How Does Liam O Flaherty Use Situational Irony In The Sniper

The stagnant night air ruptures from the sound of an enemy gunshot, the bullet ricocheting off the rooftop barrier. A bead of sweat trickles down his forehead as he lines up his crosshair. Bang! “The Sniper,” written by Liam O’Flaherty, begins on a dark rooftop during the Irish civil war. A young unnamed marksman who the author identifies as Republican, smokes a cigarette and is forced to take cover from an opposing sniper. An enemy tank approaches and the head of a man peers out from the turret. An informer begins to talk to the man, but they are both shot by the sniper. Suddenly, the other rifleman shoots, and the marksman is wounded. After treating his wound, the sniper devises a plan to trick the foe into leaving his cover. The marksman successfully tricks and kills his target and goes to identify the corpse, only to find that the body belonged to his brother. In “The Sniper,” O’Flaherty suggests that there are no winners in war through the use of situational irony and mood.

The sniper, driven by curiosity, risks his life to identify his fallen enemy. When he reaches it, he “[turns] over the dead body and [looks] into his brother’s face.” (O’Flaherty 4) Because the enemy is often looked upon with animosity, one would not expect the identity of the marksman’s foe to be his brother. Soldiers are trained to eliminate the enemy without expressing remorse, however, in this case, his self-preservation had cost him the life of a family member. Although he was victorious in his initial goal, in the end, he suffers a great personal loss. His brother’s death outweighs the success of killing an enemy, and thus the day could not be considered a win for the Republican