The Sniper: A Short Story

Words: 953
Pages: 4
Open Document
The sniper turned over the dead body and looked into his brother’s face. As he jerked his hand back, the body fell and faced him. He sat down and looked into the once bright eyes; that now stared back at him lifelessly. That was what paralyzed him. The eyes that once looked down on him lovingly, the eyes that could make anyone feel safe were now filled with nothing but worthlessness. A rusty, murky smell travelled up his nostrils. Blood. The unpleasant smell began to suffocate the sniper. It had seemed to break his paralyses. He got up gasping for air; He felt as if he at the very moment was dying and maybe he was.

The sniper stood there for what, to him, seemed like eternity. What broke him out of his trance was the hail of bullets aimed …show more content…
He looked around gingerly for any Free Staters and took off in a rapid sprint. I have to get to safety. I have to be free. He ran into an abandoned building and the first time in years, he began to cry. The sniper went through a lot in the last few years. He went through things that no person should ever have to go through. As tears went down his face a thought struck him; I have to be free. He was never free. He never will be free. He was a solider. He was regimented. He killed his brother. He was a defender. He was a soldier. That was all he was… a solider. He thought of all the soldiers he killed. Soldiers he did not know the name of. When he dies, is that all he will be known as? Another faceless, nameless soldier who died in the name of his country? The sniper didn’t want to be another solider. The sniper didn’t want to die. He hadn’t lived yet. If he wasn’t killed, could he live again? Could he live with the fact he killed his brother? That he killed other fighters whose families are probably grieving for him? Would his family care if he were killed? Could they accept him after he killed their son? After the war is over will he be free? Or will he always be the restricted? He had to do something to fulfill his purpose. He has to have one? He wasn’t born to …show more content…
His fingers slightly tapped the letters on his typewriter. The sniper made it his life goal to tell others what war brought on, what he had to lose. He could never forgive himself for being responsible for the death of his brother. He had been working on a book full of his experiences of the war, but he couldn’t bring himself to explain some things. He looked at the family picture on his desk, covered in dust, slightly blurry, but the memories were as clear as ever. It was over 15 years old. He remembered how when he was seven, he spilt lighter fluid all over his mother’s carpet. He remembered how his older brother took the blame for him. The sniper remembered hearing the loud smack against his brother’s cheek. He remembered it being swollen for days. He remembered fishing with his father and brother. He remembered the family dinners he missed. He drifted back to sleep. He murmured in his sleep, begging for forgiveness. In the darkness, he saw an angelic hue. “I forgive you, “ It
Show More

Related Documents: The Sniper: A Short Story

The Sniper: A Short Story

Then the sniper turned over the dead body and looked into his brother’s face. He looked into the eyes of his brother’s lifeless body and dropped his arms from the body. The sniper remembered playing with his brother when he was a kid and always seeing him so happy. But now he isn’t like that, he has no expression. Then tears started to stream down the sniper’s face. He dropped down flat on the ground beside his brother. He had the feeling of guilt running through his body, having just killed…

Words 372 - Pages 2

The Sniper: A Short Story

“Wait…” He tried calling after Asia but the angel was gone, like poof; there one second and not the next. Maybe it was a good idea that Asia left Ivan behind, the sniper was kind out of it. The blond took his sweet old time getting ready before he left he made sure that he had all of his belongings and he even was kind enough to pick up the room; let's just say there were a lot more alcohol bottles and cans laying around then what Ivan thought they had. It was starting to make sense why he felt like…

Words 514 - Pages 3

Sniper In Liam O 'Flaherty's Short Story The Sniper'

The Republican sniper in Liam O’Flaherty’s short story “The Sniper” is reckless because he risks his life in order to fulfill unimportant desires. “The Sniper” states “He paused for a moment, considering whether to risk a smoke… He decided to take the risk.”(1) Smoking a cigarette at that particular moment was dangerous because an enemy sniper could’ve seen the flames and inferred the sniper’s presence. This risk shows that the sniper’s risks are reckless and uncalculated, an enemy did see the flame…

Words 207 - Pages 1

Comparing Short Stories 'The Sniper And Cranes'

In the short stories “The Sniper” by Liam O'Flaherty and “Cranes,” by Hwang Sun-won and translated by Peter H. Lee, the two stories share one similar universal theme. To begin with, in the story “The Sniper,” a young man is currently in the civil war as a sniper. In this story, the conflict that he faces includes killing the enemy sniper on the rooftop across from him. However, being the clever man he is, he tricks the enemy sniper and successfully kills him. In the end, he decides to find out about…

Words 419 - Pages 2

Liam O 'Flaherty's The Sniper'

In the short story, The Sniper, written by Liam O’Flaherty is an effective short story that guides the reader through the theme of war. The author guides the reader’s journey through this theme by using a grasping climax through the story that has a great sense of suspense, an intriguing title that grasps the attention of the audience, and a twist to conclude the story. By using these techniques throughout The Sniper, the reader’s view and opinion is transformed on war and encouraged to believe in…

Words 724 - Pages 3

The Sniper Symbolism

“The Sniper” Analysis Paper What mental and physical struggles do people endure during war? By what means do they survive? Liam O'Flaherty, a short story author, shares his tale of "The Sniper" that tells the personal challenges one man must overcome. Some may even say some of this short story was influenced by Liam's own life experiences. Liam was born in 1896 in the small village of Gort na gCapall on one of the Aran Islands in Galway, Ireland. Beginning at the age of twelve, he attended…

Words 1418 - Pages 6

Liam O Flaherty's The Sniper

“In the short story “Sniper,” by Liam O'Flaherty, the theme of the story is the war destroy families and lives. “Then the sniper turned over the dead body and looked into his brother's face.” (O’Flaherty 208). In the book, the Republican sniper was facing another sniper. The Republican sniper didn't know that the other sniper he was facing was his brother. The other sniper was tricked by the Republican sniper into thinking he was dead by dropping his hat over the roof so the other sniper would come…

Words 158 - Pages 1

Comparison Between 'The Sniper And At Any One Moment'

“Stories chase and bite and hunt” – Patrick Ness AMBER KRACZKOWSKA YEAR 10 ENGLISH MR A CLARK Patrick Ness, a British-American author, stated that “Stories chase and bite and hunt”. This statement is clearly represented in “The Sniper” by Liam O’Flaherty, a story describing the consequences of civil war, and in “At Any One Moment” by Judy Allen, a story showing that ignorance can have many costs. The “chase” refers to the increase in intensity, or the build-up to the climax in the story. The “bite”…

Words 1060 - Pages 5

Analysis Of The Sniper

Jafed G. Sanchez October 27, 2014 Mr. Furrey 9th Grade English Essay Introduction: In the short story “The Sniper,” the poem “Thoughts of Hanoi” and the print media “Patriotic Women of Philadelphia,” each piece expresses that war tears families apart. In “The Sniper,” a family is torn apart when a sniper kills another enemy sniper only to find out that the enemy sniper was his brother. In “Thoughts of Hanoi,” a family is torn apart after ten years of war and one; brother’s fear is…

Words 1280 - Pages 6

The Sniper Suspense Analysis

The Sniper The story that had the most ultimate suspense was “The Sniper”. In short, “The Sniper” is dealing with the Republicans that, at the time, were waging a civil war with the Free Starters. In Dublin, Ireland (1920s), the Republicans wanted all of Ireland to be free from British rule, whereas the Free Starters had made a compromise with the British and had agreed to let them rule the 6 countries in the northern province of Ulster. In the story, it describes that the republican sniper has…

Words 432 - Pages 2