In "The Sniper," what is the author attempting to portray?

O'Flaherty attempts to portray how there is nothing civil in "civil war."

"The Sniper" takes place in a civil war.  The sniper's singular mission to eliminate his target drives him.  Throughout the narrative, the reader sees that this mission causes him to endure hunger and injury.  He sees and thinks of nothing else except what he must do.  He kills others in the name of this mission, believing that its successful completion will represent his...

O'Flaherty attempts to portray how there is nothing civil in "civil war."

"The Sniper" takes place in a civil war.  The sniper's singular mission to eliminate his target drives him.  Throughout the narrative, the reader sees that this mission causes him to endure hunger and injury.  He sees and thinks of nothing else except what he must do.  He kills others in the name of this mission, believing that its successful completion will represent his contribution to the civil war.  When he accomplishes his mission a "cry of joy" escapes from him.

However, O'Flaherty is deliberate as he constructs the climax and resolution to his story.  As the sniper is shown having accomplished his mission, there is a specific sadness evident:

The sniper looked at his enemy falling and he shuddered. The lust of battle died in him. He became bitten by remorse. The sweat stood out in beads on his forehead. Weakened by his wound and the long summer day of fasting and watching on the roof, he revolted from the sight of the shattered mass of his dead enemy. His teeth chattered, he began to gibber to himself, cursing the war, cursing himself, cursing everybody.

O'Flaherty enhances this when the sniper realizes that he has killed his own brother.

O'Flaherty wants to explore how war is dehumanizing. It severs bonds between human beings and even siblings.  In showing war in this manner, the author communicates its painful reality.  While the sniper was committed to the Republicans mission in the civil war, he comes to see war as far from "civil."  "The Sniper" shows that only elements that exist after war are loss and resentment.  In the experiences of the titular character, O'Flaherty portrays the true and revolting nature of war.