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Comparing The Sniper 'And The Man He Killed'

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“Mankind must put an end to war before war puts an end to mankind.” President John Fitzgerald Kennedy said to the United Nations General Assembly, on September 25th, 1961. This quote is saying that the killing of soldiers in war will soon destroy all. This relates to both stories because both soldiers regretted killing someone. In O’Flaherty’s “The Sniper” and Hardy’s “The Man He Killed” both works use plot, irony, and theme to portray the idea that war causes you to kill those you care or may have cared about. There are many similarities and differences In the plot of both “The Sniper” and “The Man He Killed”, there are many similarities and differences. A similarity in “The Sniper” is when the sniper realized he had took a risky shot …show more content…

One similarity in O’Flaherty’s piece is the sniper’s thoughts about how war is painful and can rip people apart. “His teeth chattered, he began to gibber to himself, cursing the war, cursing himself, cursing everybody...and looked into his brother’s face” (O’Flaherty, 208). This quote talks about how the sniper felt after seeing his enemy fall off the roof from being shot and then once he identifies the body as his brother,he realizes how war can truly tear families apart. Another similarity based on theme in the poem “The Man He Killed” by Thomas Hardy. The soldier realizes near the end of the poem that war is full of suffering and can tear friends apart. “You’d treat if met where any bar is, Or help to half-a-crown” (Hardy 5). This quote is saying that if you were to meet an enemy anywhere else besides on the battlefield you would have a pretty high chance of becoming friends. Even though there are similarities, there are also many differences in both stories. For example, in “The Sniper” the war turned brother against brother. “His hand trembles with eagerness. Pressing his lips together, he took a deep breath through his nostrils and fired” (208). This quote is showing the nerves and anxiety the sniper had received from out tricking his own brother. The last example in “The Man He Killed” the war had …show more content…

Bertrand Russell, a British author, mathematician, and philosopher said this quote. This quote is saying war doesn’t solve anything except for proving who can survive. “War does not determine who is right - only who is

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