The Sniper Courage Quotes

"The Sniper ̈ by Liam O’Flaherty is a short story about a sniper who was in war, when he saw an old woman point at him he shot her, and while doing that he got shot in the forearm. The sniper tricks his enemy by taking his cap off then he puts it over his rifle to make it look like a person. When the sniper got his enemy he was curious about who it was, when he flipped over the body he saw his brother's face. Through the character's actions, the readers understand that war is full of courage, but it may never end well. At the beginning of the story, the sniper was so excited, he couldn't eat. It was night in Dublin while he was just waiting. The author states,¨His face was the face of a student, thin and ascetic, but his eyes had the cold gleam of the fanatic. They were deep and thoughtful, the eyes of a man who is used to looking at death.¨(page 58) This statement infers that the man has killed many people and has no remorse. This may infer that he may regret it later on for taking it too far. This is important because the quote shows how he has gotten used to it and doesn't have much remorse. This example, in the beginning, shows how courage might take over.

Then thought of a good idea to trick his enemy with his cap and rifle, he made it look like he died. In the text, ¨The distance was about fifty yards- a hard shot in the dim light, and his right arm was paining like a thousand devils. He took a steady aim. His hand trembled with eagerness. Pressing his lips together, he took a deep breath through his nostrils and fired.¨(Page 59)This quote backs up my statement saying the word is courage. It took a lot of courage to take that shot knowing it was difficult. It could've taken him many minutes to prepare himself for that shot knowing he was most likely gonna miss it. But he still took the chance and he hit the