‘Rat-a-Tat‘ Prose
…….O’Flaherty’s prose is straightforward and easy to understand. In “The Sniper,” he frequently uses short sentences to maintain suspense, as if the sentences are quickening heartbeats.
Examples
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The turret opened. A man’s head and shoulders appeared, looking toward the sniper. The sniper raised his rifle and fired. The head fell heavily on the turret wall. The woman darted toward the side street. The sniper fired again. The woman whirled round and fell with a shriek into the gutter.
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There was a small hole where the bullet had entered. On the other side there was no hole. The bullet had lodged in the bone. It must have fractured it. He bent the arm below the wound. The arm bent back easily. He ground his teeth to overcome the pain.
Sound and Sight Imagery
O’Flaherty’s sound and sight imagery is likewise uncomplicated and easy to understand, as the following examples illustrate:
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Here and there through the city, machine guns and rifles broke the silence of the night, spasmodically, like dogs barking on lone farms.
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His face was the face of a student, thin and ascetic, but his eyes had the cold gleam of the fanatic.
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There was a flash and a bullet whizzed over his head.
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The sniper could hear the dull panting of the motor.
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The sniper fired again. The woman whirled round and fell with a shriek into the gutter.
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Then the dying man on the roof crumpled up and fell forward. The body turned over and over in space and hit the ground with a dull thud.
WRITING
Can the tactics of urban guerrillas—sniping, sabotage, terrorist bombings—be morally justified?