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Coping mechanisms during war
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War has a massive effect on human beings. There are so many lessons people can learn when they go to war. And I am going to tell you some examples I found in both stories, “The Sniper” and “Cranes”. Both of these stories have lots of similarities and differences. And in the paragraphs below I am going to explain the importance of the many lessons I learned reading, Liam Flaherty’s “The Sniper” and Hwang Suwon’s “Cranes”. In the story Liam Flaherty “The Sniper”, a republican sniper was fighting a civil war. The Republican Sniper was on a rooftop near a bridge in the military crawl position, with his rifle over his shoulder, wearing a pair of field glasses. Later all the sudden he noticed a flash and a bullet whizzed over his the top of his
head. He noticed his enemy was on the rooftop across from him. Later in the story the Republican Sniper shot him, then found out that it was his brother. Unlike the story “Cranes” by Hwang Suwon the theme in “The Sniper” tells the reader how important it is to have a good relationship with your family. In contrast, the story “Cranes” had a main character named Songsam. This stories conflict was said to be a civil war in Dublin. His job as a police was his motive. During all this conflict in Dublin, Songsam had to transport his friend that he found innocent to prison. Later, at the end of the story Songsam let his friend free, making it look as if he ran away. Unlike “The Sniper” the theme in the story “Cranes” is that Friendship is more important that a simple situation. Contrarily, both stories have the same subject of civil war. Also in both stories Songsam and The Republican Sniper have close relationships with their enemy. Each main character learns something new. Also both stories have universal themes, “war turns men into subjects” and “friendships are very important”. In conclusion, a civil war is a conflict between two groups in the same country. Both “The Sniper” and “Cranes” have civil wars happening but different conflicts and themes. Both authors set different backgrounds to the stories. The stories have the same subject of war. Liam Flaherty “The Sniper” and, Hwang Suwon’s “cranes”.
‘The Things They Carried’ by Tim O’Brien provides a insider’s view of war and its distractions, both externally in dealing with combat and internally dealing with the reality of war and its effect on each solder. The story, while set in Vietnam, is as relevant today with the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan as it was in the 1960’s and 1970’s in Southeast Asia. With over one million soldiers having completed anywhere from one to three tours in combat in the last 10 years, the real conflict might just be inside the soldier. O’Brien reflects this in his writing technique, using a blend of fiction and autobiographical facts to present a series of short narratives about a small unit of soldiers. While a war story, it is also an unrequited love story too, opening with Jimmy Cross holding letters from a girl he hoped would fall in love with him. (O’Brien 1990).
In “The Sniper” the conflict is man vs man, which means main character is tasked with killing his enemy, but it proves to be quite a challenge. Even though there were many challenges the sniper followed through with his job and persevered even after he was shot in the arm. Wanting to kill his enemy, stay alive, and be one step closer to ending the war was his main goals. Being brave, he took off his hat, placed it on his gun, and raised it above the edge of the roof. Instantly the enemy shot at it and the sniper, pretending to be dead, waited until the enemy got up for him to shoot him. He did some quick thinking and, with determination, handled the conflict quite well.
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 the seemingly “wrong” plague this world and are the ones who are the ones who are the main reason for the plight. To aid in his creation of such emotional conflict, turmoil and plight, the author has portrayed the sniper as a very controversial character in the story. This story is oriented around one character in the Civil War which he should not even be in as he is. mentioned to be a “student” in the story.
“Soldier’s Home” by Ernest Hemingway and “Speaking of Courage” by Tim O’Brien are about two soldiers who have experienced war now coming back home, yet uncelebrated. Many people worry about what happens during war and what will become of their loved ones, but few realize what happens to those soldiers once they come home. These two short story's themes explore the effects of war and how impactful war is on a young person's life, from when the soldiers return home to the overall hardships and loneliness war has put upon them. The Soldiers Harold Krebs from “Soldier’s Home” and Paul Bowker from “Speaking of Courage” have many similarities and differences. Paul Bowker had fought in the Vietnam War, while Harold Krebs fought in WW1. Both Krebs and Bowker hold stories of their experiences in war and are sure they will be heroes when they come home, telling their heroic tales
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.
As we saw earlier, both authors of both stories were born in different places and did many things. “The Sniper” sets in Dublin, Ireland, during a time of a bitter civil war. It was a war between the Republicans, which wanted Ireland to become ...
He saw his old childhood friend. His childhood friend was a prisoner. He meets his friend and he volunteers to escort his friend. In both stories, a war is going on. The situation of the Sniper is more tragic right now. I think that the resolution of the cranes is most hopeful than “The Sniper”. Both characters learn similar lessons at the end of the story because at the end of the “Cranes”, he let his friend go and learns that family is more important that war and in “The Sniper”, he kills his enemy but he comes close he realizes that he killed his brother and he learns that war tear families apart.
The importance of using literary devices and characters to accentuate a theme makes the reader not only more interested in the story, but more engaged in the reading of the story so that the reader can picture what is happening. In his captivating story “How to Tell a True War Story,” author Tim O’Brien delineates that the theme of both the physical and emotional isolation of war can be used to create a war story through the fictional representation of Tim O’Brien, and his astute use of verbal irony and point of view. The character, Tim O’Brien, plays a very important part in “How to Tell a True War Story.” Here is a quote from Tim O’Brien in the story.
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.
Julianna Claire, an award winning poet once said, “War makes men act like fools, and makes fools pretend to be brave.” War is a very difficult and dangerous game. There must be a just cause to fight for, supporters on either side of the war, and clear plan on what the war ought to look like. Though, as much as countries plan their strategies and perfect their tactics, war never seems to go how people think it should. War creates heartache, makes countries question their governments, and changes the lives of the soldiers who fight in them. One such story that address the damages of war, is Ambush, by Tim O’Brien (1946). In this short story, Tim O’Brien tells a story of a young man fighting in Vietnam who kills a member of the Vietnam army. Robin Silbergleid, a neurosurgeon in Seattle, Washington, who minored in
During times of war, man is exposed to the most gruesome aspects of life such as death, starvation, and imprisonment. In some cases, the aftermath is even more disastrous, causing posttraumatic stress disorder, constant guilt, as well as physical and mental scarring, but these struggles are not the only things that humans can take away from the experience. War can bring out the appreciation of the little things in life, such as the safety people take for granted, the beauty of nature, and the kindness of others. These universal consequences of fighting all contribute to what war is really capable of doing, sometimes bringing out the best and worst in people, and constantly shaping society. In The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien goes through this himself when he writes about setting up base camp in the Vietnamese pagoda, the return to site of Kiowa’s death, the story about the old poppa-san guide, and Mitchell Sanders’ “moment of peace”. When O’Brien includes these stories, it is not to insert joy into a tragedy, but rather to create a more wholesome and authentic feel into a tough, realistic war story. O’Brien’s’ “sweet” stories are there to show the hope he had during war, and also serve as a universal example that even in the darkest tunnels, it is always possible to find rays of light.
The Sniper by Liam O’Flaherty explored the theme of how war can dehumanize those involved through the thoughts, actions, and names of the characters. The story began as O’Flaherty introduced the main character as a young Republican sniper fighting in the civil war of Dublin, Ireland. While waiting for enemies to appear, he began smoking a cigarette which draws an enemy sniper to shoot at him. In the rising action, he was forced to kill an old woman who informed on him and was shot in the arm by an enemy sniper immediately afterwards. His firing arm was disabled and he devised a clever plan to take down the enemy. At the climax, the sniper was forced to take a difficult shot with his revolver
Liam O’ Flaherty’s realistic fiction story, “The Sniper” takes place in Dublin, Ireland, where there is a civil war taking place. The main character whose name is unrevealed, is a sniper for the republican side of the civil war. Throughout the story the main character views the war differently than how he will towards the end. By the narrator’s use of description and
In the short story “The Sniper,” Liam O'Flaherty writes a short story about a Republic Sniper and he watches his victim, and kills them. In addition, there is a enemy that the sniper fights and kills, but later finds out that the enemy that he killed was his brother. One method the author uses to heighten the ironic ending is imagery. To demonstrate, to describe the Snipers emotions when he pulled the trigger, “ His hands trembled with eaegrness. Pressing his lips together he took a deep breath through his nostrils and fired” (2). This quote heightens the story's ironic ending by showing the snipers emotion. Moreover, this shows the snipers eagerness in killing the enemy. For instance, after successfully killing his enemy, the author wrote,”