What are the internal and external conflicts in Liam O’Flaherty’s The Sniper?

The other answer on The Sniper is what you need to answer your question.  In addition, I would add that the internal conflict is deeper than indicated.  The sniper battles himself over the idea of killing the other man, using all his skills to figure out where he is.  He knows he has to kill the man without exposing his own position, but wonders how the world he lives in came to this.  He was not a sniper in ordinary life, but has become an expert at killing which is not what he expected or even wanted.  When the enemy sniper falls, the republican sniper does feel a sense of victory, that he has outsmarted the enemy.  However, on the heels of that victory comes the regret that another person had to die at his hand.  When he sees that the other sniper is his brother, again he feels regret at the death of another man in his homeland, and yet the story has him leaving the body behind as he joins up with his group, showing the dichotomy of regret, satisfaction that the other man is dead and not him, sadness that it is his brother, and then the odd war time joining with his group to continue the war and thus the killing.  The conflict swings often between external and internal in this story, and illustrates the mental gymnastics required to stay sane during wartime when killing your own brother must be emotionally justified.

A conflict is clash or tension between opposing forces. These forces could be internal or external. When the conflict is that of “man vs. man” and “man vs. nature”, it is external. In simple words, something external to the character causes trouble. When the conflict is between “man and himself”, it is internal. In Liam O’Flaherty’s The Sniper, the conflict is both internal and external. The story is set in Dublin during the time of Irish Civil War. The republican sniper has to deal with the turbulent surroundings of the wartime. Together with this, he also has to deal with an enemy sniper sitting on another rooftop across the street. Both these troubles constitute as external conflict in the story. The internal conflict is the emotional or mental struggle that the republican sniper deals with after he kills the enemy sniper. He gets uncomfortable seeing the enemy sniper fall down and feels deep guilt and remorse. And then he sees the face of his own brother in the enemy sniper and feels the ultimate conflict within himself for having murdered him.

In O'Flaherty's "The Sniper," what is the protagonist's internal conflict?

Liam O'Flaherty's "The Sniper" contains both internal and external conflict. External conflict is identified in three different ways: man versus man, man versus nature, and man versus supernatural. Internal conflict is defined as a conflict within a character. Typically, this conflict arises as a person's morals fight against their desire or need to do something (which conflicts with their morality).

External Conflict

Man versus Man: Given that the text takes place during war, the conflict of man against man is apparent. More poignantly is the existence of the conflict between the protagonist and the sniper on the other rooftop. The protagonist knows that it is his job to "take out" the other sniper.

Man versus Nature: The protagonist conflicts with weather he has been forced to face as he lies upon the rooftop. While this conflict is not openly stated, readers can assume that the sniper faces exposure to the elements.

Internal Conflict

Man versus Self: The sniper knows what his job is--to kill those on the side of the Free States. Given that the sniper is a Republican, anyone on the opposing side is considered an enemy. Up until the very end of the text, readers are very aware of the talent and support for the cause the sniper possesses. At the very end, the sniper, turning over his brother, suddenly realizes the true cost of war. He, unknowingly, has shot his own brother.

While the internal conflict is not openly stated, readers can assume that looking into the face of his dead brother has forced the sniper to question his position on the war. Up to this point, the sniper has been hardened by war. This seems to be the first time he fails to look through the "eyes of a man used to looking at death." This death, most assuredly, forces the sniper to question his actions and career as a sniper.

What are the dilemmas in "The Sniper" by Liam O'Flaherty?

A dilemma could be defined as a situation which demands a difficult choice. Often, the choice is between two things that are equally undesirable. There are at least three dilemmas in Liam O'Flaherty's short story "The Sniper." The first dilemma leads directly to the second. After spending a long day on a Dublin rooftop watching the streets below, the Republican sniper contemplates the risks of smoking a cigarette. He knows lighting a match may reveal his position to his enemies, but he cannot resist.

Placing a cigarette between his lips he struck a match, inhaled the smoke hurriedly and put out the light. Almost immediately, a bullet flattened itself against the parapet of the roof. The sniper took another whiff and put out the cigarette. Then he swore softly and crawled away to the left.

Having revealed his whereabouts, the sniper's second dilemma involves a plan to kill the enemy sniper who wounds him in the arm. He cannot reveal himself and will not be able to leave the roof until he eliminates the Free State sniper. He devises a "ruse" to draw his opponent into the open by raising his rifle covered with his cap and actually dropping the rifle to the ground. The falling rifle causes the enemy to believe he has been victorious, but, when he shows himself, the Republican sniper kills him with his pistol. The final dilemma occurs when the sniper becomes curious over the identity of his fallen enemy. He thinks he may know the man and is willing to risk his life to find out. Despite being fired at by a hidden machine gun, he safely crawls to the corpse to discover the dead man is his brother.