Tobias Wolffs’ ‘Bullet in the Brain’ is an imaginative piece that could be written off as a cocky old man who got shot in a bank, but to me, it is so much more. The creative imagery used in this piece has made it so that what the protagonist sees sticks more to the reader than the storyline itself Wolf starts his work by “Anders couldn’t get to the bank until just before it closed, so of course the line was endless and he got stuck behind two women whose loud, stupid conversation put him in a murderous temper”. Though we don't get an image from this, it gives us a great understanding of the character and temperament. The author provides us with a look into the character, Anders, annoyance and throughout the piece I am reminded continuously …show more content…
Anders saw that the other woman, her friend, was looking in the same direction. And then the tellers stopped what they were doing, and the customers slowly turned, and silence came over the bank.’ I just imagine this woman who was arguing with Anders previously, who fully believes she is in the right, just gives a full 180, her emotions and facial expressions change, completely stoic. I can just imagine this whole building that is filled with people ready to go home after a long day, with lively chatter and it shifts to silence. Throughout the next couple of paragraphs of the story, Anders continuously acts arrogant, often mocking the robbers. However, towards the middle of the story he starts to realize he could be in danger; the image we are given of the robbers helps us understand what Anders is feeling. “He did this by making himself stare into the man’s eyes, which were visible behind the holes in the mask: pale blue, and rawly …show more content…
My favorite imagery from this creative piece that has stuck with me since reading it is how he depicts the ceiling, he puts so much detail into it that you feel like you are the one looking at the ceiling and dissecting every detail, this is known as concrete detail and we read about it in the Imaginative chapter. “Not down there,” he said. Up there.” He stuck the pistol under Anders’ chin and pushed it upward until Anders was looking at the ceiling. Anders had never paid much attention to that part of the bank, a pompous old building with marble floors and counters and pillars, and gilt scrollwork over the tellers’ cages. The domed ceiling had been decorated with mythological figures whose fleshy, toga-draped ugliness Anders had taken in at a glance many years earlier and afterward declined to notice.” In his misanthropic ways Anders had always been so focused on his career and life that he never took the time to appreciate the architectural work of the building. Was he so deeply rooted in himself and his ego that he constantly avoided the art and beauty of his
the story of “Bullet in the Brain” by Tobias Wolff you are introduced to a character named Anders. Anders is in line at the bank and you can learn a lot from this character just by the way he acts and thinks around others while he is at the bank. While he is in line a group of bank robbers break into the bank and demand for money. Anders gets ends up getting shot and you read about how his life flashes before his eyes. The paragraphs of 39-40 on pages 1192-1193 in “Bullet in the Brain” explains to
Tobias Wolff’s Profound Literature Elements Many people believe Tobias Wolff is considered much of a critic mainly because his childhood was affected by his parent’s separation. Little by little, he started to become like a critic until he went to the army. Furthermore, when he came back he became more pessimistic than critical some might say. His short stories are acknowledged by many readers because of the true meaning of aspirations some people could think they can make out of it. Some say Wolff
three parts. The first part ends when the robbers appear at the door of the bank, the second ends when one of the robbers shoots at Anders and the left is the third part. First of all, if we have a look at the title, Bullet in the Brain, it is about an inanimate thing, the bullet, and not about the feeling of the person who dies because of it, not even the process that leads to this fatal event or the people's reaction to it, no, it only says something in connection with the small piece of metal
of decisions. Most are mundane, but some are so important that they can haunt you for the rest of your life.” Travis Bradberry. It is interesting how little decisions people make everyday can change their life. Such is the case of Anders in “Bullet to the Brain” whose love of words and his hatred of the mundane cause him to make bad decisions. The combination of these two elements of his life contribute directly to his being shot. People need to read this story in their twenties, because in a person’s
to society in a Hollywood fashion. The two short stories Acid by James Kelman and Bullet in the Brain by Tobias Wolff share the common theme of violence. Acid is a look at the sudden death of a boy at the hands of his father. Rather than attempting to save the boy, he is pushed below the surface of acid. Bullet in the Brain demonstrates the sudden tragic events that occur on a day to day basis in human life. Wolff demonstrates the concept of thought and memory before it is too late. The gunman does
Contemplating on characteristics of Post Modernism Irony is the most compelling alternative. In Tobias Wolff’s “Bullet in the Brain”, the rich amount of sarcasm and irony invites readers on a journey that’s exceptionally written. The dialect that is used in this short story does not have any moderation to what is being portrayed as a real life event. Just reading the title alone “Bullet in the Brain”, causes one to imagine a horrific event with the conclusion of someone being gunned down unfairly
before time runs out. Surely, death has many different purposes and meanings. In the short story “Bullet in the Brain” by Tobias Wolff. He uses death as a flashback and a final thought to show the reader the character’s life in the story. In the “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” by Ambrose Bierce, he uses death to teach the reader that one should stand up and protect the
the author's work. Wolff influenced American literature by exploring his difficult childhood in a memoir, This Boy’s Life, and through his other short stories which greatly influenced himself as a person and a writer. From a very young age, Wolff’s parents shaped Wolff to the writer he is today both in positive and negative ways. His mother, Rosemary Loftus Wolff, was the daughter of a navy man who beat her every day. She worked as a waitress and secretary (Pennsylvania). Tobias Wolff's father, Arthur
“Buillet in brain” In Edgar Allan Poe’s “Tell-Tale Heart”, Katherine Anne Porter’s “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall” and Tobias Wolff's “Bullet in the Brain” these are the type of stories that most readers would enjoy if they are into spontaneous sudden death. In these short stories each one of them has a different point of view. Trying to find out who point of view in these stories can be a little tricky to some readers like in the stories “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall”, or in the story Bullet in the
Discoveries can be unexpected and sudden or they can transform from a process of careful and calculated planning evoked by curiosity, and wonder. These discoveries can lead individuals to search for meaning through a series of experiences. Simon Nasht’s documentary Frank Hurley - The Man Who Made History (2004) captures the experiences of adventurer, Frank Hurley as he explores the importance of discovery through the challenges that evoke individuals to transform through a process of journeys of
What’s up with all This Judging “Bullet in the Brian” by Tobias Wolff is about a book critic Anders, who, while waiting in a line at the bank, has been listening to two women in front of him talk very loudly -- a simple conversation that turns into bickering between him and both these women. At this point everyone’s attention goes to the door; two guys wearing ski masks are standing at the door. Well, as expected Anders couldn’t keep his mouth shut. One of the men, standing at the door, gives him
Ethical Lastly, there is the Ethical criticism approach to literature and in this approach it defines a literary work by what moral and ethical judgements it possess and promotes. In the Ethical approach critics “may range from a casual appraisal of a work’s moral content to the ore rigorous and systematic analysis driven by a coherent set of stated beliefs and assumptions”. In Amy Tan’s “Two Kinds” I felt that Tan, intends to make the reader think of the meaning behind the story. She doesn’t speak