Character Analysis of Anders in Bullet in the Brain, a Book by Tobias Wolff Essay

Bullet in the Brain by Tobias Wolff centres on a character named Anders, a book critic, who experiences one final memory after being shot in the head during a bank robbery. Anders is presented throughout most of the story as aloof and egotistical, making him an unsympathetic character. If Anders is meant to be the protagonist of the story, the reader has a hard time rooting for him after seeing him interact with the woman in line in front of him and observing his thought process. The careless attitude he had towards the bank robbery is in line with what we have seen from Anders and preludes his rebellious attitude towards the bank robbers themselves. With these initial reactions to the bank robbery, we can begin to see the peculiarness of this character. We wonder if he cares about his own life, if he is even aware of the severity of the situation, or if he even finds these bank robbers to be too predictable in their actions. He critiques them as he would one of the books he reads. He seems unable to censor himself or realize the gravity of the situation he is in. Even while he has a gun to his head, he takes time out the moment to critique a mural. He continues to remain defiant up until the very moment he is shot in the head.Up to this point in the story, Anders is simply not a likable character. He is not even what we might consider an anti-hero. Then, after he is shot in the head, we are presented a series of past moments in Anders life from a seemingly happier time, before where we saw him in the opening of the story. The author gives us these memories that Anders didnt see before he died, making his character less ironically predictable and more human. The reader gains a better understanding of Anders, making him sympathetic in a way...

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