 |
| Neb English Support |
The Sniper | Liam O'Flaherty | Summary | Neb English Support
The Sniper
ABOUT THE STORY
The Sniper by Liam O'Flaherty
This short story "The Sniper" was written by the Irish writer Liam O'Flaherty. The story is set during the early weeks of the Irish Civil War, during the Battle of Dublin. This story is writer's first published work of fiction. It was published in a small London-based socialist weekly, "The New Leader" on 12th January 1923. The story has presented the on going war between the Republican armies and their enemies. The story is about the battle between snipers. Here, we find the Republican sniper's clever acts. With the help of his tricks, he defeats and kills the enemy sniper. But when he goes to inspect the fallen enemy, he finds out something shocking - the enemy sniper is actually his own brother. There are various themes in the story such as war, conflict and the emotional impact of violence etc.
FULL STORY SUMMARY
The Sniper by Liam O'Flaherty
The story starts as night falls on Dublin. There is an Irish Civil War happening, and two groups, the Republicans and the Free Staters, are fighting with each other. There are roars of heavy guns near the Four Courts area. There are also occasional bursts of rifle and machine gun fire all over the city.
A sniper from the Republican side is on a rooftop near O'Connell Bridge in Dublin. He's really hungry and eats a sandwich. This is his first meal since this morning. He feels thirsty and takes a sip of whisky from his flask. He decides to have a smoke. He lights his cigarette and inhales the smoke. He recognises danger and takes another puff from his cigarette before putting it out. In the meantime, a bullet lands so close to him. He peeps over the edge to see where the shot came from. Soon another bullet lands just close to him. This time, he notices that it's from across the street, but he can't spot the hidden enemy sniper on the rooftop.
A big armoured vehicle comes up the street and stops. An elderly lady walks over the vehicle and shows where the Republican sniper is. He figures out that she's informing him. While she points, a man pops out his head from the turret of the vehicle. The sniper immediately shoots and kills him. He shoots again to kill the lady as she tries to run away. She falls into the gutter while escaping.
The vehicle immediately moves away with great speed. The head of the dead man hangs lifelessly over the turret. Meanwhile, the enemy sniper fires a bullet to shoot the Republican sniper from across the street. His rifle falls on the roof, clattering in a loud way. He tries his best to pick it up, but he can't lift it. He is badly wounded by his forearm. He gets badly hurt. At first, he doesn't feel pain. He feels numbness as if his limb is cut off. He uses his knife and opens his sleeve to clean and bandage the wound. There's a small hole in his arm where the bullet entered. But there is no exit hole. The bullet seems to have broken his bone inside. The sniper struggles a lot with pain and thinks about how he might escape from the spot.
The sniper takes off his hat. He puts it on his rifle and raises the rifle just above the protective wall. He wants his hat to be visible from across the street. As the hat is visible, the enemy sniper fires. The bullet goes right through the top of the hat. Later, the Republican sniper leans his rifle forward to make his hat fall to the street. He drops his rifle to the street, showing his hand on the parapet, and then pulls it back slowly. He lifts himself up a bit, quite carefully, to confirm if his plan has worked. The enemy sniper stands up, considering that he has managed to kill his opponent.
The Republican sniper is happy to find his clever trick working. He ignores his pain, points his gun, and fires at the enemy's outline. The body of the enemy sniper falls to the street with a thud.
As he watches his enemy fall, the sniper feels guilty himself. He gets really mad at the whole situation. He starts muttering to himself, throws his gun down, and sets it off. When a gunshot barely misses him, he comes back to his senses. He takes out his flask and drinks all the whisky in one go. After a drink, he becomes a bit careless. He decides to report what happened. He moves to the street and wonders if he knows the fallen enemy sniper. They might have been in the same battalion before the army split. He leaves his parapet and hurries across the street to where his enemy's body is. When he turns the body over, he gets the idea that it's his brother.
Thanks for Visiting my Website: Suraj Bhatt
Post a Comment