liam oflahertys the sniper

952 Words2 Pages

"Then he lay still against the parapet, and, closing his eyes, he made an effort of will to overcome the pain." (O'Flaherty) Although the war destroys homes, it destroys countries, and also destroys lives, the terror of the civil war is overwhelming. The short story "The Sniper" written by Liam O'Flaherty, explains not only the physical pain, but also the mental effects of war.
Liam O'Flaherty, born August 28th 1896 in Inishmore, Ireland and died September 7th 1984 in Dublin Ireland. Liam's work was a combination of brutal naturalism, psychological analysis, poetry, and biting satire with an abiding respect for the courage and persistence of the Irish People. He was considered to be a leading figure of the Irish Renaissance, Liam abandoned his training for the priesthood on a varied varied career as a soldier in World War 1 and America, Canada, the United States and the Middle East. He labored in such occupations as lumberjack, hotel porter, miner, factory worker, dishwasher, band clerk, and deckhand. After taking part in the revolutionary activities in Ireland, Liam settled in England in 1922, he returned to Dublin in the mid-1920's. His books include "The Nighbor's Wife his successful first novel; "The Black Soul" the story of a tormented former soldier who seeks tranquility on a remote western isle; "The informer" (1925; adapted as an oscar-winning film by John Ford, 1935) about a confused revolutionary who betrays his friend during the Irish "troubles"; "Skerrett" a critically acclaimed story of conflict between a parish priest and a teacher; "Famine" a re-creation of the effect of the Irish Famine of the 1840's ont he individuals of a small community; short stories; "Insurrection" a novel dealing with the Easter Risin...

... middle of paper ...

...s own way, writing. O'Flaherty explained to his audience the pain he went through during the Irish Civil War, but it could also be on behalf of every other soldier as well. O'Flaherty writes, "Almost immediately a bullet flattened itself against the parapet of the roof." In the story, O'Flaherty tries to teach his audience to completely ignore war.
The short story "The Sniper" by Liam O'Flaherty, explains that all wars are found evil and are known to destroy everything, homes, loved ones, lives, countries, states, everything you can imagine. In this essay, it explains the background of O'Flaherty the theme of the short story, the irony, the tone, the symbol, the metaphors, and the didactic meaning of the story. O'Flaherty explains the dangers and horrors of the war. Everything you believe to be doing right for your country, turns out to be wrong for yourself.

Show More
Related

  • Character Comparison in Tim O'Brien's "The Things They Carried"

    556 Words  | 2 Pages

    The author, Tim O'Brien, is writing about an experience of a tour in the Vietnam conflict. This short story deals with inner conflicts of some individual soldiers and how they chose to deal with the realities of the Vietnam conflict, each in their own individual way as men, as soldiers.

    Read More

  • The Guilt They Carried in Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried

    1414 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the aftermath of a comparatively minor misfortune, all parties concerned seem to be eager to direct the blame to someone or something else. It seems so easy to pin down one specific mistake that caused everything else to go wrong in an everyday situation. However, war is a vastly different story. War is ambiguous, an enormous and intangible event, and it cannot simply be blamed for the resulting deaths for which it is indirectly responsible. Tim O’Brien’s story, “In the Field,” illustrates whom the soldiers turn to with the massive burden of responsibility for a tragedy. The horrible circumstances of war transform all involved and tinge them with an absurd feeling of personal responsibility as they struggle to cope.

    Read More

  • Fly Away Peter by David Malouf

    581 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Sniper by Liam O'Flaherty

    411 Words  | 1 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Similarities And Differences Between The Things They Carried And The Yellow Wallpaper

    1006 Words  | 3 Pages

    After an event of large magnitude, it still began to take its toll on the protagonist as they often “carried all the emotional baggage of men who might die” during the war (O’Brien 1187). The travesties that occurred with the brutality of war did not subside and began to affect those involved in a deeply emotional way. The multitude of disastrous happenings influenced the narrator to develop a psychological handicap to death by being “afraid of dying” although being “even more afraid to show it” (O’Brien 1187). The burden caused by the war creates fear inside the protagonist’s mind, yet if he were to display his sense of distress it would cause a deeper fear for those around him, thus making the thought of exposing the fear even more frightening. The emotional battle taking place in the psyche of the narrator is directly repressed by the war.

    Read More

  • Loss of soldier identity

    2537 Words  | 6 Pages

    ...ust deal with similar pains. Through the authors of these stories, we gain a better sense of what soldiers go through and the connection war has on the psyche of these men. While it is true, and known, that the Vietnam War was bloody and many soldiers died in vain, it is often forgotten what occurred to those who returned home. We overlook what became of those men and of the pain they, and their families, were left coping with. Some were left with physical scars, a constant reminder of a horrible time in their lives, while some were left with emotional, and mental, scarring. The universal fact found in all soldiers is the dramatic transformation they all undergo. No longer do any of these men have a chance to create their own identity, or continue with the aspirations they once held as young men. They become, and will forever be, soldiers of the Vietnam War.

    Read More

  • All Quiet on the Western Front

    1386 Words  | 3 Pages

    ... horrors of war such as, his parents who still view war as glamorous and idealistic. War takes a heavy toll on soldiers who fight in it and in these dangerous moments anybody would have gone insane. It takes a very special type of soldier to be able to handle both the psychological and physical challenges that a soldier has to face in everyday battle. A soldier such as this must be capable of handling the sight of a mutilated comrade and not immediately chatter to pieces. The author conveys this message in his extreme use of words with negative connotation such as shells, typhus, dysentery, and trenches. In this portion of the novel a great deal of emphasis is placed on the word death which is repeated several times and standing on its own it holds a great deal of negative connotations. Therefore, due to the severity of the situation and the extensive use of words with negative connotations the overall tone of the novel appeared to be very depressing or serious. This selection also demonstrates just how mythical the character of war that many individuals who have not experienced the tragedy of battle believe to be true by illustrating just how appalling and grim war is in reality.

    Read More

  • The Things They Carried and Unbroken: Comprehending the Incomprehensible Pain of War

    1050 Words  | 3 Pages

    Individuals everywhere grimace at war. Images of the strike of the gun, the burst of the bombs, and the clash of the soldiers all elicit a wince and a shiver. Moviegoers close their eyes during gory battle scenes and open them again only once the whine of the bullets stops rattling in their ears. War is hell, as the common aphorism goes, and the pain of war is equally hellish. Most individuals naturally accept this conclusion despite never experiencing war themselves. Without enduring the actual pain of war injuries, individuals still argue the importance war and its miseries. Individuals rely on media and entertainment for education about the suffering and evils of war. Writers provide an acute sense of a soldier’s physical and mental burdens through vivid imagery and relatable metaphors. Books can express the seemingly inexpressible pain of war through graphic descriptions. Individuals may then assess war—its how and why, its causes and effects—with greater insight. The writer may use the audience’s acquired understanding of war’s pain to address the significance of suffering. Through the clarity and horror of war descriptions, a writer may successfully convey the pain of war and his or her perspective and purpose to a general audience. Through the use of startling imagery, both Tim O’Brien in The Things They Carried and Laura Hillenbrand in Unbroken effectively recreate the pain of war for an audience which could not otherwise fathom its magnitude. However, while O’Brien uses his descriptions to criticize the evils which cause the pain, Hillenbrand employs her equally vivid images to praise the resilience which results from the pain.

    Read More

  • Flannery O'connor

    1313 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the mid 1900’s, America experienced many changes, from society and politics to religion and literature. Countries were facing the aftermath of World War II, and authors of the time reflected on how the world was dealing with the changes. Flannery O’Connor, a prominent Catholic writer from the South, was one of the many who examined society and shared their philosophies. O’Connor shocked her twentieth century readers with the haunting style and piercing questions in her short stories and novels, which were centered on a combination of her life experiences, her deep Catholic faith, and the literature of the time.

    Read More

  • The Man I Killed, By Tim O’Brien

    1200 Words  | 3 Pages

    The detailed descriptions of the dead man’s body show the terrible costs of the war in a physical aspect. O’Brien’s guilt almost takes on its own rhythm in the repetition of ideas, phrases, and observations about the man’s body. Some of the ideas here, especially the notion of the victim being a “slim, young, dainty man,” help emphasize O’Brien’s fixation on the effects of his action—that he killed someone who was innocent and not meant to be fighting in the war. At the same time, his focus on these physical characteristics, rather than on his own feelings, betrays his attempt to keep some distance in order to dull the pain. The long, unending sentences force the reader to read the deta...

    Read More

  • MLA ESSAY

    1181 Words  | 3 Pages

    War has a definite effect on the mentality of a soldier, so much so that many result in insanity during or after the leave of combat. Timothy Findley’s The Wars, portrays the “stupidity, futility and the horror of the terrible losses of the First World War, describing war as an image of the worst that can be within a man” (Anne Nothof Interview). Findley portrays mental aspects as well as physical, that lead to Robert Ross’ demises, specifically, the conditions of war, overall aspect of war taking someone’s life and the feeling of loneliness and silence.

    Read More

  • The Horrors of War

    731 Words  | 2 Pages

    Unending exchange of bullets coming from rifles of the soldiers, a mother lamenting for the death of her young boy who goes to war, and great toll of loss life both of the soldiers and civilians- all these are not enough to describe the horrors brought by the war, but, these are enough to illustrate the price, expensive price, paid in war.

    Read More

  • Liam O 'Flaherty's The Sniper'

    529 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the “The Sniper” by Liam O’Flaherty, the main character’s role was to protect and serve for his nation and its citizens. For example, when the republican got shot, he

    Read More

  • Here Bullet Brian Turner

    472 Words  | 1 Pages

    How bad must war get for a soldier to want death? This wanting for death is shown in Brian Turner’s “Here, Bullet.” Brian Turner was a U.S. soldier in the Iraq war. Before he became a soldier, he earned a degree in creative writing. He wrote a series of poems while he was deployed in Iraq. One of these poems was “Here,Bullet.” This essay will be analyzing the imagery and personification in this poem.

    Read More

  • The Sniper Essay

    702 Words  | 2 Pages

    Liam O'Flaherty’s “The Sniper” is a story recounting a young Irish man working as a sniper during the Irish Civil War. A young republican sniper lay on a rooftop near O'Connell Bridge watching

    Read More

More about liam oflahertys the sniper

Open Document