1. Settings
1.1. In 1922
1.2. During the Irish civil war
1.3. Took place in Dublin,Ireland
2. Plot
2.1. Exposition
2.1.1. This story takes place in Ireland. There are troops around because they are still fighting their civil war for independence.
2.2. Rising action
2.2.1. The republican sniper is faced with the challenge of taking the enemy sniper and hiding from the troops.
2.3. Climax
2.3.1. When the sniper is about to kill his enemy.'He took a steady aim.'and' His hand trembled with eagerness.'are evidence of the climax because he came up with a ruse and this is his last chance to kill his enemy.
2.4. Falling action
2.5. Resolution
2.5.1. The sniper's ruse succeed, and his enemy got killed.But when he turned over the dead body to see who was killed, he found his brother's face.
3. Conflicts
3.1. Person vs Person
3.1.1. Conflict is the struggle between two opposing forces,the republican and Free Staters. And there were snipers from each of the group, trying to kill their enemy. So, there are conflict between the sniper and the sniper of his enemy.
3.2. Person vs Self
3.2.1. As the sniper watches the other sniper fall to the ground he fills with guilt. He was thinking whether he should turn over the body to see who was killed by him.
4. Theme
4.1. The story emphasizes the cruel of civil war, which is brother killing brother. Therefore, the author was trying to use this story to tell people that civil wars means killing your own brothers-it is endless blood.
5. Character
5.1. The republican sniper
5.1.1. He is smart and intelligent. He came up with a smart ruse which made him killed the enemy sniper easily.He has strong desire of surviving and also defeating his enemies.
6. Literary Devices
6.1. Irony
6.1.1. 'The sniper turned over the dead body and looked into his brother's face.'He is expecting that his opponent is a stranger, but the person he killed was his own brother.
6.2. Symbolism
6.2.1. 'His bullets would never pierce the steel that covered the grey monster.' 'Grey Monster' in the sentence is used to represent the opponent of the Republican sniper.
7. Plot
7.1. Exposition
7.1.1. Captain Torres comes into the barbershop, asking for a shave.
7.2. Rising action
7.2.1. The barber began to shave when he recognized that his customer was Captain Torres. And he was his enemy.
7.3. Climax
7.3.1. The barber was struggling in his mind whether to kill him or not during the shaving.
7.4. Falling action
7.4.1. The barber thought of all of the possible consequences and finally decided to just be a barber, but not a murderer.
7.5. Resolution
7.5.1. The barber finished his work and the Captain Torres told him'Killing isn't easy.'
8. Conflicts
8.1. Person vs Self
8.1.1. He has to decide whether or not he should take the chance to kill his customer, the captain of the military police force who has captured the barber's friends - a group of revolutionaries.
8.2. Person vs Person
8.2.1. The barber vs Captain Torres. The barber is a revolutionary, but Torres is in the opposite group of him--the military forces.
9. Theme
9.1. The author wants to tell us murder is hard and revenge will never end once it begins.
10. Character
10.1. Protagonist:The barber
10.1.1. He is a confused person. He couldn't decide his mind easily before he thought of all the consequences he would cause. And he acts really scared and nervous when Torres first came in.
10.2. Antagonist:Captain Torres
10.2.1. He is a brave man who is not afraid of death. He chose to enter the barber shop knowing that the barber was his enemy and would kill him easily. And he acts calm and normal when he entered the barber shop, just like a normal customer.