The Summary of the Sniper

The Sniper, a short story by Liam O’Flaherty is based on the struggles for independence. A republican sniper lay watching on a rooftop of a building eyeing his enemy; a free states sniper. The sniper watched his every little move, what his technique was, when he would attack next, and where exactly he is located. In the dark streets of Dublin, heavy guns and bones cracking are heard in the silenced air near the Liffey River as the Republicans fight against the Free Staters. The sniper eyes his enemy carefully and awaits for him to make the move first. When the sniper realizes he’s going to have to make the first move he slowly gets out from his hiding spot, where he is able to be seen by the Free state sniper. When the sniper gets harmed on his forearm and isn't powerful enough to pick up his rifle he has to depend his victory upon his revolver. With the rifle the sniper was able to shoot from afar but with the revolver he would have to shoot his enemy from nearby. The sniper tries getting closer to his rival without being noticed, which was extremely difficult to do because of the silence in the night, so he sets up a skillful act to ruse his rival into thinking he has been shot. When the Free State sniper puts his guard thinking everyone is shot, the Republican sniper shoots with eagerness running through his veins and shuddered watching the body hit the floor with a thud. As the sniper was celebrating to himself he felt a sudden curiosity to notice who he had shot, but what he didn't expect was to see his brothers body lying there lifeless.

     What is the author's message? Provide evidence from the text and explain your thinking.

The message the author tries to connect us with is hard to understand in this short story. I personally 

think the authors message is to show us how hard war is and maybe how it has a bad impact on many people, including soldiers. 

We get happiness from electronic devices, not going to school, staying at home and chilling. It’s 

different for soldiers, they get happiness from killing their enemies, coming out of war alive, and just surviving. 

After reading this short story I noticed you could be hurting many people around you that could be 

related to you one way or another. Many messages connect to me through this story but it’s hard to grasp just one.