigarette, knowing that his enemies were watching and waiting. Dublin now realized that he had to be much more cautious of his enemies as one of his enemies fires but misses Dublin. All throughout the story Dublin is avoiding his enemies while trying to kill them also. On the opposite side of the street on top of a roof a shot rang out hitting Dublin in his forearm. He could not pick up his sniper, he “must have fractured the bone” (Flaherty 2), so he cleaned his wound with
There are many moments within this story, The Sniper by Liam O'Flaherty where he describes the problems consistent in battles big or small. Mainly the author sends us a message that war can cause separation in relationships, regret in soldiers, and change in people. Throughout wars, relationships will split and end. Despite the fact it be family and friends. In The Sniper, the author writes "He wondered did he know him. Perhaps he had been in his own company before the split in the army"(Liam O'Flaherty, 3). Later on it is revealed that it is his brother he had shot "Then the sniper turned over the dead body and looked into his brother's face"(Liam O'Flaherty, 3). Though the republican sniper was not aware that the enemy sniper was his brother. They were still fighting against one another and therefore had to split previously, and shows that countries will crack because of different views in an instant.
The short story “The Sniper” attempts to educate the reader about the life of a sniper during the civil war. While analyzing “The Sniper” the book lover learns that the sniper is astronomically competent. The reviewer is persuaded that the main character is indubitably cognizant in his profession for the following reasons. In the fourth paragraph, the protagonist is faced with a dilemma that could potentially jeopardize his life, “It was dangerous. The flash might be seen in the darkness and there are enemies watching. He [the sniper] decided to take the risk. Placing a cigarette between his lips, he struck a match… Almost immediately a bullet flattened itself against the parapet of the roof.” Not only is there proof of his knowledge in the fourth paragraph, but also in the
In the crosshairs of, US Navy Seal, Chris Kyle’s scope, sits a woman and a young boy who appear to be attempting to hide something. Seconds pass, and the woman passes the item to the boy, revealing to Kyle and anyone around just what they have, a deadly grenade. After talking to his partner and his general on his radio, he has to make a choice, to kill or not to kill. His partner makes the decision harder by telling him “They’ll fry you if you’re wrong,” regarding if the child in question is actually a threat or simply a misunderstanding. This is the opening scene in the 2015 film, “American Sniper” which is based on the real life events experienced by Chris Kyle in Iraq (Eastwood, 2015).
The Sniper In Liam O'Flaherty's “The Sniper” a young Irish soldier is tasked with keeping watch on a building in enemy territory. This young man is a sniper and he is in a constant battle with enemy patrols, a sniper perched across the street in a neighboring building, and his regrets. This sniper deals with many issues and has to use his wits to overcome his attackers. This story also consists of the immersive setting of a dark and war-torn Dublin, Ireland.
Novelist and short story writer, Liam O’Flaherty grew up in a village on the western coast of Ireland. He was a good student when he was young, and when he grew older, he enlisted in the British Army. Later, after enlisting in the army, he began to write stories while he was in the war. Many of Liam O’Flaherty’s short stories about war, have become very popular throughout the world. One of his greatest, most popular stories, “The Sniper” has some of O’Flaherty’s experiences of being in the war. The short story, “The Sniper”, was published in the London paper, The New Leader, on January 12, 1923. Liam O’Flaherty was a World War I veteran. He wrote most of his stories while in the war. The stories he wrote, became very popular after the
Ethan Cook Deanna Gabrielson English 102 4/24. Former U.S. senator George McGovern once said “I'm fed up to the ears of old men dreaming up wars for young men to die in.”. This sentiment is equally present in “The Sniper” by Liam O’Flaherty, a short story about a young man in combat and the conflict that he faces As a member of the British Army, O’Flaherty experienced first hand the physical and mental effects that had on individuals. After being discharged due to injury he began writing, these writings frequently displayed anti-war sentiments through the usage of literary devices. In “The Sniper,” Liam O'Flaherty uses elements of the story such as the urban setting, the sniper’s weapons, and the death of the enemy sniper, as commentary on