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SHORT STORY NOTES

Title: “The Sniper” Author: Liam O’Flaherty Narrator/POV: 3rd Person

|Character |CHARACTERIZATION |

| |Character Traits |

| |Prove it! |

| |Cite page #, give examples and quotes. |

|Irish Republican |Before the kill: |

|Sniper |He is a young soldier who is “used to looking at death.” = Not innocent |

|(wanted independence |“face of a student” (164) = young |

|from England) |“his eyes had the cold gleam of the fanatic” (164) = intensely focused on the task of killing the enemy sniper |

| |Smart/Clever: = He tricked the other sniper in order to kill him and succeeded (pretended to be dead.) |

|PROTAGONIST | |

| |After the kill: |

| |“The lust of battle died in him. He became bitten with remorse” (166). = Remorseful |

| |Remorse – regret; sorrow (He is a human being dealing with his actions (killing). |

|Irish Free Stater | |

|Sniper (wanted Ireland| |

|to govern itself but | |

|still remain a part of| |

|the British Empire) | |

| | |

|ANTAGONIST | |

|SETTING |

|Time & Place: |

|Dublin, Ireland – During the civil war that erupted in 1922-1923 |

| |

|What is the significance of the setting? |

|The setting is integral (important) because the civil war creates the external conflict of man vs. man (sniper vs. sniper). |

|The setting of darkness at the beginning of the story limits vision and adds to the suspenseful, ominous (threatening) mood. |

|“Dublin lay enveloped in darkness, but for the dim light of the moon” (163) |

|Dominant Mood: |

|(Provide evidence from the text.) |

| |

|Suspenseful |

|We don’t know if the sniper is going to kill or be killed. |

| |

|Ominous (threatening) |

|“Dublin lay enveloped in darkness” (163). |

|The darkness contributes to the feeling that something bad is going to happen. |

| |

|Dark & Dangerous: |

|“Dublin lay enveloped in darkness” (163). |

|“Guns roared” (163) |

|“Enemies watching” (164) |

|PLOT |

|Sequence of Events: List the main events in the story. |

|Driving Conflict: |

|1st Conflict is External (man vs. man)- Irish Republican (protagonist) vs. Irish Free Stater (antagonist) |

|Conflict shifts |

| |

|2nd Conflict is man vs. self – The protagonist is internally wrestling with the fact that he just killed another being |

|“The lust of battle died in him. He became bitten with remorse” (166). |

|What is the Climax of the story? |

|The Protagonist kills his enemy. The suspense ends at this point. |

|What is the Resolution of the story? There is no resolution to the protagonist’s internal conflict. He has killed his “brother.” He is remorseful. |

|Literary |Prove it! |

|Technique |Cite page #, give examples and quotes. |

|Suspense |It is near dawn: the protagonist sniper must kill the other sniper before morning. |

| |He is shot at when he lights a cigarette. |

| |An armored car stops on the street, and an old woman points to the roof where he is located. |

| |A shot from the opposite roof hits his arm, and he can no longer use his rifle. |

| |He devises a risky plan to trick the other sniper into believing he is dead. |

| |***Use of descriptive imagery and quick, short sentences add to the suspense. |

|Situational Irony |The unexpected twist of the protagonist sniper realizing he has killed his “brother.” |

| |Ambiguous (unclear) - We do not know if the enemy is literally a blood brother or if he is simply a country man/fellow human |

| |being. |

| |*EMPHASIZES THE EVILS OF WAR. |

|Imagery (Figurative |Personification – “the dull panting of the motor” (164) |

|Language) |Metaphor – “His bullets would never pierce the steel that covered the grey monster.” (164) |

| |Hyperbole – “The sniper thought the noise would wake the dead.” (164) |

|TONE & THEME |

|Tone: Disdainful (disgust/dislike) for war |

| |

|Theme: |

|In a war, nobody wins. |

|Explanation: Even though our protagonist won the battle, he lost because now he must wrestle with the idea of killing |

|another human being. |

|War is evil. |

|An institution such as war causes people to senselessly kill their fellow humans. |

|Vocabulary Word: Envelope |Definition: Cover |

|Vocabulary Word: Remorse |Definition: Bitter Regret |

|Vocabulary Word: Ambiguous |Definition: Unclear |

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