Bullet in the Brain Under the Microscope

September 11, 2016

Today I am going to break down the characters in the story, "Bullet in the Brain", by Tobias Wolff. This is a story about a lonely, ill-tempered book critic who makes it to the bank just in time of closing. Anders, the book critic, then has to stand in line behind two chatty women who believe that they should be helped right this minute. The bank is robbed just seconds after the closing of the bank, and Anders cannot help himself from laughing at the two fugitives as they repeat lines from movie and books. Anders ended up being threatened multiple times by the two robbers and ended up being shot through the skull.

One of the chapters we read in our class book was about characters and how we distinguish what type of character they are throughout the story. Anders, the main character, had the stereotype of being a cranky, lonely book critic. With falling into the stereotype, Anders becomes a stock character to this story. He is also falls into the category of being a round character, because your perspective of him changes throughout the story. Once the bullet enters Anders' skull, you are then taken to the time where he thought speaking incorrectly was an alright thing to do. This shows a side of Anders that makes you believe that maybe he isn't all bad and he doesn't like being the critic that he has become.

Other characters in the story are the fillers of the story. The robber who was in charge of the lobby and the customers would be considered a flat character because Anders describes the fugitive's eyes as he stares at him while being threatened. Anders only stated one major characteristics from this robber, making him a flat character. The two women who were standing in front of Anders would be considered a static character, because neither woman truly change  their attitude towards the whole situation. They were continuously mad at something when they would be brought back into the story. First they were upset at the tellers for closing down their counter, but then they became upset at Anders for talking back to the robbers and putting their lives in danger.