The Sniper Symbolism

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Pages: 6

“The Sniper” Analysis Paper

What mental and physical struggles do people endure during war? By what means do they survive? Liam O'Flaherty, a short story author, shares his tale of "The Sniper" that tells the personal challenges one man must overcome. Some may even say some of this short story was influenced by Liam's own life experiences. Liam was born in 1896 in the small village of Gort na gCapall on one of the Aran Islands in Galway, Ireland. Beginning at the age of twelve, he attended several colleges before obtaining a degree. Initially, O'Flaherty intended to join the priesthood, but in 1917 he left school to join the Irish Guard. He was injured in battle contributing to the cause of his mental illness, which became apparent when he suffered
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The protagonist also shows that O'Flaherty may have such as curiosity. When the sniper is certain that his opposer is deceased, curiosity overwhelms him and he walks through the open to investigate who he has killed. Leaving his cover, the sniper descends from his perch in the roof top, and risks being shot at for the opportunity to gaze upon the face of his enemy. The result from this action reflects many of the unexpected tragedies of war.

“The Sniper” begins with a republican sniper perched atop a roof on a June night. He decide that it would be a fitting to smoke a cigarette. He used a match to light his cigarette which forewarned an enemy sniper of his presence. As soon as the enemy sniper sent the light from the match he fired a bullet which nearly hit the sniper. The sniper crawled to his left and took cover behind a parapet. As soon as he peered around the parapet to scan for the opposing sniper another bullet whizzed over his head; however, this time the sniper seen the flash from the opposing snipers weapon. From there he rolled across the roof to a chimney stack. As he was planning his next move, an armored car came into view. The car pulled up slowly and stopped fifty yards from