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The Decisions In William O 'Flaherty's The Sniper'

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One of the major influences in how the protagonist handles their problem is that the decisions that they make will affect at least one person which could indirectly affect many. In the short story “The Sniper” by Liam O’Flaherty, the protagonist, or the main character, is a Republican sniper in the civil war taking place in Dublin, Ireland against the Free Staters. The author states that “He took a steady aim. His hand trembled with eagerness. Pressing his lips together, he took a deep breath through his nostrils and fired.”(O’Flaherty) The lead character, the Republican sniper, had to account for knowing this shot was going to kill his enemy when he shot the bullet from his revolver, but because he was in a life and death situation, he decided that he had to kill him. …show more content…

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The Sniper By Liam O Flaherty: Chapter Analysis

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Liam O’ Flaherty does an outstanding job of creating a shocking and tense atmosphere within The Sniper. Throughout The Sniper, the author puts the Republican sniper in many close call situations that could potentially kill him. “A bullet flattened itself against the parapet of the roof... There was a flash and a bullet whizzed over his head,” (Page 1). When the sniper goes to peak after the first shot, the reader wonders if he is going to get hit with a bullet, which adds the atmosphere of .

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Though the Sniper had to make sure that his image of being a "strong" and "heartless" soldier doesn't slip, by killing these people, he isn't considered weak or cowardly. Nonetheless, this backfired on the sniper because all of the chaos led to the enemy taking a shot at the sniper's arm, Lastly, the Sniper has had enough of this war and must kill the enemy. To do this, he uses violence, which he learns isn't the best idea. The Sniper tricks the enemy into thinking he's dead, it would be quite convincing since the enemy already shot the sniper. After this, the sniper takes steady aim and shoots the gun: "The Sniper looked at his enemy and he shuddered.

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Comparing The Sniper And Cranes

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To begin with, in the story "The Sniper" the main character is the Republican Sniper. The conflict in the story was that there was a civil war taking place in Ireland and people were getting killed. The Republican Sniper 's motive was to kill the opponent and not die. Towards the end of the story, the character learns that he has killed his own brother

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Compare And Contrast The Sniper And A Horseman In The Sky

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I view the sniper as arrogant and big-headed. Carter knows his responsibility is to kill the enemy to keep his Union Army safe, but feels anguish and guilt in doing so, as the enemy is his father. An example of when Carter is clearly indecisive in his decision is when the author writes, “But no-- there is a hope; he may have discovered nothing-- perhaps he is but admiring the sublimity of the landscape. If permitted, he may turn and ride carelessly away in the direction whence he came.” But, I believe his internal conflict is meaningful, and he eventually goes with reason and responsibility.

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Liam O Flaherty The Sniper Quotes

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The sniper, also after murdering the old woman, had to now focus on his goal, to kill the rival Free State sniper. Knowing the situation, the Republican sniper had to kill or be killed. After he killed his rival sniper, he was curious about who he had just assassinated, and proceeded to check who he had killed. He sees his brother's face staring into his now-lost soul. The Republican sniper will live with the trauma of killing his brother for the rest of his life.

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Foreshadowing In The Sniper

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When the sniper is wondering about who he killed he thinks, “Perhaps he has been his own company before the split of the war.” (4) Without the emphasis on the sniper wondering if he had known his enemy, the story would have moved on and not ended with the surprising manner intended. However, with O’Flaherty’s use of foreshadowing, the reader’s thoughts are satisfied and want to know the true ending of the story. O’Flaherty essentially indicates that the war has created such a divide, the consequential outcome can never be predicted or expected. Soon after the sniper fired his shot, “he became bitten by remorse” and “he revolted to the sight of the shattered mass of his dead enemy.

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Adversity In The Most Dangerous Game 'And The Sniper'

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In the story “The Sniper”, adversity was demonstrated when the republican sniper faced the problem of being in a war and having a high chance of death, but was

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Liam O Flaherty's The Sniper

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These regretful outcomes changed how he looked at war, making him hate war and show extreme remorse. The author uses characterization to show the sniper is a risk taker. The sniper starts to think to himself, when he first arrives at his sniping spot, whether he should light a cigarette even though the enemy might see him: “He paused for a moment,

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Liam O Flaherty The Sniper Analysis

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Sniper starts to have flashbacks of the times him and his brother had before the shooting and he realizes all the pain he has caused all of his family. Him and his brother was not on the best term growing up but he wanted to make amends with him but the brother did not really care that much. As time past, Sniper finally tells his parents that he had killed his brother because they thought for the longest that someone else had killed him. Finally, he felt relief that he came clean but the parents was not to pleased to what they were hearing so they disowned him.

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Comparing The Sniper 'And The Man He Killed'

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A similarity in “The Sniper” is when the sniper realized he had took a risky shot

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Descriptive Language In The Sniper

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“During the Civil war was the first time they used snipers.” The author Liam O’ Flaherty wrote a story called “ The Sniper” in Civil war. Killing doesn’t matter until it’s your own is illustrated throughout the story as the author’s theme. The author uses descriptive language and simile throughout the story. Killing doesn’t matter until it’s your own is the primary theme in “ The Sniper.”

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Action Without Thought In 'The Sniper'

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This shows how the sniper’s actions without thought affect him for the worse. O’Flaherty establishes the theme of “The Sniper” by using description and irony. After the sniper turns over the dead body, he realizes what he has done. He was not thinking when he shot the enemy.

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Impression And Violence In 'The Sniper'

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After staging his own death, the enemy sniper moves out into the open, a clear and easy shot. “Then, when the smoke cleared, [the sniper] peered across and uttered a cry of joy.” “The sniper looked at his enemy falling.” “Then the sniper turned over the death body, and looked into the face of his brother. I regret his actions.

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The Sniper Theme Essay

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He goes and finds out that the enemy sniper he shot was his brother. I believe the theme of the story ¨The Sniper¨ by Liam O'Flaherty is that fear can lead to destructive decisions. The theme that fear can lead to destructive decisions is introduced when he kills the man in the turret and kills the woman. He shoots the man and woman because he is scared of what the man and woman could do to him. In the story, it tells you how he shoots them.

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