Enemy Sniper Character Analysis in The Sniper

The enemy sniper is in no real way differentiated by O’Flaherty from the Republican sniper—that is, other than the fact that the two men lie on the opposite ends of the ideological battle raging at the moment, and on opposite roofs facing off against each other. The enemy sniper and the Republican sniper seem to mirror each other, each trying to shoot at the other and each trying to trick the other. The enemy sniper does not succeed and gets killed, and in the end the Republican sniper discovers that the enemy sniper is actually his brother.

Enemy Sniper Quotes in The Sniper

The The Sniper quotes below are all either spoken by Enemy Sniper or refer to Enemy Sniper. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

). Note: all page numbers and citation info for the quotes below refer to the St. Martin's Press edition of The Sniper published in 1999.

The sniper thought the noise would wake the dead.

Related Characters: ,

Page Number and Citation: 97

Explanation and Analysis:

The Republican sniper smiled and lifted his revolver above the edge of the parapet...his hand trembled with eagerness.

Related Characters: ,

Page Number and Citation: 98

Explanation and Analysis:

Then when the smoke cleared, he peered across and uttered a cry of joy. His enemy had been hit.

Related Characters: ,

Page Number and Citation: 98

Explanation and Analysis:

The body turned over and over in space and hit the ground with a dull thud. Then it lay still.

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Page Number and Citation: 98

Explanation and Analysis:

He felt a sudden curiosity as to the identity of the enemy sniper whom he had killed…Perhaps he had been in his own company before the split in the army.

Related Characters: ,

Page Number and Citation: 99

Explanation and Analysis:

Then the sniper turned over the dead body and looked into his brother’s face.

Related Characters: ,

Related Symbols:

Page Number and Citation: 99

Explanation and Analysis:

Enemy Sniper Character Timeline in The Sniper

The timeline below shows where the character Enemy Sniper appears in The Sniper. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...and rifles, which sound like “dogs barking on lone farms.” Near O’Connel Bridge a Republican sniper lies on a rooftop along a deserted street. He has “the face of a student”... (full context)

After hungrily eating a sandwich, the sniper takes a swig of whiskey and wonders whether he should risk lighting a cigarette. The... (full context)

An enemy armored car comes down the street and the sniper wishes to fire at it, but... (full context)

Suddenly the enemy sniper on the other roof takes his chance and shoots the sniper. The sniper drops... (full context)

The sniper rips off his sleeve and ascertains that the bullet has lodged in his bone. He... (full context)

After putting his cap over the muzzle of his rifle, the sniper pushes the rifle over the parapet as if edging forward to shoot. The enemy sniper... (full context)

Smiling, the Republic sniper aims his revolver as his “right arm was paining him like a thousand devils.” His... (full context)

Suddenly, looking at his dead enemy, the sniper has a change of heart. “The lust of battle died in him. He... (full context)

The sniper throws his revolver “with an oath.” It fires, but doesn’t hit him, though the shock... (full context)

Taking another risk, the sniper crosses the street. There is suddenly heavy firing near him, and he runs across the... (full context)