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The theme of the sniper
Irony in the sniper
The sniper literary analysis
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"War may sometimes be a necessary evil. But no matter how necessary, it is always an evil, and never a good..." (Jimmy Carter, Noble Lecture, December 10, 2002.) Liam O'Flaherty's, "The Sniper" is a short story written in 1919. During this time, the Irish Republic Army was in the midst of waging a war for independence from Ireland. In the story, a young sniper, who is patiently waiting, is faced with a one on one shoot out with the enemy sniper. After being hit by the opponent, the Republican sniper pretends to fall dead, but then suddenly delivers one deadly hit and kills the one who was shooting at him. In the end of the story, the readers find out that both snipers were brothers. Throughout this war torn story the author is able to help the readers understand the concept that war knows no boundaries. Through a descriptive setting, cunning situational irony, and through setting a proper mood this main idea is clearly brought to the attention of the readers.
The setting of the story is very good in helping the readers in understanding the main theme of war knowing no bound...
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.
O’Brien, Tim. “How To Tell a True War Story.” The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature. Ed. Michael Meyer. Boston: Bedford St. Martins, 2003. p. 420-429.
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.
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 ...
The main character of “The Sniper” is the republican sniper and the main character of the “Cranes” is Songsam. In “The Sniper”, the sniper is in a war and he is trying to kill his enemy. At the beginning of the story, he is on a rooftop near O’Connell Bridge lay watching. Beside him lay his rifle and over his shoulders was slung pair of field glasses. He looked like he was a student. He was self disciplined but was extremely devoted towards the war. He was eating a sandwich because he eaten nothing since morning. He is going to smoke but he paused and thought whether he should or shouldn’t but he did. In the “Cranes”, Korean War is going on. During this war, many villages along the thirty-eighth parallel changed hands several times.
O’Brien, Tim. “How To Tell a True War Story.” The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature. Ed. Michael Meyer. Boston: Bedford St. Martins, 2003. p. 420-429.
during the war. This novel is able to portray the overwhelming effects and power war has
When the war breaks out, this tranquil little town seems like the last place on earth that could produce a team of vicious, violent soldiers. Soon we see Jim thrown into a completely contrasting `world', full of violence and fighting, and the strong dissimilarity between his hometown and this new war-stricken country is emphasised. The fact that the original setting is so diversely opposite to that if the war setting, the harsh reality of the horror of war is demonstrated.
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
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.
This whole story is based around the horrors and actions which take place during war, and we therefore get involved in the scenery of war and become very familiar of what the characters must feel.
The setting to “The Sniper” plays a vital role in understanding the meaning O’Flaherty was trying to convey. The main character is sitting on a rooftop near O’Connell Bridge in Dublin Ireland. During the Irish Civil War, the river that flowed beneath the bridge, was the dividing line in the Battle of Dublin. From the beginning, when civilians watched the opening attacks from atop the bridge, to the end, when it shook from the final bombing that forced the Republicans to surrender, the bridge was a key factor to the end result of the war. (Black,