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 …show more content…
As stated by Encyclopedia Britannica, ”he abandoned his training to participate in World War I and he experienced first hand the events of the war. By using his personal knowledge and experiences, he provides authenticity and realism to his stories such as “The Sniper”. Furthermore, O’Flaherty’s antiwar sentiment only increased after his experiences with the war. He became a strong proponent for progressive agendas at the time, and he displayed this in his writings. O’Flaherty’s works have been described as “Works combining vivid and brutal realism, psychological analysis, poetry, and biting satire with an enduring respect for the courage of the Irish people”. With this information, biographical criticism may be used in order to delve deeper into the meaning of the text and explain the reason behind O’Flaherty’s usage of specific literary devices and symbolism to relay his …show more content…
This factor is used to ultimately deliver O'Flaherty's message on antiwar sentiment and show how trivial war can be with the death of the enemy sniper. In the story, the main sniper feels a sense of relief and joy after successfully eliminating the enemy sniper. After the main sniper successfully hits the enemy sniper, the narrator says “Then when the smoke cleared, he peered across and uttered a cry of joy. his enemy had been hit”. However, he soon realizes the consequences of his actions as he fully recognizes the severity of his actions when “the sniper turned over the dead body and looked into his brother's face”. This emphasizes how the main sniper was unaware of the potential consequences of his actions and he only truly came to terms with them when they were quite literally staring him in the face This sentiment is similar to the one that many who fight in war face the detachment and dehumanization of one another lead people to hurt others because they are stuck in a war that they can only fight their way out
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.
Author Tim O’Brien in “How to Tell a True War Story” uses the physical and mental mindset of isolation in the Vietnam war to create a story with many literary devices that makes a captivating story. The author uses point of view, verbal irony, and the character Tim O’Brien to enhance his written experiences of the Vietnam War. This story teaches the reader that experiences that were lived by the reader can be altered by the mind to a certain extent, where they can be questioned as true or not. Perhaps at a sports game or in a heated situation such as a police chase or court case. Tim O’Brien’s experiences have captivated many readers, but are they true? Or just a product of insanity from war? Well, Tim O’Brien leaves that up to the reader to decide.
As a socialistic society we live in we find ourselves in positions were conflicts arise between friends or family. 'The Sniper'; was written by Liam O ' Flaherty to express a subtle yet powerful opinion on such a conflict. With references this essay will analyse the short story bringing to light the structure used to contribute to the theme.
To contrast truth and fiction, the author inserts reminders that the stories are not fact, but are mere representations of human emotion incommunicable as fact. O'Brien's most direct discussion of truth appears in Good Form. He begins with, "It's time to be blunt," and goes on to say that everything in the book but the very premise of a foot soldier in Vietnam is invented. This comes as a shock after reading what seems to be a stylized presentation of fact. In the sequence of Speaking of Courage, followed by Notes, O'Brien adds a second dimension of truth to a story so vivid that the reader may have already accepted it as the original truth.
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.
The mood of the story is dark and weary. In this scene the sky is gloomy and there are Republican and Free Starter soldiers fighting in the Irish Civil war, “The long June twilight faded into the night. Dublin lay enveloped in darkness but for the dim light of the moon that shone through the fleecy clouds.. machine guns and rifles broke the silence of the night, spasmodically” (O’Flaherty 1). Although the mood of the story is creepy and dim for the most part, it is silent with the sudden sounds of guns firing. As the story progresses, the sniper’s emotions begin reflecting on his actions. He begins to feel guilt and remorse for killing someone and the mood shifts to tension and violence.
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.
Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado” is a horror story about revenge and murder that occurred half a century ago. Through the haunting confession of the narrator, Montresor, the reader is able to feel what Fortunato had endured half a century ago. In this tale of revenge and murder the dark, damp, and bone-filled catacombs provide a contrast to life during the “madness of the carnival” (553).
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).
War is a very controversial dilemma, which could be solved in an orderly fashion rather then a callous disaster where young men and women die. This cataclysmic story takes place in a short story written by Liam O'Flaherty, the story takes place in Dublin, Ireland during the 1920's where a Republican sniper is involved with a terrible accident. He suffers dramatic injury to the soul and heart when someone that he loves dearly is shot. The story's theme is intensified through situational irony, which shows the pointlessness of armed conflict.
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