...“It is well that war is so terrible, otherwise we should grow too fond of it.” Robert E. Lee. In the short story “The Sniper” Liam O’Flaherty, tells readers about war and the hard challenges, how scary it can be, and the hazards that occur. War can be horrifying and cause people to do things that they would not do. Therefore, war will never be good and it can harm a person who is fighting in many ways, impacting his or her mental,emotional, and physical health. War can engage bad behavior, mentally. In the beginning of the story the sniper is on a rooftop eating and he decides to grab a bottle of whiskey from his pocket. “Taking a flask of whiskey from his pocket, he took a short draught” (pg. 406). Drinking during war is dangerous and...
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...Short Story Analysis: “The Sniper” The short story, “The Sniper,” was written by Liam O’ Flaherty in 1923. Liam O’ Flaherty was born on Inishmore Island, which is on the western coast of Ireland, on August 28, 1898. O’ Flaherty enlisted in the British Army as a teenager in 1915 (Cummings, 2007). “The Sniper,” is based on O’ Flaherty’s experiences during the Irish Civil War. He had suffered from a serious injury due to a bomb explosion while at war. After Liam had returned home from war, he was diagnosed with depression (Cummings, 2007). The story begins with Liam O’ Flaherty introducing a young Republican sniper who is anxiously waiting for action on top of a rooftop near O’ Connell Bridge. Hungry since the morning, the sniper took time to eat a sandwich and take a gulp from his flask. When finished eating, the sniper brought out a cigarette to smoke. As soon as he lit it, a bullet shot across the parapet of the roof. The sniper went to look over the parapet to see the enemy sniper, and at that moment, another shot was going over his head. From his view he could see the enemy truck stationed across the bridge in the view of the sniper. After figuring out where the enemy had been, the sniper wanted to shoot at the...
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