Exploring "The Sniper" by Liam O'Flaherty: Historical Context and Literary Elements
Delve into the world of "The Sniper" by Liam O'Flaherty with pre-reading notes, background information on the Irish Civil War, and post-reading analysis of literary elements like point of view and irony types. Meet the writer, Liam O'Flaherty, and understand the dramatic and situational ironies used in the story.
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The Sniper By Liam O Flaherty
THE SNIPER PRE-READING NOTES The Writer and his Historical Connection
Meet the Writer Liam O Flaherty (1896- 1984) Born to a large, poor family on Inishmore, one of Ireland s rocky Aran Islands. He took inspiration from the peasant life of the Aran Islands in his writing.
Background This story is set in Dublin, Ireland, in the 1920s, during a time of civil war. Republicans: desired all of Ireland to be totally free from British rule. Free Staters: desired compromise with Britain. The Irish Civil war tore families apart: child against parent, sister against sister, and brother against brother.
POST-READING NOTES Literary Elements
Types of Point of View First Person The narrator is within the action of the story Second Person When the narrator directly addresses the reader Third Person Limited: The narrator has a limited knowledge of the story (limited to one character) Omniscient: The narrator has an unlimited knowledge of the story (knows everything about everyone) Point of View
Definition 3 Types Dramatic Situational Verbal A technique that reveals a discrepancy between what appears to be and what is actually true. Involves a deflection from expectation Irony
Dramatic Irony When a writer allows a reader to know more about a situation than the character does Often used to reveal character Example: In The Gift of the Magi, the reader knows that Della cuts her hair off to earn money to buy her husband, Jim, a chain for his watch. He, however, has sold his watch so he could buy her silver combs for her hair.
Situational Irony When what happens is entirely different than what is expected Example: Guy Montag, the protagonist of Ray Bradbury s Fahrenheit 451, is a fireman. However, in this novel set in a possible future, a fireman doesn t put fires out: he starts them, burning books which society has deemed dangerous and unsafe.
Verbal Irony When a character says something different than what is meant. In the spoken word, the tone of voice makes verbal irony easier to detect. Examples In a song, a farmer says to the wife who has abandoned him, You picked a fine time to leave me, Lucille. Mark Antony makes a speech after Caesar s slaying. He knows Brutus is responsible, but in his speech, he repeats, Brutus is an honorable man all the while making Brutus appear less and less honorable.
Conflict and Point of View Conflict: Man vs. Man: the struggle exists between the Republican sniper and the Free Stater sniper. Point of View: Third person limited: restricted to one character (the Republican sniper) and observes only what he sees, hears, feels, or does.
Similes and Metaphors Similes: Machine guns and rifles broke the silence of the night, spasmodically, like dogs barking on lone farms. Metaphors: Around the beleaguered Four Courts the heavy guns roared. The sniper could hear the dull panting of the motor . . . His bullets would never pierce the steel that covered the gray monster. Personification: attributing human characteristics to something nonhuman.
Mood The mood of The Sniper is nervous and suspenseful. O Flaherty keeps you reading to find out what comes next. The reader feels the suspense and becomes nervous when the Republican sniper is shot and he has to make a plan so that he can both live and kill the Free Stater sniper on the opposite rooftop.
Irony The irony of The Sniper is situational. Situational irony: an event occurs that contradicts the expectations of the reader. Neither the reader nor the Republican sniper expects the two snipers to be brothers fighting against each other.
Theme One of the possible themes of The Sniper is that war has no boundaries.
