English 10 Literature Lesson #17 Mr. Rinka The Sniper Analysis

Historical Background http://www. cummingsstudyguides In 1919, the newly formed Irish Republican Army launched guerilla warfare during the Irish War of Independence to liberate Ireland from the British. Unable to contain the rebels, London agreed in the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty to create an Irish Free State. However, the agreement would recognize the Free State only as a dominion in the British Commonwealth of Nations. Moreover, it would permit

Historical Background http://www. cummingsstudyguides six counties in northern Ireland to withdraw from the Free State, allow the British to maintain ports in the south, and require the Free State to pay part of the debt Britain incurred in waging the war. Consequently, not all Irishmen accepted the agreement, the provisions of which became effective in 1922. (The six northern counties seceded, as expected.) Once-united Irish fighters

Historical Background http://www. cummingsstudyguides now split into two factions—disgruntled IRA members and supporters of the Free State—and fought a civil war. O’Flaherty, himself a member of the IRA, centers his short story on a scene of fighting in Dublin in which an IRA sniper shoots at Free Staters from a rooftop.

Setting http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/Guides4/Sniper.html The time and place in which a story, play, or narrative takes place. "The Sniper" takes place in Ireland's largest city, Dublin, on the country's east coast on Dublin Bay, an inlet of the Irish Sea. The time is nightfall in June after the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922. The sniper

Setting posts himself on a rooftop in central Dublin near the Four Courts building, which houses the high courts of Ireland, and O'Connell Bridge, which spans the River Liffey. The Liffey divides the city into two sections as it runs eastward to Dublin Bay.

Protagonist The main character in a story often called the “hero” The IRA sniper is the protagonist. http://www.imfdb.org/images/thumb/3/3d/Michaelcollinsgewehr98_2.jpg/600px-Michaelcollinsgewehr98_2.jpg

Antagonist The character or force that blocks the protagonist. The sniper across the street from the protagonist. http://forum.i3d.net/attachments/modifications-cod4/14399d1204835313-cod4-mod-sniper-only-00252198.jpg

Conflict In literature, the problem that is created between the protagonist and antagonist. The solution of this problem makes up the story.

External Conflict A conflict in which a character struggles against an outside force

External Conflict Man v Man IRA Sniper V Free Stater Sniper The enemy on the opposite roof covered his escape. He must kill that enemy, and he could not use his rifle. He had only a revolver to do it. Then he thought of a plan.

Moral A lesson about life that a story teaches

Moral http://www. cummingsstudyguides. net/Guides4/Sniper War reduces human beings to mere objects. They have no names, no faces. They are targets, nothing more, to be shot at from a distance. To support this theme, O’Flaherty refrains from naming any of his characters.

Moral http://www. cummingsstudyguides. net/Guides4/Sniper War knows no boundaries—age, sex, location, time of day, family ties. The IRA sniper is a young man, and the informer is an old woman. The fighting takes place in the heart of a city after sundown. The IRA sniper unwittingly shoots and kills his own brother.

Point of View (POV) The perspective the narrator, storyteller, takes when telling the story.

3rd Person Limited POV The person telling the story presents the story through only one character. Uses the pronouns “he” and “she”.

3rd Person Limited POV Example Then he paused for a moment, considering whether he should risk a smoke. It was dangerous. The flash might be seen in the darkness, and there were enemies watching. He decided to take the risk.

Allusion Reference to a statement, person, place, or event from history, literature, religion, mythology, politics, sports, science, or pop culture

Allusion Example http://gvc0823. gvc08. virtualclassroom Republicans and Free Staters were waging civil war. A reference to the 1922 decision to create free states in Ireland that would be ruled by England. This decision caused a civil war within Ireland.

Characterization A description of the physical, mental, emotional and behavioral qualities of a person in a literary work.

Characterization His face was the face of a student, thin and ascetic, but his eyes had the cold gleam of the fanatic. They were deep and thoughtful, the eyes of a man who is used to looking at death.

Direct Characterization The writer describes the physical, emotional and mental qualities directly to the reader.

Direct Characterization His teeth chattered, he began to gibber to himself, cursing the war, cursing himself, cursing everybody.

Indirect Characterization The reader has to use his own judgment to decide what a character is like based on the evidence that the writer gives.

Indirect Characterization The woman darted towards the side street. The sniper fired again. The woman whirled round and fell with a sudden shriek into the gutter.

Dynamic Character A Character who changes as a result of the events of a story.

Dynamic Character Example The sniper seems to be a Dynamic Characters: The sniper looked at his enemy falling and he shuddered. The lust of battle died in him. He became bitten by remorse.

Flat Character A character who has only one or two traits that can be described in a few words.

Flat Character Example They were deep and thoughtful, the eyes of a man who is used to looking at death.

Foreshadowing Giving hints or clues beforehand in a story that create suspense and/or subtly prepare the reader for what is to follow.

Foreshadowing Example he felt a sudden curiosity as to the identity of the enemy sniper whom he had killed. He wondered did he know him. Perhaps he had been in his own company before the split in the army.

Epiphany The moment of awakening or realization for a character.

Epiphany Example Then the sniper turned over the dead body and looked into his brother´s face.

Imagery Language that appeals to the senses to create a mental picture.

Imagery Example Then the dying man on the roof crumpled up and fell forward. The body turned over and over in space and hit the ground with a dull thud. Then it lay still.

Situational Irony Both the audience and the characters experience a surprise or shock at what occurs because they expected something else.

Situational Irony Example A machine-gun tore up the ground around him with a hail of bullets, but he escaped. He threw himself face downwards beside the corpse. The machine-gun stopped. Then the sniper turned over the dead body and looked into his brother´s face.

Metaphor A figure of speech that makes a comparison between two unlike things in which one thing becomes another thing without using words such as “like,” “as,” “than,” “resembles.”

Metaphor His bullets would never pierce the steel that covered the grey monster.

Mood The feelings a work stimulates in a reader.

Mood Example While reading “The Sniper” I felt apprehensive and fearful because of the dangerous situation, and the fact that here was a young student turned into a killer..

Tone The attitude a writer takes toward the reader, a subject or a character

Tone Example O’Flaherty seems sympathetic to the sniper and probably was since he had been a supporter of the IRA.

The Sniper Video http://quietube.com/v.php/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSB_T2GLa7M&feature=related

English 10 Literature Lesson #17 Mr. Rinka The Sniper Analysis