Preview

Liam O'Flaherty's the Sniper

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
510 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Liam O'Flaherty's the Sniper
The Essay
The Working Title: 5
The fairytale ``The sniper´´, written by Liam O´Flaherty, is about a symbolizing action of two snipers fighting during the civil war in Dublin. Written from the perspective of the sniper sitting on the roof ( limited omniscient) the setting as a street near to O´Connell Bridge.
In the time around 1922 there was a civil war in Ireland where Republicans fought Free Staters. The battles were everywhere, either on the opened street or in buildings. It didn´t depend on the spot, following many battles were on open streets with civilians crossing the way and tanks driving through it. Though, ``The Sniper´´ is a story which retells the situations inside Dublin. In addition it creates a personally dramatic scene of two brothers who are shooting towards each other. The fact that the Sniper is not aware he is fighting against is a point that makes suspense. The conflict between two men is an example for the civil war that took place in a couple of families. Another point is the many symbols the reader can find out easily. That makes the story readable and interesting.
The first measured fact is the issue that no one of the sniper knew they were fighting against. Clearly this point is one of the central points in the story. The setting and the mood supports it. On the roof both snipers only locate the position of the opposer, at least the sniper surviving till the end (P.18). But overall they cannot see the stomach, following their fired shots were taken due to the believe in own abilities.
Summarizing for this Paragraph you could say that it even could happen in a different way. It was more the happenstance which decided who was finally winning.
Another point is the setting, symbolizing the civil war in its own behalf.
The street which is described clearly by the author indicates many symbols with respect to the civil war. On the one hand it was the aim of the author to put symbols in the story. On the other hand his goal was to show the

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    In “The sniper” there are two brothers fighting on the opposite sides of the war. The brother who is fighting for the Republican side sees a shot in the distance. He fires and then he realizes he has shot his brother. The brother who shot the fire feels regret. The text supports this by stating, “The sniper turned over the dead body and looked into his brother’s face.”…

    • 447 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    War has no boundaries like age, family, and time of day. In the story,”The Sniper” by Liam O’Flaherty a sniper is stationed on a rooftop near O’Connell Bridge and is tasked to “take out” any hostiles. While staking out, the sniper got shot in the arm by a fellow sniper and is faced many challenges in order to survive. Despite the Sniper’s skill, the sniper is realizing how war shows no mercy. When O’Flaherty wrote,“He paused for a moment, considering whether he should risk a smoke. . . He decided to take the risk . . . Almost immediately, a bullet flattened itself against the parapet of the roof.” Because war waits for no one, the sniper had to consider the consequences of smoking before he smoked. This shows how brutal war is, someone can’t…

    • 391 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The book I chose for the summative essay assignment was “American Sniper” by Chris Kyle. This book is about the courageous and thrilling memoir of the most lethal sniper in U.S. military history. With over 100 documented kills during his four tours of duty, Chris Kyle has shed light on the dangerous brave life of a sniper. During his four tours of duty in the Iraq war he has come close to death and saved countless lives. He changed a lot from just being a country boy and became what he describes as a man. The war really changed his perspective on his civilian life. The significance of the Iraq war was to help free the Iraqi civilians of their dictator, Saddam Hussein, and the radical Islamic insurgents who terrorized the Iraqi’s after the fall of Saddam Hussein.…

    • 983 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The setting in Liam O’Flaherty’s “The Sniper” enables the story’s action and conflict because it is set during the Irish civil war. To begin, this story short had both internal and external conflicts. The external conflict is, person vs person between the sniper and the enemy sniper. The setting of this story enables that conflict because of how dangerous his surroundings are. On page 5 of this short story, there is a quote describing how unsafe the setting really is. “Here and there through the city, machine guns and rifles broke the silence of the night, spasmodically, like dogs barking on lone farms.”(O’Flaherty, 2000, p.5). It clearly states how he can hear random gunfire around him. Because of this war, the sniper is forced to shoot the…

    • 350 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Consequently, after the Republican sharpshooter was shot, he was no longer able to operate his rifle. He needed a plan to take out the Free Stater rifleman, this is where the ruse comes into play. “Crawling quickly to his feet, he peered over the corner of the roof. His ruse had succeeded.... He took a steady aim… Then the smoke cleared, he peered across and uttered a cry of joy. His enemy had been hit” (O’Flaherty 2-3) He uses the strategy of faking his death and in succeeding, he kills his enemy. The difficult ploy triumphing also aids the concept that the Republican sniper is a skillful marksman. In spite of having an immobile arm as well as a low range revolver, he was able to execute the antagonist with precision and skill. His ability to form strategies under pressure and his accuracy in marksmanship were the largest contributors to the interpretation that the sniper is experienced in…

    • 437 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Although this book is a novel about the Civil War, it is written through the eyes of the soldiers and generals on both sides, the North and the South. That is the factor that makes it so unique and engaging. It is not a textbook account of the battle, nor does it show the Union troops in a better light than the Confederate troops. Every viewpoint from the great General Lee, to a Union colonel, to a spy, to a British adversary is shown, among others.…

    • 1410 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    "The Killer Angels" written by Michael Shaara in 1974, published by Ballantine Books, is a story showing the courage and heroism of people involved in the Battle of Gettysburg that took place in 1863. The novel presents the battle in an objective manner, and does not take sides when displaying the position of the two armies on the subject of slavery. It is an outstanding book and is worth reading due to the presence of real characters. In other words, the characters have been brought to life and the audience not only gets to learn about the battle itself, but also about the views and opinions of the participants. One of the most interesting methods is how Shaara presents the narrative through the viewpoints of army personnel, which makes the events come to life. The results are well rounded characters, detailed imagery, and an objectivity that didn’t label either side as the hero.…

    • 679 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In conclusion O’brien presents various rhetorical devices that help not only the reader understand the tone but establishes much more than just that by setting a mood of suspense to unify the relationships each soldier carried upon themselves and among…

    • 658 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    This piece of writing is an informative essay with the intention of influencing the reader to agree with the prompt “dealing with conflict can give rise to heroic qualities in an individual”. The essay is written in a formal language which is best suited for year 12 VCE students, teachers and educated citizens who are interested in the topic discussed; the heroic qualities presented by the “candy bomber” Gail Halverson, the outspoken and independent Nancy Wake and the two characters from the movie Paradise Road, who present great heroic qualities when placed in a dreadful conflict of world war two.…

    • 274 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    interpretation of the passage. They explore the urban setting as it affects the character; consider…

    • 1184 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Battle Cry of Freedom

    • 1917 Words
    • 8 Pages

    McPherson is critical of previous literature that he says “lack the dimension of contingency-the recognition that at numerous critical points during the war things might have gone altogether differently” (857-858). The narrative style allows him to point out such critical moments that others would have missed or looked over. He carefully identifies instances where another outcome was possible, or even probable. His treatment of both sides in the war is…

    • 1917 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Sniper Essay

    • 522 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Have you ever been forced to do something that could possibly affect you for the rest of your life? Well, in this short story a man was forced into a war that ended up having physical and mental affects on him. In the short story “The Sniper”, author Liam O’Flaherty suggests the horror of war on a personal level by presenting not only its physical dangers, but its psychological effects as well.…

    • 522 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the realistic fiction story “The Sniper” by Liam O’Flaherty there is a war. Based in Dublin, the Republicans and Free Staters are not at peace. In fact, they are in the war. This war is tearing families and friends apart because of their own beliefs. By using the story’s sentence variety, Liam O’Flaherty creates the lesson that every action has a consequence through different craft moves.…

    • 462 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner”, by Randall Jarrell, is a surprisingly simple and brief poem; nevertheless it is extensive in content. Due to carefully chosen words, with great descriptive power and an appeal to symbolism, Jarrell skillfully accomplishes the task of providing readers with detailed images and feelings of the turret gunner’s situation, yet leaves plenty of space for the reader’s imagination, interpretation and critique. While reading this poem, one can be encouraged to question the image we have of our soldiers - those who have no fear – while not questioning their bravery. War can produce gruesome situations that can cause even the bravest men to face their fears.…

    • 859 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Beware of the Dog

    • 496 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Through an exploration of plots, themes, and conflicts, it may be argued that both Roald Dahl's "Beware of the Dog" and Liam O'Flaherty's "The Sniper" provide varying perspectives on the hardships of war. Both short stories feature main characters pitted against an enemy in a struggle for survival. Both themes have to do with a struggle against dangerous conditions. Both of the main conflicts have to do with a "man vs. enemy" setup. The similarities between these two short stories emphasize negative aspects of organized armed conflict, and the differences provide alternate insights.…

    • 496 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays