SEAO: The Sniper

Story Elements Analysis Outline

Need help w/terms? Click on pics. Sample SEAO expectations HERE

The
Sniper
The Sniper--Liam O'Flaherty (1897-1984)
"The Sniper--Liam O'flaherty (1897-1984)". Classicshorts.com. N.
p., 2016. Web. 6 Oct. 2016.

MLA Citation

Meaning of Title
(Literal & symbolic
meanings)

Purpose
Restate/sum up
ELA standard(s)

Literal- relates to the protagonist of the story, the Republican

Sniper
Symbolic- the sniper symbolizes the war that takes place in the
story

Read a text and cite quotes to make inferences about it. Find the
main idea of a text using the information found in the text. Analyze
the structure of texts to find how sentences and paragraphs relate to
the story as a whole.

POV
Narrator
Who? How do you
know?

The narrator is third person limited. The narrator only know about the
feelings of the Republican Sniper, not the Free States Sniper.

Reliability

There is no indication that the narrator is unreliable, but he only

knows the feelings of the Republican Sniper.

How do you know?

Setting

Dublin,
Ireland

Where
When
Infer as accurately as possible

Duration
How long for action to happen?

About 1922
or 1923 (the
span of the
Irish Civil
War)
The story
takes place in
a span of a
day.

Characters
Protagonist
Name
static/dynamic?
round/flat?
3+ details about
char. (not plot)

Antagonist

The Republican Sniper, dynamic and round.

The Republican Sniper is shown as a weapon of his army, but once
he finds out that the enemy sniper that was his brother, we can infer
that the Republican Sniper realizes that the war has destroyed his
family.

Free States Sniper, static and flat.

The antagonist, the Free States Sniper, is not show in the story as
an evolving character, because we only see the narration in the point

Name
static/dynamic?
round/flat?
3+ details about
char. (not plot)

of view of the protagonist.

Main or
Supporting
Names
3+ details about ea.
(not plot)
Function
Informer (Elderly Woman)- shows how the war in Ireland split the
people of the country.
Enemy in Armored Car- represents the Republican Snipers fears

Minor
Names
Brief who are they
Function

Conflict

Internal

The Republican Sniper doubts his alliance to his side, because it is the
common people like him have to pay the price for the war.

Republican Sniper vs Free States Sniper

Externa
l
Main

Duty vs Desire

Plot
Exposition

The story takes place on a rooftop in Dublin during the Civil

War, and the main character is a Republican Sniper, who is
under fire from an enemy sniper.

Status quo before

conflict

Rising Action

The enemy sniper sees the cigarette smoke, and fires at the
Republican Sniper. He sees the informer pointing towards his
location, so he shoots her. He pretends the enemy sniper shot
him by dropping his hat and sniper rifle. He creeps toward the
enemy sniper with his revolver.
The Republican Sniper kills the Free States Sniper.

Climax
A MOMENT when
conflict is definitively
resolved

Denoument/
Catharsis/
Falling Action

The Republican Sniper is curious of the enemy sniper he killed,

so he flips over the dead body, and finds out that it was his
brother.

Theme
War can split up families.

Topic
Not same as plot
A persons desires can influence their alliance.

Theme
Lesson we learn
about the topic

How do you
know?

We can infer that the Republican Sniper will not participate in the
war anymore because he will realize what the war has done to his
family.

Symbols
5+
Symbol =????

1. The characters- they were not given names because they

symbolize every family affected by the war.
2. The murder of the brother- symbolizes how the war
separated families
3. The street- symbolizes the split in the country
4. The informer- symbolizes disloyalty
5. The republican sniper- symbolizes the common man

*SEAO developed in collaboration btwn John Garner & Pam Bradley

Self assess: Fill out the chart prior to submitting your work for feedback.
Comments: Student
(Evidence criteria/standards met)

Concerns
(Improve or
Remediate) 12

Criteria
(Proficient)
CCSS standard & Description of
mastery

Advanced
Exceeded
Standard
3-4

I showed that i can infer when i

found the theme and main topic,
even though the author abruptly
ended the story without a proper
conclusion,

CCSS ELA R1
Read closely to determine what
the text says explicitly and to
make logical inferences from it;
cite specific textual evidence
when writing or speaking to
support conclusions drawn from
the text

I found the central idea and theme

based on both textual evidence, and
inference based on the final
paragraphs of the story.

CCSS ELA R2
Determine central ideas or
themes of a text and analyze their
development; summarize the key
supporting details and ideas

I found the elements of the story,

such as the characters and the
conflict, by analyzing the story, and
linking different parts of it together.

CCSS ELA R5
Analyze the structure of texts,
including how specific
sentences, paragraphs, and
larger portions of the text (e.g., a
section, chapter, scene, or
stanza) relate to each other and
the whole

Comments:
Teacher

A student who earns a 4 goes beyond what was taught. A student who earns a 3 demonstrates a strong knowledge
of what is explicitly taught. A student who earns a 2 shows a grasp of the simpler concepts and may have errors or
omissions when it comes to the more complex concepts taught. A student who earns a 1 only demonstrates a partial
understanding of simpler concepts taught (Marzano 2006).