Discuss the surprising climax of "The Sniper."

It is clear that the ending of this excellent war time
story is very abrupt, and many argue that it is too abrupt. However, let us remember
what the author seems to be trying to argue through his story. He is showing how first
of all war transforms those involved in it by turning a student into a violent fanatic
who is capable of shooting people in cold blood. Secondly he is showing that wars
actually only serve to turn us against what is nearest and dearest to us. If we look at
the text carefully, we can see how the ending is foreshadowed by the sniper's response
to seeing his opponent fall off the roof:

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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.

It is clear that
at some level at least, the sniper is aware of how his actions have effected him. The
beauty and genius of this story is that the actual physical realisation of this only
comes at the end of the story, in the very brief and short sentence that greatly adds to
the impact of the ending and the message that the author is trying to
communicate.