Tobias Wolff's Bullet in the Brain - Essay Example

Bullet in the Brain Our everyday experiences can teach us a new lesson about life. To regard such experiences as lessons to learn is our choice. Endowed with free will, we can either make each day important or take things for granted. This is the idea that Tobias Wolff conveys in his story titled Bullet in the Brain. In this work, the main character takes so many things for granted, especially the people around him. With focus on the theme, the story uses non-traditional plot, characterization and point of view to emphasize the idea that life is irreversible and a bullet in the brain is all it takes to put an end to everything that a person has including memories of the past, especially of love and beauty. Wolff uses a non-traditional plot to recount the events in the story. Although he follows the story plot triangle at the start, he digresses from that at the end, incorporating flashback, illusion and foreshadowing. Triangular story plot is obvious at the beginning with Anders falling in line, which serves as the introduction. The closing of the cashier line serves as the rising action that contributes to the conflict in the story. Later, as the robber takes notice of Anders and aims the gun under his chin, the readers are led to the realization of the conflict, the burden of escaping death, which is inescapable in the situation. To complete the structure with the climax , the readers see Anders laughing at the robber and receiving the bullet in his brain. Finally, the description of the bullet passing through the brain suggests the denouement and ending of the story, thus completing the traditional plot. Nevertheless, the story does not end abruptly as the character is shot in the head. Rather, it continues with a lingering thought as the bullet enters the brain and damages everything it hits. Flashback, illusion and foreshadowing are used to introduce an unconventional story plot. First, Wolff recounts Anders’s experience with his first lover who used to play with him and tickle his fancy. Then, he mentions how Anders gets bored with his wife’s predictability, and how he affects her daughter with his irritability, making her project the same personality as a professor of economics. Wolff also suggests how Anders fails to protect his mother who always wanted to avenge herself from her husband’s hostility. Recounting past experiences, the author describes how Anders lived his life without giving importance to the people around him. Illusion is implied as the author uses the term, “he did not remember…” (---). By using this statement, the author suggests that Anders fails to remember the important events in his past. Nevertheless, by discrediting such events in his memory, the author also implies that such experiences could also be just an illusion and it is unsure whether Anders remembers or knows them because “he did not remember.” Foreshadowing of death is likewise applied in the story. The soberness of the narrative of things of the past, those that he does not remember suggests the death of the main character at the end. Likewise, the passing of the bullet in the brain where it moves “at 9000 feet per second” (---) leads readers to conclude that Anders is dying and will eventually lose every memory of the past, despite not having remembered them. The use of the three elements, along with the conventional plot, makes the story plot obviously unconventional. Wolff also uses unconventional characterization. He does not use descriptions to describe the characters but implies their character by what they do or how they feel. Instead of saying that Anders is bad-tempered and difficult to please, Wolff uses the situation in the bank and describes Anders having “murderous temper” (---) as the two women chat in front of him. His comment at the closing of the teller and crying of the baby near him shows that he is a difficult man, a critic who is pompous and too hard to please. The attitudes he shows also serve as foreshadowing of the destruction that he is doomed at later on. Other characters are also pictured, not described. The readers are left to their own judgment of how a character is by the way they react to situations in their lives. Finding Anders with a murderous temper because of the seemingly narrow-minded talk between the two ladies in line, readers could make the impression that the ladies are the ones to be blamed but later after hearing more of Anders, they could dismiss the negative view of the women. Other characters are likewise characterized by the way they treated or regarded Anders: Sherry as the canny and playful lover, Anders’s wife as a pleasantly boring woman, his sullen daughter and his bitter mother. Wolff developed his characters in relation to Anders, which is one way to make the story achieve wholeness or unity. The point of view of the narration is also significantly unconventional. In the beginning, the story is told in the minor character’s point of view. Limited information is given about Anders. The readers are not informed of his age, his educational background, profession, etc. Although the author expressed that he is a critic, it is not established where he works or what his status is in life. Limiting information is a way to engage the readers in reading as they inquire about the background of the main character. The angle of narration thus helps to make the story more interesting and mysterious. As the bullet hits the brain, the point of view shifts to the novelist’s point of view or the omniscient angle which sees everything, including the bullet in the brain, the past experiences that Anders set aside in his memory and the reminiscences of childhood when he played with his cousins. The omniscient viewpoint works to provide the readers what they ought to know, which facial reaction or dialogues alone could fail to show. The change in the angle of the narrative works in two ways. First, it helps to underline the theme and message of the story. As the bullet seeps into Anders’s brain, the narrator goes deeper into the details of how Anders lived his life. The secrets of the character, including his failure to remember the most important memories of his life are then revealed. Second, the use of the novelist’s angle allows the author to deviate from realistic scenario. It made the plot flexible, thus adding more scenes to embellish the plot and further elucidate the theme. However, as Wolff deviates from realism, the story loses its hold of the readers. From being involved and greatly affected by Anders’ absurdity, readers may find themselves apathetic to the character. At the end, readers distance themselves from the text and focus on the destruction made by the bullet. The story loses its emotional content and become an essay trying to illustrate a point. Moreover, the narration becomes passive, thus appeals less to the emotions of the readers. Therefore, the author’s narrative style can either be applauded or criticized. Using unconventional style in writing, Wolff establishes a more flexible plot, characterization and angle of narration. The story’s winning point is its ability to make the audience think and reflect on the brevity of life. However, its tendency to lead the readers to ponder on the theme causes them to feel less involved and apathetic, thus losing the emotional appeal of the story. Works Cited Wolff, Tobias. Bullet in the Brain. N.d. Floating Library. 25 Feb. 2013. Web. Read More