Liam O 'Flaherty's The Sniper'

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“Liam O’Flaherty is a writer of extraordinary story telling ability and powers of observation” (Frank, 2012). He is able to clearly demonstrate his skills in his short stories. Liam O’Flaherty’s short story “The Sniper”, takes place in Dublin, Ireland near the O’Connell Bridge. Civil war was among them. Continuous gun fire roared throughout the night. Chaos grew through the cities as the war raged on. War can be traumatic for even the toughest soldiers. The effects of war can stay with one for the rest of their life. Jamie (2012) found that nearly 30% of vets treated at the V.A. have been diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Most people do not have to deal with war every day, so they don’t think it’s a big deal. O’Flaherty…show more content…
“The Irish Civil War started on June 22nd, 1922 and end May 24th, 1923” (Irish, 2010). The story begins with the author describing the dark, dreary night in streets of Dublin. The main character, who is never named, is a sniper who lays in wait for his next enemy, on the rooftop. As the sniper waits patiently, he decides it is time for a sandwich. After hungrily eating the sandwich, the sniper risks his life by lighting a cigarette. The risk had not been worth it, almost immediately a shot rang out. The sniper took immediate cover to his left. As he glanced over the parapet, to find the enemy sniper, he saw a flash and was almost struck by a bullet. The sniper was able to pinpoint which rooftop the enemy was on, due to the muzzle…show more content…
Both sides are killing other men, possibly family or friends. Men, women, children are being killed until one side decides to give up. A single death doesn’t mean anything towards which side will win. Even after a war is settled what does that side that won gain? It seems to be just a bunch of tragic casualties, wasted money, and wasted resources. In Dublin alone there were “230 killed and 695 wounded in the cities and environs from January 1922 to May 1923” (Dorney, 2012). The soldiers are just pawns to a greater power, and if they lose a pawn they can just replace it. The people being made to fight are the only ones losing anything and it could be their

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