Based on character analysis, “The Sniper” and the “Horseman in the Sky” both clearly reveal a true question of humanity but do so in different ways. Carter Druse, a young wealthy Virginian, and a Republican sniper whose name remains yet unknown, have various similarities and differences in their ways of handling their conflicts. Similarly, both young snipers willing choose to fight in their own civil wars. Carter fighting in the American Civil War, and the sniper fighting in the Irish Republican Civil War. Along with both being snipers, the two are also faced with the same horrifying conflict… killing a family member. Carter Druse, fighting for the Union, is ultimately faced with an unimaginable decision to kill his father, a Confederate soldier. …show more content…
Compared to the sniper, there was no hesitation at all when the sniper shot the enemy. In the text it claims, “Then, when the smoke cleared, he peered across and uttered a cry of joy. His enemy had been hit”(O’Flaherty 166). This displays how the sniper has no hesitation and has absolutely no regret for shooting the enemy, but soon after, the sniper starts to feel remorse for the enemy he shot. “The sniper looked at his enemy falling and he shuddered. The lust of battle died in him. He became bitten by remorse” (O’Flaherty 166). Throughout the short story, of “Horseman in the Sky”, the reader obtained many character traits about Carter including, how he enjoys the outdoors, comparing it to a piece art, an while the sniper is a flat character, who we don’t learn much about him, besides him being strikingly arrogant. These stunning short stories, remind me about the movie/book, American Sniper. With that being said, these compare because Chris Kyle, the main character in the movie/book, has a conflict to shoot a young kid, who has a
The other sniper is situated on a building on the other side of the street as the Republican Sniper. On top of being shot at, an armored car, of the opposing side, drives up near the Republican sniper’s position. He believes that his position was given up by a local woman who was walking around. The Republican sniper must kill this woman or his life will be in jeopardy. The Republican sniper takes the shot, and kills the woman. However, even after killing the woman, the Republican Sniper is still being shot at. He has to shelter himself, so, making his way to the top floor of the building, he situates himself. The Republican sniper proceeds to have a shootout with the other unknown sniper. The Republican sniper needs a way to kill his opponent, so he devises an ingenious plan. He fakes his death by pretending to be shot in the head. The opposing sniper, thinking he had killed the Republican sniper, makes his way out of his hiding spot. This exposes him, and the Republican sniper has a clear shot. The Republican sniper takes the shot, and sees the body of his opponent falling to the ground. The Republican sniper then goes to examine the dead body of his opponent, and to his horrifying realization, discovers that the man he had just outwitted and killed, was really his brother.
In every story there was some kind of conflict. In the “Sniper’’ there was two snipers and they
The main character in The Sniper was in a fire fight. He shot and killed 3 people. After the fire fight he started to dwell on what he did .In the story it said, “The lust of battle dies in him. He became bitten by remorse.” As a result, “he looked at the smoking revolver in his hand, and with an oath he hurled it to the roof at his feet. The revolver went off… The bullet whizzed past the sniper’s head.” Because of him dwelling, he almost killed himself.
War is something that can change the very principles of a person, it can change a person and leave multiple effects that can last for their entire life. The sniper is fighting in a civil war where friends and family can turn into enemies at a moment's notice. The fight is between the Republicans and the Free Staters, the protagonist is a sniper for the Republicans. Throughout the story, we go into the state of mind of the main character and learn some ramifications that he gained in the war. The text, “The Sniper” by Liam O’Flaherty shows us the physical and psychological results of war, that happens to people.
Tom C. McKenney tells the story of Jack Hinson, a Confederate sniper during the American Civil War, in “Jack Hinson’s One Man War.”
In “The Sniper”, the main character is thrown into a revolutionary civil war. He’s pressed to make quick decisions off of his training and human instinct. The protagonist in “Ambush” is faced with the same issue, he’s in a bunker on watch waiting for something to happen. He’s trained to react when something does, but his humanly instinct tells him otherwise. Both characters soon make decisions they regret, but can’t take back. “I’ll watch him walk toward me, his shoulders slightly stooped, his head cocked to the side, and he’ll pass within a few yards of me and suddenly smile at some secret thought and then continue up the trail to where it bends back into the fog,” (“Ambush”) said by the protagonist, this clues the reader in on the fact that he regrets his decision of killing the innocent man who may have never harmed him. Albeit someone senior to him told him that it was right and completely justified, he still feels distraught and remorseful about what he had done. “Then the sniper turned over the dead body and looked into his brother's face,” (“The Sniper”) said
“Wars never hurt anybody except for the people who died” -Salvador Dali, leader of the Surrealist Movement. In both stories men who are at war are described, both of these men have killed a man who are known as their foes. Both of the men realize that the man they killed could've been a friend, and were someone who really wasn't the enemy. The relationship between these two stories is that war can tear families apart. In Liam O'Flaherty's “The Sniper” and “The Man He Killed” by Thomas Hardy both show similarities and differences in plot, irony, and theme.
There are many ways of thinking of military snipers. They can be compared to predators in the wild, a skillful killing machine that kills out of necessity and has the respect of their companions. Snipers can also be thought of as prey. They are given a challenging task that requires skill to elude the enemy and often preys upon their mental toughness. In Boyden’s book Three Day Road the author uses many passages to compare the role of a sniper to the role of both predator and prey in the wilderness. These comparisons help the reader relate to the experiences of two indigenous boyhood friends, Elijah and Xavier as snipers in World War 1. Instead of shooting caribou back home in Canada as boys, they are now shooting German soldiers in the trenches
Wars often cause unforgettable losses and can lead to endless pain. The stories, The Sniper by Liam O'Flaherty and The Scarlet Ibis by James Hurst, both end with unbearable travesties. Both stories portray brotherhood and regret while the main characters fight very different battles.
When i was in second grade, I came across a situation where i had to save my puppy from another dog who was trying to kill him. I raced over to the dog and pried its mouth open till my puppy was released. In this situation i risked my own safety to save my puppy which is a display of bravery. It made me realize that sometimes in the most dangerous situation people have to do the unthinkable just to do what's best even if it is difficult or dangerous. The characters of The Sniper from “ The Sniper” and Katie from “The Girl Who Was Supposed To Die” through doing whatever they could to make it out alive. In the story “The Sniper” By Liam O’Flaherty is a example of someone with bravery who took his time as a injured warrior to get out alive. One example of his bravery is that he makes a risky decision as it says in the story “taking off his cap, he placed it over the muzzle of his rifle. Then he pushed the rifle slowly upward over the parapet, until the cap was visible from the opposite side of the street. Almost immediately there was a report, and a bullet pierced the center of the cap”( O,Flaherty, 3). From this quote it shows bravery because the sniper risked his life and made a risky decision by pretending to be shot dead. Another example of how the sniper was brave is that he takes matter into his own hands and ends the problem for example it says “ he took a steady aim.
The sniper develops insensitivity to death during the war. When he kills the old woman, she’s trying to run away and isn’t really a threat. He even “utters a cry of joy” when he finally shoots the enemy sniper. This shows how war can get people caught up in the cat-and-mouse “game” aspect of it and forget what they’re actually doing—killing people. People get so caught up in the “game” that they don’t think about the repercussions for their actions.
"The Sniper" places a strong emphasis on the evils of war, and yet paints a vivid image of mankind's qualities and their society. Employing the technique of describing one particular sniper to symbolise a general subject, readers are able to gain a deep insight into the evils of war. In this story, the assembly of setting, contrasting characters and themes of fanaticism and division of loyalties are vital to conveying the horror of war. On the other hand, "The Sniper" also discusses the power of war, depicting it as the decider of life and death for men. Its force is further emphasised when neighbours are turned into enemies under war's influence.
Have you ever thought that you will kill your brother or take your best friend to jail. The Sniper and Cranes have characters that perform these terrible tasks because of situations and problems during their country’s civil war. The sniper accidently shoots his brother while fighting for his beliefs and killing whoever was shooting at him. Sam decides to escort his childhood playmate Tokchae to find out was he did wrong. The story has many similarities and differences throughout the stories. The story Cranes and the story The Sniper have many concepts that cause them to be similar. They both take place during a civil war. In The Sniper the author informs us, Republicans and Free Staters were waging civil war. This tells us that there is
The Sniper, written by Liam O’Flaherty, is a story about a Republican sniper in the Irish civil war in 1922. This story tells of a night spent on a roof looking for the enemy, the Free-Staters. In this short description of the nights events, the sniper kills 3 people; a soldier, an informer, and finally an enemy sniper on the roof across the road from him. In the end this enemy sniper turns out to be the republicans brother. This story shows the the specific characteristics a sniper must have to carry out their duty. A key moment in this text which influenced the sniper is the Civil war itself.
Through literature, Liam O’Flaherty, the author of the short story The Sniper, clearly illustrates how horrific and destructive war really is. He illustrates the appalling agony of the Irish civil war through a dramatic story of two brothers against each other in the war. Through the the author's writing, readers can conclude that the theme of The Sniper is that war destroys families. O’Flaherty sets emphasis on this theme by using many strong literary devices. The literary devices used that apply the most emphasis on the theme are situational irony, setting, and the author's use of direct characterization .