A quote from H.G, Wells, “If we do not end war, war will end us.” This is saying how brutal people can be during war. Many will do anything to survive even if that results in killing other human beings. Like in Liam O'Flaherty's short story “The Sniper”, the Republican finds himself stranded on a rooftop in a situation where he has to kill or be killed. His flight or fight instincts kick in and he has no other choice than to fight; his decisions decided the fate of himself and his enemies. The worst sides of the Republican and Free-Stater are brought out when he has to defeat his rival and deal with his overwhelming guilt when a civil war breaks out in Liam O’Flaherty “The Sniper”.
The Republican sniper has to use extreme measures to defeat his enemy, the Free-Stater, in order to survive. The war put the Republican sniper in a tricky situation where he has to come up with a quick plan to survive and get off the roof top before morning comes and his enemies see him. The Republican snipers location has been shown and the enemy knows where he is at, “He must kill that enemy and he could not use his rifle. He had only a revolver to do it. Then he thought of a plan.” Normally, he would have never have done this if there was not a war going on. This altered his entire life. It put him in a …show more content…
The Republican sniper has to live with the fact that he has murdered quite a few people. He would have never felt this sort of guilt if the war had not taken place. The sniper had just shot the Free-Stater so he could get off the roof alive, “The sniper looked at his enemy falling and he shuddered. The lust of the battle died in him. He became bitten by remorse.” Altogether, he would have never felt guilty for killing someone because he had to, especially his brother. However, because of the war, he will remember that exact moment, the way he felt, and the way it looked, for the rest of his
The Republican sniper has to use extreme measures to defeat his enemy, the Free-Stater, in order to survive. The war put the Republican sniper in a tricky situation where he has to come up with a quick plan to survive and get off the roof top before morning comes and his enemies see him. The Republican snipers location has been shown and the enemy knows where he is at, “He must kill that enemy and he could not use his rifle. He had only a revolver to do it. Then he thought of a plan.” Normally, he would have never have done this if there was not a war going on. This altered his entire life. It put him in a …show more content…
The Republican sniper has to live with the fact that he has murdered quite a few people. He would have never felt this sort of guilt if the war had not taken place. The sniper had just shot the Free-Stater so he could get off the roof alive, “The sniper looked at his enemy falling and he shuddered. The lust of the battle died in him. He became bitten by remorse.” Altogether, he would have never felt guilty for killing someone because he had to, especially his brother. However, because of the war, he will remember that exact moment, the way he felt, and the way it looked, for the rest of his