Short Stories 'The Sniper' and 'Flight'
In both of the stories the main characters were awakened from dream. Actually, this is a nature I suppose. Each one of us can see things around differently, sometimes not realizing the reality.
In the story ‘Sniper’ author is telling us about the young soldier, “…his face was the face of a student – thin and ascetic…” who plays his duty as a hit man. He doesn’t see nothing but his job and responsibility. The author in this story suggests the horror of war not only by presenting its physical dangers but also by showing its psychological effects. This guy seems to be ‘blind’; he doesn’t naturally understand what his does. He kills people, just because he knows that is what he is supposed to do. It reflects a part of duty we follow in our life. Nevertheless, when he shot his enemy, he has shown his interest towards person he’s killed:
“Perhaps he had been in his own company …He decided that he was a good shot…He wondered if he knew him…He decided to risk going over to have a look at him.”
I think this quotation reflects the guy’s feelings. We can see indifference towards that dead person, nonetheless horror and sorrow. Overall, he sees him. The victim was his brother. That is when he has been awakened from the dream. He killed his own brother, not even suspecting this.
In the story ‘Flight’ the author, Doris Lessing, telling us about an old man, who was afraid to let his granddaughter to marry. I think the main symbol of this story is pigeons. The most favorite old man’s pigeon represents Alice:
“He…held out his wrist for the bird to take flight, and caught it again at the moment it spread its wings…and…shut the bird into a small box and fastened the bolt.”
The old man was afraid that his granddaughter will leave his house, get married and will never comeback. He wanted to keep her for a bit longer. He hoped that she will never leave and all that ‘laughter and … squabbling’ will live in the house. However, he either understands that it can only be a dream and that’s why he cages his pigeon because he can’t do the same with his granddaughter. Nevertheless, in spite of all those dreams he is awakened and begins to realize that he no longer to decide his granddaughter’s future life. He apprehends that...