The Sniper Summary
Liam O’Flaherty

Everything you need to understand or teach The Sniper by Liam O’Flaherty.

  • The Sniper Summary & Study Guide
  • 4 Student Essays
  • 1 Encyclopedia Article
  • ...and more
  • 30 The Sniper Lessons
  • 20 Activities
  • 180 Multiple Choice Questions
  • 60 Short Essay Questions
  • 20 Essay Questions
  • Pre-Made Tests and Quizzes
  • ...and more

The Sniper Overview

"The Sniper," a short story by Irish author Liam O'Flaherty, was first published in 1923. The story is set early in the Irish Civil War, a conflict that arose with Britain's establishment of the Irish Free State. In "The Sniper," an unnamed sniper fighting on the Republican side faces the task of shooting a sniper on the Free Stater side. The action of this brief story consists of the sniper attempting to get a clear shot at his opponent, getting shot himself, and then creating a ruse so that he can successfully kill the other sniper. At the conclusion of the story, the sniper realizes that he has just shot his own brother; this revelation brings home to the reader the cruelty of war and the ways in which war can reach far beyond the battlefield.

Study Pack

The The Sniper Study Pack contains:

The Sniper Study Guide

Lesson Plan

The Sniper Lesson Plans contain 54 pages of teaching material, including: