Use Of Situational Irony In The Sniper

Among the rooftops, a vigilant sniper awaits for his adversary to approach. But this ruthless soldier does not let anything or anyone hinder his sacred duty. In Liam O’Flaherty’s “The Sniper”, irony and conflict vividly illustrates the harsh realities of war through the eyes of the protagonist, a Republican sniper in the Irish Civil War. O’Flaherty provides suspenseful twists interpenetrating the story, showcasing his use of situational irony. Firstly, an old, delicate woman walks over to the enemy’s armored car and points out the sniper's location. However, no one suspects a poor old lady to be actually giving valuable information to the enemy in this situation, and various people would “quickly and easily dismiss her” (Shuman). This demonstrates

O’Flaherty desensitizes the murderous acts of the protagonist through “a controlled emotional response” (Korb). He uses “emotional detachment from the violence around him” (Korb) to separate his character from the events emotionally. The sniper is depicted at a young age, but under the military’s physical and psychological environment, the story makes it seem like he ages quickly. If he does not succeed to grow into an experienced soldier, he cannot survive. Everything in the story is portrayed from a distance, giving the characters no name or personality. One thing pervasive in O’Flaherty’s writing is that “[t]he adventure… depends on anonymity” (Shuman). Ultimately, the sniper finally comes to his senses, if he has any left, and “began to gibber to himself, cursing the war, cursing himself, cursing everybody” (O'Flaherty). In the end, the true antagonist in this story is war and the atrocities it brings. Furthermore, the story “depicts several of the worst horrors of war. It shows that war makes life seem cheap” (Shuman). The hearts of the brave soldiers who participated in the war become hard and damaged. The citizens of each side become prejudiced and divided against each other. Finally, there will always be losses, no matter how great and