Civil War is a horrible time for anyone involved. “The Sniper,” by Liam O’Flaherty, and “Cranes,” by Hwang Sunwon, represent this with hardships that the main characters face. Both stories take place during a civil war, but each of the main characters are in unique situations. The Sniper, from “The Sniper,” is exchanging gunfire, with an enemy on a rooftop during The Irish Civil War. Whereas, Sungsam, from “Cranes,” is escorting one of his greatest childhood friends to a different village as a prisoner of war. The themes in these stories are very similar, There is no real winner in times of war.
The Sniper is exchanging gunfire on a rooftop near O’connell Bridge against his enemy- the Free-staters. He lays anxiously, waiting to see who will
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shoot next. An armored car advanced slowly up the street after crossing the bridge, and an old woman came around the corner. It turns out she was an informer. She pointed towards the sniper, but the sniper didn’t hesitate and he fired towards her. This shows how it doesn't affect him to kill anyone. He was heartless, the story states, “They were deep and thoughtful, the eyes of a man who is used to looking at death.” (O’Flaherty, 262) Suddenly, from the other side of the roof, he was shot at. The bullet went straight to his forearm. He tries to clean it, but it's useless. He thinks of an alternative plan to trick the free-stater. His plan works, and he lies there as if he is dead. He starts crawling away, and uses his revolver to kill the free-stater. Afterward, the sniper feels deep remorse for his enemies. He no longer has a desire for battle, and he begins to curse himself and the war. He feels curious as to who he killed. He decided to take the risk, and go take a look at him. Just as he turns the dead body over to reveal his face, he realized he had just shot his brother. He learns war is greater than family, he had just shot his brother without even knowing it. This goes back to what was said in the introduction paragraph, There is no real winner in times of war. The republicans may be beating the free-staters right now, but The Sniper will forever have to live with the loss of his brother. Songsam, a soldier in the 1950s civil war, lives in a village near the 38th parallel.
The story states, “The village as a whole showed few traces of destruction from the war, but it did not seem like the same village Songsam had known as a boy.” (Sunwon, 272) ALthough the war has not significantly affected the land, it has had a lasting impact on Songsam, and any of the other villagers involved. Songsam sons spots his childhood best friend. He is a vice-chairman of the Farmers Communist League, his name is Tokchae. His resentment against the North motivates him to take Tokchae to Chongdan, would he would be killed. But after Songsam has a conversation with him, and thinks about all of their good times together as kids, such as crane trapping, he realizes he doesn’t want to kill Tokchae. Now, Songsam is undergoing an internal conflict: Is he loyal to his country of friend? He recalls the day of letting their crane go that they had caught and took care of. He learns his friendship is stronger than any war, and he would rather betray his country than his best friend. Songsam suddenly decides to stop for a crane hunt. He decides to “make a trap” with the rope tying Tokchae’s hands together, but he is really letting him free. Tokchae was stunned, he thought a bullet was going to go through his head at any second, he couldn't believe Songsam was letting him go. Songsam tells him to go flush the crane, and just then, he catches on. The story states, “A couple of Tanjong cranes
soared high into the clear blue autumn sky, fluttering their huge wings.” (Sunwon 272) The cranes represent Sungsam and Tokchae flying free. This ties into the theme, There is no real winner in times of war. Songsam and Tokchae feel like they have just won, but Songsam betrayed his country, and that is a loss. Both stories are about civil wars that can change one’s life. In “The Sniper,” the sniper goes through a few different conflicts, and does something he will never forget. In “Cranes,” Songsam helps his best friend, and it will change his view on war forever. Overall, in both stories, the main characters suffer many hardships, which could potentially change their life for the better or worse. There is no real winner in times of war.
The novel, “Shiloh” by Shelby Foote is a fictional recreation of the bloody battle. The story begins with the soldiers of the Confederate Army heading towards Pittsburg Landing. The men are marching in terrible conditions. It is pouring down rain and they are dragging their tired legs through the mud. The troops come to a halt so the commanders can talk to General Johnston. General Johnston says the only way they might have a chance is if they plan a surprise attack. As the sergeants hand the men their guns, they are told to check the powder in case it got wet in the rain. A group of soldiers test their guns out on a deer running close by. At the same time the shots were fired, the sun came out and the soldiers started to scream and cheer. These noises combined were more than enough to alert the Union soldiers of the Confederates advance. Palmer remembers what his life was like before going to war. He attended the Louisiana State Military Academy when the Confederacy seceded from the Union. One of his professors predicted the south did not have a chance of winning the war. That night Palmer dreams of holding Sherman at gunpoint making him admit that he was wrong. Prior to the battle, the commanders create a battle plan. Palmer is assigned a part in this process. When the plan fails, Palmer learns that planning a battle is more difficult than it seems because the commanders on the ground face challenges that do not exist on paper.
The Killer Angles The novel The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara depicts the story behind one of bloodiest and highly significant battle of the American Civil War. The Battle of Gettysburg consisted of 51,000-casualties between the Union and Confederate army forces. Mainly focused on letters, journal entries, and memoirs, Shaara tells the story of Gettysburg by using characters from both sides of the “spectrum”, the Confederate and Union army. These characters grasp the revolving points of view regarding the impending days of the war. Countless numbers of those views develop from characters throughout the novel. The characters include the Confederates own General Lee, General Longstreet; the Unions own Colonel Chamberlain, and soldiers from
The book “For cause and comrades” written by James M McPherson is not one of your typical civil war books. This book is completely different than what everyone would expect, McPherson tries to explain the why of the war behind the scenes of it. He goes into great detail onto how dissects the initial reason of both sides North and South by concentrating not on battlefield tactics and leaders but what emotional and great experiences the men had to face in the battle field.
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.
The novel The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara depicts the story behind one of the bloodiest, and highly significant, battles of the American Civil War, the battle of Gettysburg. The battle consisted of 51,000-casualties between the Union and Confederate army forces. Mainly focused on letters, journal entries, and memoirs, Shaara tells the story of Gettysburg by using characters from both sides of the war. The characters chosen grasp the divergent views regarding the impending days of the war, and countless numbers of those views develop throughout the novel. Such views come from the Confederates own General Lee and General Longstreet, and the Unions own Colonel Chamberlain and soldiers from both sides. From those depicted
The essay, “Grant and Lee” written by Bruce Catton presented an exceptional portrait of two patriots serving under a different flag, but fighting the same war. The war tested the ideology of the two men; especially with Lee upholding the aristocracy of the South and Grant shouldering the North under his command. Furthermore, the Civil war served as the test for the nation to keep people from deteriorating since the founding of America in 1776 after the revolutionary war. The men share a common interest of serving their country even if they go against each other.
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, which people want to destroy. The Sniper How does the author depict the turmoil and plight in a war-torn city? in “The Sniper”? Anger, pain, death and remorse- all unpleasant, but all are faced and. handled in every war.
This type of novel is recommended for anyone interested in the Civil War. Not too many books explore the southern battles, especially from a Confederates soldier’s point of view. Bahr does an excellent job at capturing the essence of the Civil War and its affects on the people involved. The novel was nominated for several awards, earning the Harold D. Vursell Memorial Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, Gettysburg College, won the Book-of-the-Month Club, and was a New York Times Notable Book. The book showed some popularity and sold 10,000 copies, but was heavily overshadowed by another...
Another similarity in the setting is that both short stories take place in a war setting, the Vietnam war and the Ireland war. The characters in the two short stories have pretty equal similarities and differences. One of the big differences between the two characters is that one is a republican sniper and the other is a soldier. Another one of the differences between the two short stories is that the soldier in Ambush is scared and nervous about killing but the sniper in The Sniper is excited. “ He had been too excited to eat.”
“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
“The Sniper” and “The Most Dangerous” Game are both different stories, written by different authors. Liam O’Flaherty is the author of “The Sniper”. He was born on one of Ireland’s Aran Islands, in a large family. Since the Aran Islands have a tradition of oral storytelling, Liam O’Flaherty’s house was full of different kinds of stories. He also wrote about Irish peasant life and captured the struggles of the Irish Civil War. His best known novel is “The Informal”, and it talks about a betrayal set during the Irish Troubles.
Though in his short life Stephen Crane was never a soldier, his novel The Red Badge of Courage was commended by Civil War veterans as well as veterans from more recent wars not only for its historical accuracy but its ability to capture the psychological evolution of those on the field of battle (Heizberg xvi). Walt Whitman, on the other hand, served as a field medic during the Civil War. He was exposed perhaps to the most gruesome aspect of the war on a daily basis: the primitive medical techniques, the wounded, the diseased, the dying and the dead. Out of his experiences grew a collection of poems, "Drum Taps" , describing the horrors he had witnessed and that America suffered. As literary artists, a wide chasm of structure and style separates Crane and Whitman. The common cultural experience, the heritage of the Civil War connects them, throwing a bridge across the darkness, allowing them, unilaterally, to dispel notions of glorious battles and heroic honorable deaths. By examining Crane's Henry Fleming and the wound dresser from 'Whitman's poem of the same name, both fundamental literary differences and essential thematic consistencies emerge.
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.
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,