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The Sniper By Liam O Flaherty

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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 …show more content…
Imagery is visually descriptive or figurative language. Examples of imagery placed in the story are the vivid vocabulary choices in the second paragraph like “the cold gleam,” and “deep and thoughtful.” The emotional phrases were used to describe the look in the sniper’s eyes and to make the reader feel like the sniper. Imagery is also used in the beginning of the story as O’ Flaherty describes the setting. The vocabulary use of “darkness,” and “dim,” to help set the mood for the reader because they can imagine what the setting may have looked like at that time. Imagery played a huge role in “The Sniper,” along with personalities of the

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