Contradictory Character of the Sniper In this Irish war we have two sides, but this can also be reflected in both sides within the sniper himself- even. The Sniper seems experienced but amateur, cold but emotional, hungry for war but hating it, confident but vulnerable, lucid but crazy; he is a living contradiction. The Sniper exhibits both experienced and amateur qualities. O'Flaherty describes the sniper as "a man accustomed to looking at death", which allows us to infer that the sniper has seen many deaths, because a person frequently exposed to death gradually becomes numb to it . In the passage, “there was a flash and a bullet whizzed over his head. He fell immediately. ", we can tell from the "dropped immediately" that the sniper has extremely fast reflexes, which is usually apparent in those experienced in warfare techniques. In contrast, the sniper possesses also many traits of an amateur soldier. He is described as having "a student's face" and fasting because "he was too excited to eat. The word "student" has the connotation of a young person. , inexperienced and still learning, while his enthusiasm implies that this fight was new to him, as most people tend to be excited about new experiences Additionally, when a passage states that when he heard the car. enemy closer, "his heart beat faster", which is another representation of his eagerness and his desire to fight We thus see a disparity in the character of the Sniper, 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 glow", and "cold" has the connotation of a lack of sensation. In the scene... middle of paper... his mental tension grows because in the midst of anger he "laughs", although he has no reason to laugh in what we imagine as maniacal laughter. Besides, the shooter was drunk: “Taking the flask out of his pocket, he emptied it in one gulp. He felt reckless under the influence of the spirit.” The feeling of carefreeness combines with his already manic laughing state to paint a portrait of a sniper gone completely mad. In conclusion, the sniper is, interestingly enough, a complete contradiction in himself. He is both experienced and amateur, cold and emotional, hungry for war and hating it, confident and vulnerable, logical and crazy. This striking paradox may lie behind much of the internal conflict taking place within the Sniper, and also reflects the external conflict of the Irish War - a war where the two sides essentially opposed each other as parties to each other. 'one and the same..