How Is Imagery Used In The Sniper

Imagery is one of the most impactful literary devices in writing. In the story, “The Sniper”, written by Liam O’Flaherty, imagery is constantly being used throughout the story. In the story, a republican sniper in Ireland faces the difficulties of fighting in war. He is not only shot while fighting, but is also trying to shoot his enemies in the darkness of the night at the same time. In the story, imagery develops the setting, the characters, and the tone of the story.
The author’s use of imagery produces an intense and vivid setting. In the story, it says, “ Dublin lay enveloped in darkness but for the dim light of the moon that shone through fleecy clouds, casting a pale light as of approaching dawn over the streets and the dark waters

O’Flaherty describes the main character in the story by saying, “His face was the face of a student, thin and ascetic, but his eyes had the cold gleam of the fanatic. They were deep and thoughtful, the eyes of a man who is used to looking at death” (O’Flaherty para 2 ). The sniper is a man of war. He has adapted to the life that war has presented to him. The sniper was described in the story as a tough, beaten up sniper. In the story it says, “ He bent the arm below the wound. The arm bent back easily. He ground his teeth to overcome the pain.”(O”Flaherty para 12). The sniper is used to seeing death first hand, being shot at, and dealing with battle wounds. O'Flaherty described the physical features of the man to give the reader a visual idea of what the sniper looks like. Imagery is defined as visually descriptive or figurative language, especially in a literary work. Imagery presents the reader with a visual description of the character, and also describes the personality of the character. By using imagery, the author creates a strong and well-developed

“The lust of battle died in him. He became bitten by remorse… he revolted from the sight of the shattered mass of his dead enemy. His teeth chattered, he began to gibber to himself, cursing the war, cursing himself, cursing everybody” ( O’Flaherty para 23). By using words the reader can relate to, O’Flaherty knows that the readers will understand the emotions attached to the words. By using the connotation of words, the author creates a feeling within the reader, which creates a strong tone throughout the story. Another example of this is “He was frightened back to his senses by the shock. His nerves steadied. The cloud of fear scattered from his mind and he laughed.” (O”Flaherty 24). When describing how the characters feel and describing what they are thinking, this sets the tone of the story. By using the connotation of words, and describing the inner thoughts and emotions of the characters, the author creates feelings within the reader which creates a strong tone throughout the