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.