Liam O"Flaherty portrayed an experience of a Republican sniper during the Irish Civil war, in the short story "The Sniper". Trapped on the roof of a building and armed with a rifle and a revolver, the unnamed sniper was attempting to accomplish his mission before sunrise. The sniper's actions and thoughts show many of his character traits such as being intelligent and determined and at the same time a risk taker.
A segment of the story that shows his determination and intelligence was when he is shot in the arm by an enemy sniper after killing an armored car driver and a civilian spy. He overcame his pain and devised a plan to make the other sniper think that he is dead. Once he had a clear shot of the enemy he lifted his arm and shot and killed him with his revolver. The reader sees that the sniper is intelligent and determined, as he was able to kill his enemy sniper after being previously shot in the arm. .
The sniper's risk taking characteristic is shown when he risks to smoke a cigarette despite the presence of enemy snipers. One quote from the story that shows this is "The flash might be seen in the darkness, and there were enemies watching. He decided to take the risk". The reader sees this same type of behavior when the sniper risked running across the street, out in the open where machine gunners were watching, just to see the person he had killed. This character trait is important because it informs the reader of other characteristics such as being addicted to smoking or of him having a feeling of sympathy or deep remorse after killing a man.
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The republican sniper in the story "The Sniper" by Liam O"Flaherty is a complex man with many character traits, one of which is being determined and intelligent. With his quick thinking he is able to kill his opponent, in spite of losing his ability to move his arm. He is also a risk taker who sought closure for killing his enemy. Through his actions and thoughts, the sniper shows many character traits in the short story "The Sniper" by Liam O"Flaherty.