Jackson 1

War and the destruction it causes places victims in unjust scenarios. In the two short

stories, “The Sniper” and “Cranes”, the writers Liam O’Flaherty and Hwang Sunwon,

respectively, illustrate how civil war compels people to make life and death decisions; the

authors present the main characters, one, a nameless Irish sniper, and the other, Songsam, a

peasant farmer in Korea, with the decision of choosing their country or a former friend now

fighting for the opposing side of the civil war.

In “The Sniper”, the experienced soldier is fighting for the Republicans in Dublin,

Ireland. O’Flaherty describes the sniper as “his eyes had the gleam of a fanatic. They were deep

and thoughtful, the eyes of a man who is used to looking at death.”(212) exemplifying the extent

of the man’s dedication to his country and his cause. The combatant eagerly kills his opponent,

but while watching the corpse tumble to the ground, he regrets slaying the enemy soldier. Only

after he discovers the man he killed was his brother does he realize what civil war has altered

him into: a ruthless killer who chooses his country over his family.

The divided loyalties exhibited in “The Sniper” are additionally displayed in “Cranes”.

During the return of the farmer Songsam to his pro-Western hometown village along the thirty-

eighth parallel, Songsam comes across a bounded communist soldier. Upon noticing that the

young man is his childhood companion Tokchae, Songsam offers to escort him to his execution.

Describing a conversation between the men on the journey from one village to another, Sunwon

writes “I thought of evacuating…But father said no. How could the famers leave the land

behind...?” (225) exposing the similarities between Songsam’s and Tokchae’s circumstances. As

Songsam reminisces of the boys’ relationships, he begins to doubt the justness of Tokchae’s

execution. He resolves his external conflict by allowing Tokchae to escape, highlighting his

choice of family over his country.

Jackson 2

The stories “The Sniper” and “Crane” feature civil war and the loyalties one has to both

his homeland as well as his companion. Although the outcomes of the two pieces are different, it

is clear the violence and the obliteration of war forces one to make grave decisions.