My Favorite Story - What makes a good story?

Over our short story unit,overall my favorite short story was "The Sniper".  Mainly because I enjoyed learning about the historical background of the Irish Civil War and improving my understanding of the Republican and Free State. And with more understanding of the Civil War, I understood the Sniper more easily. I began to understand how his beliefs allowed him to commit acts that I would think unacceptable,     like killing the old woman in the street. I was completely surprised about the story's resolution, but I thought that is was an effective way for O'Flaherty to show the theme. This short story shows that Civil Wars can make people do terrible things like when the Sniper killed the turret man and the old woman and also it shows that even the closest relationships can be torn apart, even families.