We all have something in life that gives us a purpose/motivates us to do better or simply keeps us functioning. In the short story “HopFrog” written by Edgar Allen Poe and “The Sniper” by Liam O’Flaherty both of the main characters have an anchor. Hop Frog’s anchor is Tripetta and they both share a lot of similarities since they were both kidnapped from their homeland. The Sniper’s anchor is his rifle and his beliefs. He’s very good at what he does and he get excited in the heat of battle. Each of these stories has a different ending, but their anchors have something in common. These anchors give both of the main characters the willpower to endure and to carry out their plans. In “The Sniper” it says that the main character is a soldier for …show more content…
The king abuses Hop Frog on a daily basis embarrassing him on a daily basis by teasing him and making fun of him or physically by forcing him to drink alcohol which he knows Hop Frog can’t handle. But as long as Tripetta remains unharmed Hop Frog continues to endure the abuse for a long time. One day the King goes too far and attacks Hop Frog’s ray of hope. Hop Frog was so furious that the king simply pushed Tripetta that he started grinding his teeth together and one of the king’s ministers noticed it and said: “On the honor of a knight, I could have sworn that it was the grinding of this vagabond’s teeth (paragraph 27).” Hop Frog was so furious that he decided to exact revenge on his …show more content…
Whether their anchors affected them positively or negatively is subjective. Their anchors allowed them to achieve their goal but to do that they brutally murdered people. In both stories the main characters find enjoyment in their dirty deeds. In paragraph 56 he taunted them saying: “Ah, Ha! I begin to see who there people are now!” In “The Sniper” the sniper becomes joyous when he hits his target after successfully fooling him. In paragraph 19 it says: “The republican sniper smiled and lifted his revolver above the edge of the parapet.” Although the main characters anchors in both stories motivates them to do what they believe to be right, they also have a sadistic side to them that shows up later in the