Anders

Anders is the protagonist of the story. He is presented as a jaded literary critic who views all aspects of his life with a sense of caustic dissatisfaction. His sardonic and discontent nature appears to be reflexive and uncontrollable, as evidenced by his thoughts and actions in the bank. When armed robbers enter the bank, Anders can only view the scene in terms of the various ridiculous clichés it seems to bear. He verbally mocks these aspects of the situation, even in the face of mortal threats by the robbers. One of the robbers eventually shoots Anders in the head, killing him.

The reader gains deeper insights into Anders as a character during various narrative digressions towards the end of the story. These digressions touch upon the fact that Anders used to be able to feel genuine love and happiness, but he always sank into a pattern...