1. The Sniper
by Liam O’Flaherty
Historic Background
Literary Analysis
and Essay Planning

2. Background Knowledge:
Ireland is an island
near Great Britian
(which is an Island off
of Europe).
Ireland is split into the
Republic of Ireland (its
own nation) and
Northern Ireland (under
British Rule as part of
the United Kingdom)

3. Literature and Language Arts
pages 232-235
• Read and Annotate
• Write in all of the dates, leaving space between
each one (two or three lines) to explain their
importance.
• 1170
• 1609
• 1780
• 1829
• 1916
• 1921
• 1968-Present

4. The Irish Civil War 1916-1923
1916: Many Irish begin to
fight the British Rule that
has kept Catholics from
owning land, voting, and
other rights for several
hundred years
1921: The British
Government proposes a
splitting of Ireland, ceding
most of the island to the
Irish (it became the
Republic of Ireland)

5. The Battle of Dublin •June 28-July 5 1922
•200 IRA members occupied
Four Courts.
•The British were still there, but
wanted the new Irish
Government to do the fighting.
•Therefore, the two sides were
the IRA the (Irish who were
against the new treaty) vs
Provisional Irish Government
(Irish who accepted the new
treaty with the separation of
Northern Ireland)

7. The Prompt:
• Proficiency Essay #1:
▫ Choose three short stories that we
have read during this unit and write
an essay in which you explain for
each of these stories a
character’s conflict and his or her
change as a result of the conflict.

8. Paired Activity: Imagery
• Scan the story The Sniper, specifically looking
for descriptive language. Each of you should take
two pages to look at. Circle and identify as much
as you can of the following:
▫ metaphor
▫ simile
▫ personification (there are almost none of these)
▫ imagery
▫ onomatopoeia
▫ alliteration

9. First fifteen minutes:
• Do page 118, only the column for The Sniper (we
will read Thoughts of Hanoi tomorrow before
the test).
• Do page 120 to review the vocabulary.

10. Planning Organizer
Title:
The Sniper
Author:
Liam
O’Flaherty
Genre:
Short Story
Theme: War is
devastating to
everyone
Literary Elements Example or
Quote:
Author’s Purpose How it Fits Theme
Figurative
Language
1.
2.
Imagery 1.
2.
Irony 1.
2.

11. Some Similes:
• “…rifles broke the silence of the night,
spasmodically, like dogs barking on a lone
farms” (110).
• “…his right arm was paining him like a thousand
devils” (113).
• “…he was slowly falling forward, as if in a
dream” (113).

12. Some Metaphors:
• “His bullets would never pierce the steel that
covered the gray monster” (111).
• “The cloud of fear scattered from his mind . . .”
(114).

13. Some Personification
• “…a bullet flattened itself against the
parapet”(111).
• “The sniper could hear the dull panting of the
motor” (111).
• “He became bitten by remorse” (114).

14. Finding the Irony
• “The enemy on the opposite roof covered his
escape. He must kill that enemy” (113).
▫ he does not know who the opposing sniper is
• “Then the sniper turned over the dead body and
looked into his brother’s face” (114).
▫ now that we know who the enemy is, the irony of
the sniper wanting to kill him is revealed.

15. The Sniper Test: All Testing Rules Apply
1. Clear your desk of everything but the notes. You
may use them to help you write your essay.
2. Have a pencil or pen ready. NO ELECTRONICS
AT ANY POINT!!!
3. When you have completed your test, raise your
hand and I will come get it.
4. Open your Interactive Reader to page 165 and
highlight important words in the definitions of
symbol, public symbol, invented symbol,
and allegory.
5. Preview and read The Scarlet Ibis pages 168-
183.