War Tears Families Apart

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Imagine killing your own brother, without even knowing it. "The Sniper," by Liam O' Flaherty is about a sniper who is in a civil war and shoots his own brother on the opposing team. The idea that war tears families apart is shown by how the sniper must find a way to escape, his feelings of killing, and the setting of the civil war.
The sniper is injured and must find a way to escape, and that way is by killing his brother. "He stooped to pick the riffle up. He couldn't lift it. His forearm was dead. "I'm hit," he muttered" (112). The sniper would have never been shot and injured by his brother if there was no war. War tears families apart as the entire time two brothers are fighting against each other without even knowing it. "The distance was about fifty yards--a hard shot in the dim light, and his right arm was paining him like a thousand devils. He took a steady aim. His hand trembled with eagerness. Pressing his lips together, he took a deep breath through his nostrils and fired. He was almost deafened with the report and his arm shook with the recoil" (113). The sniper had to...

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