A Contradicting Character

In this Irish war we have two sides, but this can also be reflected in the two sides within the Sniper himself. The Sniper seems experienced yet amateur, cold yet emotional, lusting for war yet hating it, self-assured yet vulnerable, and clear-minded yet mad; he is a living contradiction.

The Sniper exhibits qualities that are both experienced and amateur. O’Flaherty describes the Sniper as “a man who is used to looking at death”, from which we can infer that the sniper has seen many deaths, since a person who is exposed frequently to death gradually grows senseless to it. In the passage, “There was a flash and a bullet whizzed over his head. He dropped immediately.”, we can tell from the “dropped immediately” that the sniper has exceedingly quick reflexes, something usually apparent in those who are experienced in the techniques of war.

By contrast, the Sniper also possesses many traits of an amateur soldier. He is described as having “the face of a student”, and had been fasting because “he was too excited to eat”. The word “student” has the connotation of one who is young, inexperienced, and still learning, while his excitement implies that this fighting was new to him, because most people tend to be excited at new experiences. Furthermore, when passage states that as he heard the enemy car draw nearer “his heart beat faster”, which is another portrayal of his eagerness and desire to fight. Thus we see a disparity in the Sniper’s character, which is both experienced and amateur.

Another contradiction with the Sniper is that he is both apathetic and emotional. O’Flaherty described his eyes as having a “cold gleam”, and “cold” has the connotation of lacking feeling. In the scene, “The sniper fired again. The woman whirled round and fell with a shriek into the gutter”, the Sniper shows absolutely no compassion for the woman, coldly and efficiently shooting her down. Even when the Sniper was shot himself, he felt no pain, muttering simply “I’m hit”.

Yet paradoxically, the Sniper does show quite a bit of emotion. For example, after killing the other sniper, “…he peered across and uttered a cry of joy.” Later on, after “the dying man on the roof crumpled up and fell forward” the Sniper “shuddered” and “became bitten by remorse”. In addition he “revolted from the sight…His teeth chattered, he began to gibber to himself, cursing the war, cursing himself, cursing everybody”. This surprising transition, from triumphant to regretful to angry, is completely packed with emotion, and stands as a bright contrast against the unemotional beginnings of this character.

Another inconsistency in the Sniper’s character is that he lusted for war, yet despised it. When the Sniper had been “too excited to eat” the word “excited” has a positive connotation of eagerly awaiting for something, in this case, battle. In addition when the Sniper spotted his enemy he “smiled and lifted his revolver above the edge of the parapet”, preparing to shoot, “his hand trembled with eagerness”. In smiling, the Sniper is happy that he is about to kill, and his hand “trembled with eagerness” to show his impatience to shed blood.

On the opposite side, the Sniper also shows a certain hatred for war, mainly after he shot the other Sniper, and “the lust of battle died in him”. After that he began “cursing the war” a straight-out act of resentment towards what he had just done. Furthermore, he “looked at the smoking revolver in his hand, and with an oath, hurled it to the roof at his feet”. The revolver is symbolic of war and death, something he wants to be rid of by tossing away. Therefore, the Sniper’s attitude towards war changed significantly during the course of the story.

The Sniper also seems quite self-assured yet very vulnerable, yet another contradiction to his character. The Sniper is self-assured because he takes many risks. For example, in acts such as “He paused for a moment, considering whether he should risk a smoke…He decided to risk it”, and “He decided to risk going over to have a look at him”, the sniper takes many chances. In taking these chances, he portrays self-assurance, since those who take risks are usually confident in their ability to succeed.

Despite this, there are many characteristic of vulnerability that counteract with those traits of self-assurance. For example, in the passage when “He wanted to fire, but he knew it was useless”, the sniper is hesitant and does not risk shooting because he acknowledges the futility in it, and is not assured in his ability. Furthermore, when he “ground his teeth to overcome the pain” and was “weakened by his wound” the sniper shows very human, paining characteristics and add to the feeling of vulnerability, since he was weak. Although the Sniper seems especially confident and risk-taking, he can also be very weak and vulnerable.

Finally, another paradox in the Sniper’s character is that he appears both clear-minded and mad. O’Flaherty describes the Sniper as “deep and thoughtful”, both words that portray intelligence and logical thinking. In the action of dressing his wounds, “Quickly he drew his knife from his pocket…wrapped the dressing over it. He tied the ends with his teeth”, he shows great resourcefulness in that he found ways to dress his wound with only one hand. Through all of that physical pain, he remained clear-minded and efficient, deftly doing what he had to do. In “Then he thought of a plan”, the Sniper thinks of and proceeds to carry out a brilliant plan, one which only a logical, and reasonable person could conceive.

Contrarily, the Sniper also bears the traits of a madman. From the beginning his eyes are described to have the “cold gleam of a fanatic”, which implies that he was already somewhat of a maniac. This mental strain grows as in the midst of anger he “laughs”, although he has no reason to laugh what we picture as a maniacal laugh. Moreover, the sniper was drunk: “Taking the flask from his pocket, he emptied it at a draught. He felt reckless under the influence of the spirit”. The feeling of recklessness combines with his already crazy state of maniacal laughing to portray a sniper that has gone quite mad.

In conclusion, the Sniper is, interestingly, a complete contradiction in himself. He is both experienced and amateur, cold and emotional, lusting after war and hating it, self-assured and vulnerable, and logical and mad. This stark paradox may create much of the inner conflict that goes on within the Sniper, and also reflects the outer conflict of the Irish war- a war where both sides are essentially opposing parts of the same whole.