The Sniper

By Liam O’Flaherty

PART ONE: Before reading the story, scan for unknown words. Keep a list of them and write out the

definition. Pay attention to part of speech. (If the word is used in the sentence as a verb, make sure
the definition

you find is also a verb and that it makes sense in the story.)

PART TWO: Read the story using the new definitions you have acquired (from part one).

PART THREE: Answer the reading questions below.

1. What POV does the author use? 3rd person

2. What is the basic situation (exposition) and the setting of this story? The men are on rood tops and
in allies and are trying to kill their enemies.

3. What are two types of conflict in this story?

Man vs. Man & Man vs. Machine

4. Give an example from the story of each type of conflict you noted above.

The sniper dudes out to kill each other, and the actual guns themselves

5. Direct and Indirect Characterization-Tell me about this narrator. Give a detailed explanation using

plenty of textual evidence to support your answer.

The narrator uses indirect characterization to tell the story. He narrates through the characters actions
and thoughts for example the ruse. “Crawling quickly to his feet, he peered up at the corner of the roof.
His ruse had succeeded.”

6. Where is the irony in this story? What type of irony does this represent?

What’s ironic about this story is that the guy thought that he killed the guy in the roof but got tricked
and got killed by the guy he thought was dead. This is situational and dramatic irony.