With special reference to the ending of the story, discuss the pathos of war in "The Sniper."

The pathos of war, or the quality of "The Sniper" by Liam
O'Flaherty  that makes people feel sadness, is the situational irony the end of this
story, when the main character, a sniper in the Irish Republican army, shoot his own
brother to death.  The horror of killing his own brother underscores the lives wasted in
the name of war.  First the brother shot by the sniper represents needless sacrifices
made to "win" a war.  Furthermore, the sniper himself is a sacrificial casualty who must
now face the fact that his own brother has died at his own hands.  Surely, this fact
will prevent the sniper from living a normal, well-adjusted life in the future.  The
futility of war is clearly depicted by the killing of the enemy who just happened to be
the sniper's brother.  Who wouldn't be saddened by such and ironic outcome.  This ending
clearly depicts the pathos of war.