Emmy Guerrero Final Draft
Professor
English
March 21, 2013

The Experienced Sniper
Why, after centuries of futile destruction, does man persist in waging war? In the short story "The Sniper" by Liam O'Flaherty, the author focuses on the Irish civil war of the 1920's. On a Dublin roof, a Republican soldier struggles to destroy his enemy. Although the sniper is an experienced and ingenious combatant, the story's outcome clearly conveys an anti-war theme. As General Sherman observed, "War is hell."
The sniper is a veteran of war: his eyes are those of a man "who is used to looking at death" (O'Flaherty 1). He has witnessed much destruction and has enough knowledge about the tactics of war. Moreover, he shows proficiency in the way that he moves to hide himself from his opponent so he can’t be seen. On one occasion, when his opponent shot at him, “Dropping flat onto the roof, he crawled back to the parapet” (1), moving fast. Moreover, after being shot, the Republican sniper used his only healthy arm to take out his knife from his pocket. He “ripped open the sleeve” (1), and found a little hole in his arm where the bullet went through. He also took a sip of whiskey to avoid the pain, as anesthesia. He was a well-trained man. He wrapped the wound so well that in a few minutes he was ready to continue with the war against the Free Staters. Moreover, on another occasion when an enemy tank appeared, he knew that his bullet wouldn't go through the tank; for him it could be a waste of bullets. The republican sniper was a veteran of war.
Cleverness is what the Republican sniper used to destroy his enemy, the Free Stater’s sniper. After he was wounded, he couldn’t use his rifle anymore, “Then he thought of a plan"(2) to kill the other sniper. Them he took his cap and “placed it over the muzzle of his rifle” (2) at the edge of the roof. The enemy sniper shot, and when the cap fell, he thought that he had killed his man. The enemy then revealed himself. The Republican sniper smiled and “lifted