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:

The sniper thought the noise would wake the dead.

Related Characters: Republican Sniper, Enemy Sniper

Page Number and Citation: 97

Explanation and Analysis:

Here, the Enemy Sniper hits the Republican Sniper in the arm. The Republican Sniper is forced to drop his rifle; moreover, the sound of the rifle falling is extremely loud.The loudness of the rifle produces several literary effects. First, it foreshadows the final, much louder sound of the Republican Sniper's gunshot, which will kill the Enemy Sniper. Second, it underscores the seriousness of the event: the Republican Sniper has lost his most important tool, with which he defends his own life. Third and most important, the notion of a noise that can "wake the dead" is meant ironically, since the Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam v

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

Related Characters: Enemy Sniper, Republican Sniper

Page Number and Citation: 98

Explanation and Analysis:

In this passage, the Republican Sniper prepares to kill his rival, the Enemy Sniper. Cleverly, the Republican Sniper has fooled his opponent into believing that he (the Republican) is dead--he's even dropped his rifle to the ground. Now, the Enemy Sniper is standing straight up, making himself an easy target for the Republican.It's important to notice the obvious pleasure that the Republican Sniper takes in shooting his opponent. Murder is a bloody, savage act, but because the Republican Sniper is so separated from his opponent, he can enjoy the thrill of winning the "game" he's been playing with the Enemy Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliqua

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

Related Characters: Republican Sniper, Enemy Sniper

Page Number and Citation: 98

Explanation and Analysis:

Here, the Republican Sniper shoots his opponent, the Enemy Sniper, and cries out with joy: he's won the fight by tricking the Enemy into standing up and making himself an easy target.The Republican takes an obvious pleasure in killing his opponent. Separated from the Enemy Sniper by "smoke" and distance, he doesn't have to look at his victim's cold, dead body--he can rejoice in having "won the battle." It's also worth noticing that Flaherty suggests that the Republican Sniper could easily have been the one to be killed, had the circumstances been even a little different. Here, the Republican Sniper Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occa

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

Related Characters: Enemy Sniper

Page Number and Citation: 98

Explanation and Analysis:

At this point in the text, the Republican Sniper has no idea who the Enemy Sniper is. Separated by the distance between the buildings in Dublin (and by the ideological differences that have led them to fight for different sides), the Republican barely thinks of his opponent as a human being at all: he's been conditioned to feel no sympathy whatsoever for his enemies, and has become desensitized to bloodshed. Flaherty conveys the Republican Sniper's dismissive attitude toward the Enemy Sniper by describing the Enemy as nothing but a "body." From the Republican's point of view, there's absolutely nothing to Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at.

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: Republican Sniper, Enemy Sniper

Page Number and Citation: 99

Explanation and Analysis:

Here, the Republican Sniper decides to investigate who his opponent was. It's worth wondering why, exactly, the Republican does so--he has no rational reason for risking his own life by looking at the Enemy Sniper's face. Nevertheless, the Republican Sniper is the victim of a basic human emotion, curiosity. He wants to know what kind of man would join the Free State side of the Civil War. (The Republican Sniper's curiosity is also our curiosity: we want to know who the Enemy Sniper was, just as badly as the Republican does!) Finally, the Republican Sniper seems to feel a natural Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut

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

Related Characters: Republican Sniper, Enemy Sniper

Related Symbols: The Brother

Page Number and Citation: 99

Explanation and Analysis:

In the final sentence of the short story, the Republican Sniper seems to realize that his opponent, the Enemy Sniper, was actually his own "brother." Taken literally, this sentence reinforces the savagery of the Irish Civil War: a bloody conflict that split up families and entire communities by forcing everyone to pick political sides. Throughout the story, the Republican Sniper has tried and failed to think of his opponent as abstractly as possible. Here, though, the Enemy Sniper's full humanity comes surging back: he and the Republican Sniper are related by blood.Taken more abstractly, the word "brother" could suggest the Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor as

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)

Enemy Sniper Character Analysis

Enemy Sniper Quotes in The Sniper

The Sniper Quotes

Enemy Sniper Character Timeline in The Sniper