Sunday, October 8, 2017

Were you surprised to learn the sniper kills the old woman as well as the soldier? Explain.

The Republican sniper kills three of his perceived enemies during the course of Liam O'Flaherty's short story "The Sniper." It's not in the least bit surprising that the sniper kills the man in the armored car, the woman who is giving away his position on the rooftop or the Free State sniper who is trying to kill him. After all, the story depicts a war. In this case, it's the Irish Civil War which sometimes pitted brother against brother, in similar fashion to the American Civil War. In particular, the sniper kills the old woman because she is pointing out his position to the soldier in the armored car. In the story's climax, he tricks the enemy sniper into showing himself and then shoots him with his revolver. At the end, he discovers the dead man is really his brother.

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