Bullet in the Brain by Tobias Wolff Analysis Essay Example

The brain is a strong but delicate organ in the human body. It contains a variety of information while also being the engine controlling the main functions of the body. In “Bullet in the Brain” by Tobias Wolff, we are shown the power of the brain and how important it is in our lives. The story revolves around a man named Andres, who’s lack of patients and to understand will eventually get him into a difficult situation during a robbery. With the usage of flashback and symbolism along with conflict, we will both analyze and critique this short story. 

We begin with Anders, a book critic with a bad temper who is at a bank. His bad temper increases as a teller closes a window where their services are provided and the lady in front of him begins to complain about it demonstrating bad service. Soon after, the bank becomes silent as two armed male robbers entered. They began to order the teller to fill up bags with the money. Anders begins to talk and this bothers one of the robbers who then points his pistol at Anders. Anders finds it funny and begins to laugh, this bothers the robber causing him to shoot Anders in the head. As the bullet passes through his skull, a memory from when he went to a baseball field with two other guys is ignited. This was the only thing he could remember, not his first love, wife, or daughter. 

The use of symbolism within a flashback, allows a deeper understanding as to Ander’s life. A flashback that Anders experience is the one where he and two other guys are at a baseball field. This is a memory that he enjoys because it is the one that he remembers. It says “This is what he remembered. Heat. A baseball fields. Yellow grass, the whirr of insects, himself leaning against a tree as the boys of the neighborhood gather for a pickup game” (Wolff). Considering the difficult situation, he is in, this flashback can be identified as special. His memory is evidence of a time where he was happy. But the bullet to the brain has revealed that memory to be a symbol of how his happiness has vanished. 

In the short story, we can identify the two different conflicts to be internal and external. The external conflict has to do with the robbery taking place at the bank and that Anders has been shot. Soon after, we recognize the internal conflict with Anders; he is unhappy. We can identify this from comparing his flashbacks to present life. He has become a gloomy and a judgmental person. It leads to his inpatient character and his judgement towards others. We can identify this as Wolff says, “Anders had conceived his own towering hatred of the teller, but he immediately turned it on the presumptuous crybaby in front of him”. Anders did not know the lady in front of him but had begun to judge her due to her complaining about the tellers’ actions. 

We were able to analyze this short story by using the literary devices of flashback, symbolism, and conflict to connect to the main points of the story. The remembrance gave us a sense of who Anders was and what he has lost.