Liam O Flaherty's The Sniper

Having an afternoon smoke becomes a lousy choice for an Irish Republican soldier in the short story “The Sniper” by Liam O’Flaherty because it almost costs him his life. A Republican sniper lights his cigarette when moments later, a bullet whizzes past his body. After some shooting in the street, the Free State sniper from across the street shoots again, this time the Republican sniper is wounded in the arm. The Republican sniper nurses his wound and tricks the enemy sniper into thinking he is dead. Armed with a revolver, the Republican sniper then kills the other sniper once the Free State sniper moves out from his hideaway. The remaining sniper begins to wonder who this other man is. The Sniper demonstrates resourcefulness, battle weariness,

and bravery clearly in this short story.

Being tested with hardships and obstacles, the sniper clearly demonstrates his resourcefulness.

The author writes, “A paroxysm of pain swept through him. He placed the cotton wadding over the wound and wrapped the dressing over it. He tied the ends with his teeth” (12). The Republican sniper is not only able dress a wound, but one of his own with only one arm using his excellent skills as a soldier. The Sniper is able to push through the pain and keep on going all by himself. The author writes that “He must kill that enemy and he could not use his rifle. He had only a revolver to do it. Then he thought of a plan” (12). The Sniper knows that his rifle is useless due to his injured arm so his options are limited. Only one man will walk away alive and the Sniper know that he is at a disadvantage. He must outsmart the other man. In dealing with an injured arm and outsmart the enemy, the Sniper and his resourcefulness live to see another

day.

After experiencing war for some time the Sniper becomes battle weary. The author writes, “The sniper looked at his enemy falling and shuddered. The lust of battle died in him. He became bitten by remorse” (13). The match is over and the Republican Sniper has succeeded, but victory is not without its consequences. The Sniper is exhausted and starts to feel the emotional repercussions for what he has done. He starts to feel the trauma from killing another human, who has family and friends. The author writes that “His teeth chattered, he began to gibber to himself, cursing the war, cursing himself, cursing everybody” (13). The war turns everybody into some animal and the Sniper begins to realise that. The sniper has let himself become an animal and kill people, and in the process he starts to lose part of himself. War and the act of killing start to chip away at the Sniper, leaving him in anguish.

Bravery is what you do despite the fear you have, and the Sniper has demonstrated bravery through his courageous acts.

The author writes, “It was dangerous. The flash might be seen in the darkness, and there were enemies watching. He decided to take the risk” (10). The Sniper realises that what he is doing is risky, but he disregards the warning from his brain and continues on. The Sniper knows what the enemy looks for as he lights his cigarette anyway. The author says that “The sniper darted across the street. A machine gun tore up the ground around him with a hail of bullets, but he escaped” (14). There are people out there ready to shoot him but the Sniper decides to go out and see who the other soldier was. As bullets rain down on the Sniper, he courageously rushes on, even though his life is at risk. The Sniper’s bravery is exposed in his ability to stay calm and keep his composure until the job is

completed.

Injured the Sniper manages to bandage his own wound and outsmart the other sniper. He goes on to risk his life to get a glimpse at the other sniper's identity. In the short story, he also shows how tired of war he is. After killing the other sniper he is distraught and exasperated. The Sniper manages to walk away alive due to his resourcefulness.