PRESENTATION OUTLINE
Exposition
The exposition starts with author bringing us in on the setting, it's a dark, quiet night in Dublin, Ireland.
Rising action
The rising action begins when the sniper eats his sandwich and lights a cigarette. He looks over the edge of the building and sees an armored car, he then shoots an informer and a machine gun guy. Afterwards the Republican sniper is found by an enemy sniper, and gets shot in the arm. The sniper then creates a plan to kill the enemy sniper.
Climax
The Republican sniper kills the Free Starters sniper. After the enemy sniper is dead, the Republican sniper feels empty, his rush of adrenaline gone. He feels remorse and guilt for his kill.
Falling action
The Republican sniper the heads back to his camp, sneaking down from the building he was in. As he is trying to cross the street the armored car comes back. The sniper falls to the ground next to the dead enemy sniper.
Resolution
The resolution to this story comes when the Republican sniper flips the corpse over and stares into the face of his brother.
Conflicts
The external conflicts in "The Sniper" come from the civil war in Ireland that is taking place throughout the story.
The internal conflict in the story comes from inside the Republican sniper. He is questioning himself because he doesn't know if wanting to win the war is more important than someone's life.
Setting
"The Sniper" takes place in the early 1920s during the Irish civil war. The story starts in the city of Dublin, on a dark quiet night. The mood of the story is dark, secretive, and intense. The tone of the story is that war isn't important enough to justify taking someone's life.
Main Character
The main character is a Republican sniper in the story, I imagine him being a dark, quiet, built man who usually works alone. He is a dynamic character, because he goes from being indifferent about killing to feeling sick and guilty about killing. The sniper is also a round character also because he changes his thoughts and attitude throughout the story. I think the author uses indirect characterization, because the sniper's show how he changes and what changes his personality.
Point of view
"The Sniper" is in third person limited point of view. You can identify the point of view because there is someone narrating the story, but you can tell what the sniper is feeling.
Questions
1. Did the armored car kill the sniper after he found out the corpse was his brother?
2. How will the sniper go on knowing that he killed his brother?
3. Who won the war? Did the sniper even care who won the war after his brother died?
4. Will the sniper continue to fight in the war?
Answer Question #4- I think the sniper will stop fighting in the war, because the death of his brother will lacked his faith in his cause.
Connections
I found a connection from text to the world. This story reminds me of anyone who has ever fought in the army or in battle and anyone who has ever lost someone in the war. The sniper reminds me of all the solders out there right now trying to survive and do their job the best that they can. After the sniper finds out that his brother is dead is what reminds me of people who have lost someone in battle. Their feelings of shock and emptiness are probably the same.
