The Sniper, by Liam O'Flaherty, is a fiction novel centered around the dehumanization of war. In the short story, a Republican sniper remains positioned atop the rooftops of Dublin. Nighttime has fallen, and the moment he lights a cigarette, an enemy sniper, a Free Stater, fires a bullet directly over his head. Positioned atop the building directly across from sniper rests the enemy that took aim. Immediately after, an armored car arrives at the scene, and an old woman in a tattered shawl informs them of the Republican snipers position. A turret unleashes itself atop the armored car, but the sniper is too nimble and terminates both the man behind the turret and the old woman.
Suddenly, a shot rings out from the opposing rooftop, striking the sniper in the arm and forcing him to drop his rifle from the excruciating pain. Our unassailable sniper trudges on regardless. "Then he lay still against the parapet, and, closing his eyes, he made an effort of will to overcome the pain," (O'Flaherty, 1923, p. 2). The sniper is clever and hastily devises a plan to shoot the enemy with just his pistol from fifty yards away. He props his hat up on his rifle, giving the enemy sniper plenty of time to take his shot, and mocks his own death by letting the hat fall to the bottom of the building and slumming his hand over the edge. His arm trembles from the recoil, and the clearing smoke reveals his target: writhing in pain, and eventually dead.
After drinking from his flask to dull the sensations of war, curiosity compels the sniper to unmask his target's identity. "He threw himself face downward beside the corpse... Then the sniper turned over the dead body and looked into his brother’s face," (O'Flaherty, 1923, p. 3). This guides one's attention back to our theme, the dehumanization of war. The antagonist and Free Stater sniper who fires at the Republican sniper in the beginning is actually his brother.
<em>This is the best summary I could make. I used every strong verb I could, avoiding state of being verbs and passive voice, and cited my quotations appropriately. I don't know about authorial stems unfortunately, nor do I know what to highlight and underline, so you are on your own for those. This should give you a good idea on what to do though. I hope this helps :)</em>
