19 pages • 38 minutes read
Liam O'FlahertyThe Sniper
Fiction | Short Story | Adult | Published in 1923A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Character Analysis
The Sniper
The sniper is the story’s protagonist. O’Flaherty gives the reader limited knowledge of his thoughts and emotions and devotes most of the story to his actions. The sniper is on the Republican side of the Irish Civil War. O’Flaherty’s description of him suggests that he has been fighting for a long time—the sniper has “deep and thoughtful” eyes that were “used to looking at death” (Paragraph 2). His actions are deliberate and quick. When he is shot in the arm by an enemy sniper, he treats the wound using a field dressing kit. Because the sniper is accustomed to waging war, his actions are based on risk assessment. He eats a sandwich very quickly only when he feels safe. He risks lighting a cigarette but is aware that the enemy may see the match’s flame.
The opening of the story finds the sniper on a rooftop in Dublin. The reader doesn’t know much about him, including his company or specific duties. When the sniper fatally shoots a woman in the street, he catches the attention of an enemy sniper on the opposite rooftop who is on the side of the Free Staters. The sniper is caught in a conundrum: he cannot leave the rooftop for fear of being targeted by the enemy sniper, but if he waits until daylight on the roof he’ll be bombarded by Free State soldiers. The sniper decides to let his rifle fall to the ground to give the illusion that he has been shot, while retaining his revolver to shoot the enemy sniper.
After he shoots the enemy sniper, the protagonist experiences remorse. He loses interest in killing and curses the war he has fought. Though disillusioned, the sniper decides it is worth the risk to venture into the street to see the face of the enemy. In the story’s final line, the sniper turns over the corpse and realizes that the enemy is his brother.
The Enemy Sniper
The enemy sniper is the protagonist’s primary antagonist. He represents the Free Staters who favored acceptance of the Irish Free State under British rule. The two men are foils and little is known about either. Nothing is known of the enemy sniper’s physical appearance; the protagonist only sees him in silhouette against a darkened sky. The lack of details suggest that the characters are archetypes. They begin as enemies but end with the protagonist’s realization that they are brothers. O’Flaherty is commenting about the brutality of war. We are not foes, he seems to suggest, but allies in the human race.
The Soldier in the Turret
The soldier is a flat, anonymous character. He exists only to furnish an example of one of the protagonist’s casualties. We can assume he is a member of the Free State army, as he takes aim at the protagonist. He represents the countless, nameless casualties of the civil war.
The Old Woman
The old woman is not named. O’Flaherty uses her character to subvert what readers may expect from individuals in certain social categories or age groups. Unlike the stereotype of a gentle grandmother, the old woman’s actions represent a true threat to the sniper, and so the sniper kills her while she is trying to escape. Her death demonstrates the barbarity and ignobility of war.
