An Analysis Of Tobias Wolff's Bullet In The Brain

Written by Tobias Wolff, “Bullet in the Brain” is an interesting character study. In such a short story, he creates a character readers will notably hate. Despise, even. But with the subtle manner of how Tobias’ wrote Anders’ situation and how he perceives the world, the tonal shifts when the robbers enter and when the bullet enters his brain playing on readers expectations and how it all reflects on this theme of narcissism, which parallels with the final moments, this creates an effective form of displaying to readers an intimate and convincing display in how vile and cynical Anders is, but also that he wasn’t always like this.
While this story takes place in third person, there is a certain intimacy in how close we are already to the main

What he does not remember, like his first lover Sherry, his wife, his daughter, Professor Joseph report about Aeschylus, his shock at a woman’s suicide are events that, to Anders, he dosen’t feel the need to recall exactly. He and the reader are traveling backwards, attempting to discern when or why he became so moody, or when he wasn’t. On one hand, a reader could note that Anders lack of recollection on these moments portrays more so as a terrible character. However, with each memory, it pulls back more layers on Anders, developing means for sympathy instead. Examples include not only the aforementioned suicide and his reaction, but also getting beaten at an anti-war rally, or running his father’s car into a tree. These actions display for the reader someone who had a fire in their belly and a sense of pride that didn’t come across as being shameful or demeaning… and yet, when the reader arrives with Anders at what he truly remembers, this also projects the theme that has been running through the story since the beginning:

He is obviously book smart, but lacks significantly in the social interaction area, and truly does not know the meaning of when to shut up. His “critic persona” has taken up his full life . . . but in this final scene, the readers see the complete opposite of this character. When Coyle’s cousin says: “Short’s the best position they is”, the immediate reaction of the reader could be that Anders would immediately respond. But he doesn’t. “He wants to hear Coyle’s cousin repeat what he’s just said, but he knows better than to ask” (4). This showcases that, at a time, Anders displayed a certain form of diplomacy; something the older, gruffer version never displays. It also exemplifies more sympathy for the character in that this side of Anders compared to what readers have seen is marginally different. This final image of a baseball field and the outdoors is a subconscious reaction - this is a place he felt at ease, and was full of