The Sniper

Summary:

The short story, The Sniper, written by Liam O'Flaherty starts off with boy in Dublin, who is amid a civil war between the Republicans and the Free Staters. The story begins with the Sniper evaluating his surroundings, talking about the clouds and the sounds of machine guns and rifles resonating around him. Even though it may be deadly, he decided to smoke a cigarette, not worrying about the fact that he may be spotted, and he was shot at because of it. He then realized that his enemy, was under cover. The action truly began when an armored car comes down the street and stopped to talk to an old woman, who was reporting for the enemy side. The sniper shot both the man in the turret, and the old woman. Just a moment after he shot the two, someone on the opposite roof shot at him, which fractured his arm.

Due to the lack of caution he practiced, he was shot. He could not feel his arm, so to stop the blood flow, he quickly dressed his wound and created a plan to kill the Free Stater on the other roof. The climax of the text was reached when he executed his plan by putting his cap onto the top of his rifle to make the illusion of a person, which the enemy believed and shot. He then let the hat tumble and his hand dangle out. The enemy thought that the Ssniper had really died and let his guard down. Just as the enemy looks over the turret, the Sniper lifts his gun and shoots the enemy, killing him. The falling action occurs when the Sniper no longer wants to be a part of the war, and throws his rifle onto the ground, almost getting shot again in the process. The street was now quiet, and the sniper becomes curious to see who he had shot. When the sniper descends from the roof and turns over the body, he realizes that the boy he had killed was his brother.

Theme:

The theme which the author is trying to convey in this text is that war can hurt the people one love. Because the Sniper strongly believed that the Republican side of the civil war was the right side, he thought of the Free Staters as the enemy. By shooting the boy on the opposite side of the roof, he felt as he had gotten his anger out, and no longer wanted to fight. However, he did not realize the person he had taken his anger out on was his own brother. This shows how war can hurt the people one loves, because one looks for a way to release the pent up anger they have on a certain subject. However, during the process of releasing the anger, the people around you can be hurt, whether it be physically, mentally, or emotionally. 

Media Influences on the Real World

Article: http://intra.iam.hva.nl/content/1213/propedeuse/maatschappij_en_interactie/lesprogramma/Grossman_Teaching-Kids-To-Kill-1999.pdf
Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kEL_LRBSqk

Connections:
Often times, we hear about violence occurring in schools and we do not think much of it. We feel sad or depressed for a few moments, possibly even hours, but we don't think about what could have caused the person to lash out on someone else. In the article (link posted above) the author reported a case study in which a boy learned how to shoot a gun himself, and had the resolution to go and shoot eight people in school. The author thinks that the reason the boy knew how to kill and put the theory to action was because of modern media and video games. Because of virtual reality video games that revolve around violence, children learn how to do things they shouldn't. Often times, we see children playing games which have been rated according to maturity level, which they should not be playing. I know for a fact that some of my cousins play games that they should not be playing, because they are too young to understand the meaning behind them. the author then wrote that children begin truly understanding the world at eight months. Up until about they are six-seven years old, everything they see or her is permanently imprinted onto their brain. They may not recall exactly what it is, but what they saw or heard at that age influences them as they get older. The author then wrote that after fifteen years, children who witnessed rape, assault, or murder on television ended up committing crimes in the real world. This comes to show that at a young age, the things you learn will forever be with you, so it is important to begin with positivity as a base, while you still can. In the video Ishmael Beah was made into a child soldier at age thirteen, and it took him two years to get out of the rebel army in the Sierra Leone civil war, and lost his entire family. It took him time to heal, and UNICEF had taken him in to rehab to try and undo the evils that Beah was exposed to. Beah is yet to overcome what he went through, and because he was so traumatized at a young age, he has been haunted by it ever since. The article also talks about tactics that the military uses to try and make soldiers able enough to kill. Because people become blinded by rage, they resort to forcing people to believe what they want them to. For example, in the video, Beah mentioned that the child soldiers in Sierra Leone were drugged enough to make them numb to their surroundings, and able enough to kill innocent people. However, the article shows the thinking behind the things that children witness everyday, and the video talked about what it was actually like to be a part of the crimes that happened.

Challenges:
While people may assume that media is what influences young children to commit crimes, it is not the only thing. Things that children experience may also impact some of the decisions that they make. For example, if a child witnesses violence within a family, or have a violent parent, this may result in them becoming violent as well. Also, things like assuming that a girl is less violent than a boy may potentially increase or decrease how violent a child is. By continuously telling a child that they cannot do something because they are unable, will destroy willpower in a child and they will eventually begin to believe it. The child will try to lash out at try to make others believe that they can do it, and they will be proved wrong time and time again. This means that media is not the only thing that could potentially change a child's character. All in all, environment can also impact they way that a child thinks for up to two decades of their lives.

Concepts:
I think that the fact that children play games that aren't appropriate to their age level is something that should be considered. Also, things that adults watch on television should not be seen or heard by young children, as it may influence them in a negative way. By changing what children can and cannot watch on television, much of teen violence may be avoided. Just as how there is a ban on under aged children to smoke, or drink alcohol, there should be a law on what types of video games they are allowed to play. However, Beah was not exposed to these atrocities, yet he was still dragged into something that no one should have to experience at such a young age. But, his drive for change made him able enough to get back on the right path, despite his torturous past. I believe the one thing that one should hold on to from the video should be that one can change their path towards negativity in less than a second, but it takes much longer for one to bring themselves back onto the right path.

Changes:
After reading both the article and watching Beah's interview, I believe that media is what everything comes down to. The way that the civil war in Sierra Leone is picturized is not the way it actually is. On the news, channels do not really show the barbarity behind what children who are a part of the civil war go through. Also, just as ingredient labels are placed on all packaged foods, and are followed accordingly, video game labels should be the same. By following and reading the labels, and being strict on what types of games children can play, teen violence could be avoided. That is not to say that it will be erased entirely, however. It is entirely possible for children and teens to find a new way to discover new types of violence.

War Torn South Sudan Cracks Down: Media Rights

http://news.yahoo.com/war-torn-south-sudan-cracks-down-media-rights-093336470.html;_ylt=A0LEV0IbZttUYVEAIC5x.9w4


Journalists are under pressure because of newspapers that are being closed down and reporters who are being attacked in southern Sudan. Because of the Civil war which is ongoing in the country. tens of thousands of people have died, and people who are a part of rights groups have warned journalists that securities have put restrictions on what they can and cannot publish.In the Sudanese capital, five journalists were caught in an ambush. On February 3rd, a Sudanese newspaper, known as The Nation Mirror, was shut down because they had published an article about anti-governance. The article in the newspaper stated that the war troops had receded from the border of Renk, which caused tension to arise. Another newspaper, the Juba Monitor, was also a part of conflict. In one of their published articles, a journalist reported that the war was caused because of ethnic divisions. CPJ or the Committee to Protect Journalists said that the security forces did not have any legal rights to shut down theses newspapers. Along with the ethnic divisions incident, the Juba Monitor was also involved with another conflict. A reporter, by the name of Athiang John, was beaten by crowds, because he was researching about a recent attack. The CPJ have requested the authorities to continue to let The Nation Mirror continue to publish, but they have yet to receive any response from the information ministry. In December 2013, war broke out under President Kiir, when he accused his past deputy of attempting to be reckless. Sudan, the youngest nation of the world, has yet to overcome this Civil war.

This article showed me that people living in a newly developed country not only have to fight for their rights in the world, they also have to fight for their rights in their own country. Despite being in a larger conflict, smaller conflicts arise when a country wishes to become independent. While people may be fighting for the same cause, different viewpoints of the cause may influence people to try to force others to see they way they do. Every person has a different opinion, and by expressing it, one may be dragged into something they did not think possible.

I learned that viewpoints on a larger scale may be the same, but as the topic of interest becomes less and less broad, the viewpoints begin to differ greatly, and people lash out to get what they want.