The Sniper Flashcards
by Liam O'Flaherty — tap or click to flip
Flashcard Review
Flashcards: The Sniper
Where and when does "The Sniper" take place?
The story is set in Dublin, Ireland, during the Irish Civil War, on a rooftop near O'Connell Bridge on a June night.
What political sides are fighting in the story?
Republicans and Free Staters are waging civil war against each other in the streets of Dublin.
What careless act reveals the sniper's position at the start?
He lights a cigarette, and the flash of the match gives away his location, causing an enemy bullet to flatten against the parapet.
Who informs the armored car of the sniper's location?
An old woman in a tattered shawl points out the sniper's rooftop position to the soldier in the armored car turret.
What two people does the sniper kill before dealing with his enemy counterpart?
He shoots the soldier whose head appeared in the armored car turret, and then kills the old woman informer as she tries to flee.
How is the sniper wounded?
A shot from the enemy sniper on the opposite rooftop hits the Republican sniper's right forearm, fracturing the bone.
How does the sniper treat his own wound?
He uses his knife to cut open his sleeve, drips iodine into the wound, and bandages it with cotton wadding from his field dressing, tying it off with his teeth.
What ruse does the sniper use to fool his enemy?
He props his cap on the muzzle of his rifle and raises it above the parapet; when the enemy shoots the cap, he lets his arm hang lifelessly and drops the rifle, making the enemy believe he is dead.
How does the sniper kill his enemy counterpart?
Once the enemy stands up thinking the Republican sniper is dead, the Republican sniper shoots him with his revolver from about fifty yards across the rooftop.
What is the story's final shocking revelation?
When the sniper turns over the dead enemy's body in the street, he discovers it is his own brother.
How does the protagonist feel immediately after killing the enemy sniper?
The lust of battle drains out of him and he is overcome with remorse, shuddering, sweating, and cursing the war, himself, and everybody.
How does O'Flaherty describe the sniper's face and eyes?
His face is thin and ascetic like a student's, but his eyes have the cold gleam of a fanatic — deep and thoughtful, the eyes of a man used to looking at death.
What does the sniper's emotional breakdown after killing reveal about his character?
Despite his combat skill and cold efficiency, the sniper is not desensitized to killing; the remorse and breakdown show he retains his humanity beneath the soldier's exterior.
What is the central theme of "The Sniper"?
The story's central theme is the senseless, self-destructive nature of civil war, illustrated by the ultimate irony that the enemy one kills can be one's own brother.
How does the story explore the dehumanizing effect of war?
The sniper reduces enemies to targets — a cap to trick, a silhouette to shoot — but the ending forces him to recognize the dead as a human being, specifically family.
What does the theme of brotherhood vs. ideology represent in the story?
The story shows that civil war forces people to choose political sides over family bonds, ultimately pitting brother against brother in a conflict that destroys both.
How is irony used in the story's ending?
The supreme irony is that the sniper's triumphant kill turns to horror when he discovers the enemy he expertly hunted and shot is his own brother, making victory indistinguishable from fratricide.
What literary device is used when O'Flaherty describes the armored car as a "gray monster"?
This is a metaphor, comparing the armored car to a monster to emphasize its menace and the sniper's helplessness against its armor.
How does O'Flaherty use simile in the story's opening paragraph?
He writes that machine guns and rifles "broke the silence of the night, spasmodically, like dogs barking on lone farms," using a rural simile to contrast the isolated, scattered violence with the sleeping city.
What is the significance of the story being told in close third-person point of view?
The close third-person perspective keeps the enemy sniper anonymous and abstract — just a target — which makes the final revelation of his identity all the more devastating.
What does the word "ascetic" mean as used to describe the sniper's face?
Ascetic means austere and self-disciplined, suggesting the sniper has a lean, serious quality shaped by hardship and focused purpose rather than ease or comfort.
What does "paroxysm" mean in the scene where the sniper treats his wound?
A paroxysm is a sudden, violent outburst or spasm; here it describes the intense wave of pain that overtakes the sniper when iodine hits the bullet wound.
What does "ruse" mean in the context of the sniper's plan?
A ruse is a trick or stratagem intended to deceive; the sniper's ruse is faking his own death with a decoy cap and rifle to lure the enemy into the open.
What does "beleaguered" mean as used in the opening paragraph?
Beleaguered means surrounded and under attack; the Four Courts are described as beleaguered because they are encircled by heavy artillery fire during the civil war.
What line closes the story?
"Then the sniper turned over the dead body and looked into his brother's face." — the final sentence, delivered without elaboration, creates the story's devastating impact through stark understatement.