What is the setting of "The Sniper" by Liam O'Flaherty?

Liam O'Flaherty's short story "The Sniper" takes place in Dublin during the Irish Civil War. The author tells us it is specifically set on the rooftops near the Four Courts, an important government building. The Liffey River, which runs through the city, is also nearby. It is an otherwise peaceful urban setting that has been rocked by war. O'Flaherty writes:

Dublin lay enveloped in darkness but for the dim light of the moon that shone through fleecy clouds, casting a pale light as of approaching dawn over the streets and the dark waters of the Liffey. Around the beleaguered Four Courts the heavy guns roared. 

In the summer of 1922, a street battle broke out in Dublin between the Irish Republican Army, who disagreed with the recent treaty that the Provisional Government had negotiated with Britain, and Free State troops of the Provisional Government. The treaty made Ireland a free state within the British Commonwealth. The Republicans wanted to eliminate any ties with Britain. That summer, members of the Republican Army barricaded themselves inside the Four Courts. Eventually a large explosion, which destroyed important historical records, ended the stand off.

The story centers on a Republican sniper on a rooftop near the government building, probably there to help protect the men inside the Four Courts. The plot centers around his battle with a Free State sniper who turns out to be his brother. The war divided families and it was not uncommon for men from the same family to fight on opposing sides. 

How does the setting influence the outcome in "The Sniper" by Liam O'Flaherty?

The setting of Liam O'Flaherty's "The Sniper" is very important to the story as a whole. The setting (time and place) is openly defined in the initial paragraph of the text. It is a summer night in Dublin. The limited light of the partial moon is clouded. These descriptions are important given it sets the scene as one with limited views and secrecy. The characters in the play are also clouded, symbolically. None are given names, so as to illuminate the importance of the cloudy and limited light. 

The protagonist is set upon a rooftop, taking aim at a sniper on another building. Neither know the identity of the other, which compounds the setting's blindness. By the end, the protagonist's shot has succeeded at killing the enemy sniper--his brother.

Here the setting becomes even more important. The fact that the setting is limited in light and dark encompasses the idea that the sniper has killed his brother. If it would have taken place during hours of light, the sniper may have been able to identify the enemy sniper as his brother. Unfortunately, the setting added a sense of masking and the unknown. Therefore, the setting's dark atmosphere adds, not only to the suspense of the actions described, but the dark murder of one brother by another.

How does the setting in "The Sniper" enable the action and conflict?

The setting of Liam O'Flaherty's "The Sniper" throws readers in media res (Latin--in the middle of things). It is dark, and machine guns and rifles are lighting up the night. It is the middle of a civil war battle. As frightening as a war is, the fact that this battle is taking place during the night compounds the anxiety.  Paragraph two introduces the readers to the protagonist, a Republican sniper. Perched atop a roof, the sniper's "deep and thoughtful" eyes reflect the death they so often see. As the story continues, the sniper takes the lives of his opponents. Without fear, he inhales his cigarette and shoots at his foes. In the end, the sniper gets his man (another sniper). 

The setting, the middle of a gun battle, forces action and conflict. This scene is natural for conflict: two opposing sides fighting for their own ideologies. Given the civil war raging around them, it would only make sense to focus upon a soldier and his "prey." 

The context of the story is that a civil war is happening between the Republicans and the Free Staters in Dublin, Ireland.  A civil war is a horrible thing.  Any war is horrible, but a civil war often pits one family member against another family member.  That's exactly the case with "The Sniper."  

The setting of the story helps establish the context of a brutal brother against brother civil war for a few reasons.  First, the location of the story is Dublin, Ireland.  That country is no stranger to violent outbreaks.  Whether it has been war or IRA terrorism, Ireland has been a hotbed of violence in the past.  By placing the story there, O'Flaherty gives it credibility.  

The rest of the setting is squarely focused on the early morning hours above the war torn streets of Dublin.  

Around the beleaguered Four Courts the heavy guns roared. Here and there through the city, machine guns and rifles broke the silence of the night, spasmodically, like dogs barking on lone farms. Republicans and Free Staters were waging civil war.

The description occurs in the first paragraph of the story.  It's stark, depressing, and heavy.  The story doesn't begin with a relaxed chat among friends.  It begins on a dark morning above war torn streets with a sniper hunting prey.  That setting immediately tells the reader that this will not be a happy story.  

The protagonist in this story is the sniper.  He never gets a name.  His antagonist is another sniper, who also doesn't get a name.  In fact, none of the characters in the story get a name.  They all remain completely anonymous.  What this does to the story is that it makes every single person in the story a nameless target.  That's all the sniper sees.  He sees bodies to be shot and killed, not people.  The setting is just about as nameless as the sniper is.  The reader is told the story is taking place in Dublin, but not much else.  No building names for example.  All that we are told is that the sniper is on a roof near the O'Connel Bridge.  The city itself is in ruins.  There is rubble everywhere.  Distant gunfire cracks off from all around.  Machine gun nests are set back waiting for targets of opportunity.  Everything about the setting is cold and emotionless.  Which is exactly what the sniper is.  He's a cold, calculating, emotionless killer.  The setting highlights the sniper and the sniper complements the setting. 

His face was the face of a student, thin and ascetic, but his eyes had the cold gleam of the fanatic. They were deep and thoughtful, the eyes of a man who is used to looking at death.

Why is the setting of "The Sniper" relevant to the story?

The story of “The Sniper” takes place in Dublin, Ireland.  This is a logical place because it is a story that takes place during the Irish Civil War (1922-1923), and specifically during the Battle of Dublin.  The two opposing forces were the Irish Republicans and the Irish Nationalists.  They were fighting over the acceptance of the Anglo-Irish Treaty.  The Nationalists supported the treaty, and the Republicans opposed it.  The treaty gave twenty-six southern counties a considerable degree of independence, created a line between northern and southern Ireland, and dissolved the Republic created in 1918.

The Nationalists argued that the Dail, or the lower house of Parliament, had voted for the Treaty, and the people had endorsed their decision in an election in 1922.  Therefore, they had done the people’s bidding.   The Republicans argued that the Treaty had been forced by the British government under the threat of war, and there could be no true free vote if they were operating under intimidation and threats. They felt that the Provisional government was just a puppet of the British government.

Liam O’Flaherty places the action near the Four Courts area of Dublin.  This is an area that dispensed justice.  It was the location of Ireland’s Supreme Court, the High Court, the Circuit Court, and the Central Criminal Court.  It is located on the banks of the River Liffey.  The first paragraph of the story gives an ominous and dark feeling of insecurity and strife.

“Dublin lay enveloped in darkness but for the dim light of the moon that shone through fleecy clouds, casting a pale light as of approaching dawn over the streets and the dark waters of the Liffey. Around the beleaguered Four Courts the heavy guns roared.”  (pg 1)

Why is the setting in "The Sniper" significant to the conflict?

The conflict that the question references could be a couple of things.  It could be the larger conflict of the entire civil war that is happening or it could be the conflict that is happening between to the two snipers.  In both cases, the conflict is a violent one that results in the loss of human life.  

Readers know that the location of the story is Dublin.  More specifically, the story takes place on a rooftop.  

On a rooftop near O’Connell Bridge, a Republican sniper lay watching.

The opening paragraph also tells readers that night is quickly approaching.  

The long June twilight faded into night.

Both of those time and place setting details are significant details because they coincide with the main character's role.  He is a sniper, so it makes sense that the setting is a rooftop at night.  It allows the sniper clear fields of fire while also being able to keep his position relatively concealed.  

The last setting detail that I think is important is the detail that Dublin is in the midst of a civil war.  That means countryman is fighting against countryman.  The detail is almost next to insignificant through most of the story, but it becomes critically important to the story in the final sentence.  

Then the sniper turned over the dead body and looked into his brother’s face.

The conflict's setting of a civil war makes the ending of the story as plausible as it is terrible. 

How does the setting of "The Sniper" contribute to the events?

The setting of this story is Ireland, specifically Dublin.  O'Flaherty identifies the setting in the second sentence:

Dublin lay enveloped in darkness but for the dim light of the moon that shone through fleecy clouds, casting a pale light as of approaching dawn over the streets and the dark waters of the Liffey.

Dublin is an ancient city, but the setting of this particular story is sometime before Irish independence has been gained.  Ireland was under the control of the British for hundreds of years.  In the 19th and 20th century, violence escalated in the country as the people of Ireland fought for their independence.  We can assume that this story is in the 20th century because of the armored car that crosses the bridge.

Not all the people of Ireland wanted to be free.  Many citizens were loyal British subjects whose families had lived in Ireland for generations.  Therefore, the fight as much a rebellion as a civil war.

This setting is vital to the story.  The sniper in fighting for his independence, and he learns at the end of the story that he has been fighting his own brother.  O'Flaherty is showing readers the tragedy of the violence that existed, pitting brother against brother.

As a side note, Ireland did win its independence, but a portion of Ireland remained under British control - the northern counties - and violence continued.

How does O'Flaherty use setting in "The Sniper"?

The Irish Civil War was extremely violent and turned families against each other, in many instances.  The use of snipers was prevalent, even in the cities, large and small. 

The fact that the story occurs at night sets the tone, which is one of foreboding and dread.  The reader can sense that something bad will happen in the story very early on.  Also, it is very quiet, which adds to the foreboding tone.  Snipers also have to be camoflauged because theirs is an attack of surprise with one bullet, so the darkness also is appropriate for the premise of the story.

The first paragraph of "The Sniper" is a very poetic description of the conditions surrounding the civil war in Ireland.  He uses vivid images like:

"long June twilight faded into night" (O'Flaherty)

"Dublin lay enveloped in darkness but for the dim light of the moon that shone through fleecy clouds,"  (O'Flaherty)

He compares the sound of gunfire with dogs barking, which tends to make it appear ordinary. The familiarity of the setting helps the reader understand that the story concerns a fight between brothers. 

The setting helps the reader to feel the intimacy of the battle, like a family argument that turns violent, it is very personal, it is indeed a fight between brothers.

What is the setting of "The Sniper" and how does it affect the story?

The setting is June, 1922 in Dublin, Ireland. The country is engaged in a civil war at this time. The narrator doesn't get much into the politics of the war, but ends the first paragraph succinctly with, "Republicans and Free Staters were waging civil war." A thorough amount of background knowledge might help the reader to understand the causes and effects of the Irish Civil War, but foregoing that knowledge will not really affect the reader's general understanding of what the story is about.

That is to say, the story is about the violence of war and the odd nature of "brother against brother" in a civil war. The fact that it is a civil war is crucial to the understanding of the story. And being a civil war, it fought between two factions of the same country. Thus, the civil war is the backdrop for the place, time, and historical events that make up the setting. Without this general understanding of the setting, the story is just a couple of young guys shooting at each other. But knowing that it is a civil war, we (readers) gain a better understanding of what it means for people of a single country to be fighting each other. The final line underscores this absurdity. The sniper has shot his own brother. Perhaps it is his actual brother. Perhaps it means a fellow citizen, as in brothers of the same nation. In any case, the setting is crucial to understanding the violence of war what demarcates a civil war from other wars.