Liam O Flaherty's The Sniper

War changes a person, it hurts people  mentally and physically. This is because when you see death it messes with you psychologically. In the short story, “The Sniper”, by Liam O’Flaherty , an enemy fighting against a Sniper. The Sniper was fighting his enemy, little did he know that he would kill his brother. In war one fights against your brother, war changes people. Either one's biological or brother in faith.  After fighting in combat, the soldier doesn’t come back as the same person.  The sniper was used to seeing death, it was apparent in his eyes. He experienced death every time he killed someone. Death changes people. The sniper felt remorse after he killed his brother. It takes a lot of strength and determination to kill another person. Experiencing death or war changes someone mentally and/or physically.

The Sniper has been in battle before because of the look in his eyes.

It was apparent that he seen death.One example that shows that he has seen death more than once is “ they were deep and thoughtful, the eyes of a man who is used to looking at death(O’Flaherty 1).” This is important because it lets the reader know he has seen death before.  The Sniper  shows determination to kill his enemy when he gets shot in the arm. One example that shows the Sniper is a determined man is when  “ he made an effort of will to overcome the pain (O’Flaherty 2).” This is important because it shows his  characteristic of strength. He is able to overcome any pain. He is a very courageous man, who has seen death before in his

life.
He experienced death every time he killed another person.  This is shown in the story  when “ the lust of battle died in him (O’Flaherty 3).” This is important because it shows that his desire to kill was dead. When he killed his enemy this feeling of hatred grew in him. This is shown when “ his teeth chattered, he began to gibber to himself, cursing the war, cursing himself, cursing everybody (O’Flaherty 4).” This is important because it shows that war damages people. It creates anger and hatred in people. In battle the joy of killing of someone eventually dies along with the enemy. People get this feeling of hatred inside of them from what they see and experience war. The soldier will always recall what horrible things they have seen or  done.
In war you are fighting against your brother. The Sniper killed his brother.The Sniper was curious to see who he killed, he wondered if he knew his enemy. He did not realize but, when he turns his enemy over, he finds he has killed his own brother. This is shown when “he wondered if he knew him (O’Flaherty 4).” This is important because it shows the Sniper was curious to know who he killed. He did not know it was his brother but at the end of the story he turns his enemy over, he realizes he killed his one brother. The Sniper was curious to see who he killed, he wondered if he knew his enemy. This is shown in the story when  “ then the sniper turned over the dead body and looked into his brother’s face (O’Flaherty 4).” This is important because it shows that in war people are fighting their brother, whether it is their biological or metaphorical  brother. We are on this earth to help each other  we are  all brother and sisters. That is what brothers and sisters do, they help each other.
On a final note war is damaging to a person and to everyone who is apart of it.Soldiers are fighting everyday, they are fighting against their brother. Their mental is changing and so is their body. We do not know what people are thinking or how they feel. So everyone should just love each other. We should not go to war over the littlest things. Some things are worth fighting for. While little things are not. War is damaging mentally and physically.