Overview of O'Flaherty's The Sniper

859 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: How did the civil war affect American literature

During the Irish Civil War of 1922, the Republicans and the Free State soldiers went head to head over the establishment of the Irish Free State. This meant that Ireland would be independent from the United Kingdom, yet still be a part of the British Empire. In the war, Liam O’Flaherty fought for the Republicans at the famous Four Courts rebellion (O'Brien). Due to his experiences during the war, O’Flaherty found inspiration for his short story “The Sniper”. He wrote “The Sniper” a few months after fighting in the war. In “The Sniper”, Liam O’Flaherty uses symbolism to indicate the effects of Civil War. The main characters in “The Sniper” are the Republican Sniper and the Free State Sniper. The Republican Sniper is described as having “the face of a student, thin and ascetic” (“The Sniper”). This makes it seem as though he was a student who was forced to enter the war. Both snipers represent all of the soldiers that were forced into a war they can’t get out of (O’Flaherty). The battle between these two snipers symbolize the battle between the Republicans and the Free State soldiers. In “The Sniper”, the two snipers mirror each other on separate rooftops. (O’Flaherty). Their separation represents the fact that each side has a different point of view. They each see things their own way. In “The Sniper”, all citizens are forced to take sides (O’Flaherty). An old woman comes and tells the Soldier in the Turret about the Republican Sniper’s location on the rooftop (The Sniper 218-19). The Soldier in the Turret is a member of the Free State Army. The Soldier and his army attempt to approach the Republican Sniper, but he shoots both the Soldier and the old woman (The Sniper 219). Their deaths show how the war has dehumaniz... ... middle of paper ... ...impacted O’Flaherty’s life greatly. It is possible that he could have mirrored the Republican Sniper after himself since they both fought for the same side. O’Flaherty mainly focuses on the impact of his short stories on people and how they will respond to them. Due to of his attention to this detail, he is normally referred to as the “greatest Irish short story writer” by many critics (O'Brien). Works Cited O'Brien, George. "Liam O'Flaherty: Overview." DISCovering Authors. Detroit: Gale, 2003. Discover Collection. Web. 27 Dec. 2013. O'Flaherty, Liam. "The Sniper." The Best British Short Stories of 1923 and Yearbook of the British Short Story. Ed. Edward J. O'Brien and John Cournos. Boston: Small, Maynard, 1923. 242. LitFinder for Schools. Web. 6 Jan. 2014. “The Sniper”. Short Stories for Students. Milne, Ira Mark. Vol. 20. Detroit: Gale, 2005. 216-31. Print.

Show More
Related

  • Black Hawk Down - Summary of the book as written by Mark Bowden

    2108 Words  | 5 Pages

    The Rangers captured the two targets along with 22 other Somali men on the first floor of the target house. When the Rangers entered the second floor, shots started coming through a window. Rangers on the ground were shooting at their own men. The young Rangers were poorly trained and dangerous.

    Read More

  • The Things They Carried’ by Tim O’Brien

    1243 Words  | 3 Pages

    Kyle, C with McEwen, S., DeFrelice, J. (2012) American sniper: the autobiography of the most lethal sniper in U.S. military history. American sniper : the autobiography of the most lethal sniper in U.S. military history. Chris Kyle Author. Retrieved from http://libserve.ivytech.edu.allstate.libproxy.ivytech.edu/vwebv/holdingsInfo?searchId=514&recCount=20&recPointer=0&bibId=366194

    Read More

  • Comparing Short Stories “The Sniper” and “The Most Dangerous Game”

    1005 Words  | 3 Pages

    As we saw earlier, both authors of both stories were born in different places and did many things. “The Sniper” sets in Dublin, Ireland, during a time of a bitter civil war. It was a war between the Republicans, which wanted Ireland to become ...

    Read More

  • The Ghost Dance Movement of 1890: Causes and Effects

    1428 Words  | 3 Pages

    O'Neill, Laurie A.. Chapter 8: The Massacre. The Millbrook Press, 1993. eLibrary. Web. 23 Dec. 2013.

    Read More

  • On The Rainy River O Brien Analysis

    785 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the early stages of the story O’Brien is faced with a “moral emergency”, though the draft letter sent to him in the early summer of 1968 stirred up many more feelings than that of just a moral nature. O’Brien experienced unease within his conscience about how this particular war had no “imperative of its cause”; people were dying for reasons unknown. This news also hit him in a deeply emotional way; he became quite livid with the entire idea of

    Read More

  • The Sniper by Liam O'Flaherty

    411 Words  | 1 Pages

    The basic plot of the story is based during an evening within the Irish civil wars. It tells of a republican sniper sitting on a rooftop and neutralising enemy units as the cross a bridge. When a free-states sniper shows himself on an opposite roof they wage a fierce and innovative war to see who would end up the better. Eventually the republican sniper gains the upper hand and after taking a bullet in the arm destroys the worthy opponent. After a curious inspection to the identity of the enemy sniper he finds himself looking into the eyes of his dead brother.

    Read More

  • The Things They Carried Character Analysis Essay

    1067 Words  | 3 Pages

    O Brien 's point of view is an accurate one as he himself because he is a Vietnam veteran. The title of the short story is meaningful because it describes each soldier’s personality and how he handles conflict within the mind and outside of the body during times of strife. The title fits the life as a soldier perfectly because it shows the reality that war is more than just strategy and attacking of forces. O’Brien narrates the story from two points of view: as the author and the view of the characters. His style keeps the reader informed on both the background of things and the story itself at the same

    Read More

  • Essay On Irish During The Gilded Age

    3124 Words  | 7 Pages

    Meagher, Timothy. “The Columbia Guide to Irish American History.” Columbia University Press- New York, 2005

    Read More

  • Private Henry Norwest Analysis

    745 Words  | 2 Pages

    A tribute released by his Battalion Commander on the occasion of his death was the first document to associate his sniping ability with his “Indian blood.” Since then Canadian historians such as L. James Dempsey have perpetuated this association by crediting his talents to a childhood spent in the woodlands of central Alberta. However, despite Norwest’s reputation as one of the best snipers in the British army very little attention has been devoted to his life on the Western Front. In fact, scholar Leslie Parker Mepham argues that military historians often neglect to examine the role of snipers in the First World War. This gap seems significant in light of the fact that the actions of snipers were frequently mentioned in the 50th Battalion’s official war diary and that detailed accounts of Norwest’s prowess stand in stark contrast to the diary’s dry summation of daily military activities. First World War veteran Victor Wheeler’s frequent references to Norwest as a distant but deeply respected figure in his personal history of the 50th Battalion prove that Norwest’s actions were of interest to the average soldier as well as high command. A close examination of Norwest’s experiences on the frontlines of the First World War is necessary to understand the important role played by snipers, and why they were

    Read More

  • Tim O'Brien

    743 Words  | 2 Pages

    Tim O’Brien was drafted into the Vietnam War in the early 1960’s, at the beginning of the war. He saw most of the heavy combat of the war so when he came back and was going to college he was a harden individual. Much of his writing discusses the dark side of the human mind and reality of life (Mote 1). If he wasn’t in Vietnam, most of his writing would be much different than it is today, the writing would be about depression more than anything. The Vietnam War is the big factor as to why he started writing, it is what pushed him most (O’Brien 31). Vietnam played a huge role in his work, he would write entire novels around it using a mixture of real life events with fictional characters making his stories

    Read More

  • The Secret Lives Of Sgt John Wilson Character Analysis

    868 Words  | 2 Pages

    “The Secret Lives of Sgt. John Wilson: A True Story of Love and Murder” is studied as a historical non-fiction novel, in which Lois Simmie shows the reader the actions of a man who sets his life up in a series of lies and betrayal. Her purpose is clear, to intrigue the audience with a true story of the murder of Polly Wilson, which had not yet been heard. Though not a lot of people had ever heard of John Wilson, the first ever Saskatchewan RNWMP officer who was found guilty of a crime, being that he killed his wife, and hung to his death. She writes her novel that is not only entertaining to her audience but also serves the purpose of educating fellow Canadians about the true life events that followed John Wilson and his fellow RNWMP officers.

    Read More

  • Media's Take on The Beltway Sniper Attacks

    1233 Words  | 3 Pages

    Johnson, Peter. "Like the Sniper, Story Seems Unstoppable." USATODAY.com. N.p., 23 Oct. 2002. Web. 29 May 2013. .

    Read More

  • Comparing The Sniper 'And' Just Lather That's All

    526 Words  | 2 Pages

    In “The Sniper” the conflict is man vs man, which means main character is tasked with killing his enemy, but it proves to be quite a challenge. Even though there were many challenges the sniper followed through with his job and persevered even after he was shot in the arm. Wanting to kill his enemy, stay alive, and be one step closer to ending the war was his main goals. Being brave, he took off his hat, placed it on his gun, and raised it above the edge of the roof. Instantly the enemy shot at it and the sniper, pretending to be dead, waited until the enemy got up for him to shoot him. He did some quick thinking and, with determination, handled the conflict quite well.

    Read More

  • The Psychological Effects of War Exposed in The Sniper by Liam O’Flaherty

    583 Words  | 2 Pages

    Bullets, of course, are another big danger in war. The author shows with bullets how close you are to death in a war. In the event where the sniper lights his cigarette, he is twice almost killed with the “enemy” sniper’s bullets! The sniper’s own bullets are quite dangerous, too, as seen when he easily kills the tank commander and citizen woman informer. After shooting them, the “enemy” sniper sees him, and “His fore...

    Read More

  • lies save lives

    835 Words  | 2 Pages

    Being a forty-three year old author writing about war decades after his experiences, it is of little concern to O’Brien whether he tells tales solely in line with the facts. He does not want the reader to care whether the stories he weaves actually happened, for he is only writing to “try to save lives with [his] stories” (232). His stories may be made up and his stories just might be complete lies, but the truth is irrelevant. More importantly, his stories save lives. They save his own, they save yours, and they save society’s.

    Read More

More about Overview of O'Flaherty's The Sniper

Open Document