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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Anders refers to the bank robbers using what phrase?

2. Anders uses what term to mentally describe the woman in front of him in line who has just spoken to him?

3. The women in front of Anders look at the bank teller in what manner when she begins to have a conversation with another bank employee?

4. Who looks at the misplaced bank teller after someone asks the question, "Whose slot is that" (11)?

5. The man with the pistol calls Anders what kind of "boy" (14)?

Short Essay Questions

1. What two-word name does the man with the pistol call Anders?

2. For what purpose does the man with the sawed-off shotgun put down his weapon at one point?

3. At what time of day does the story take place?

4. What does the man with the sawed-off shotgun do with his weapon when he needs both hands to complete a different task?

5. Describe the man with the sawed-off shotgun.

6. Describe the setting in the opening of the story "Bullet in the Brain."

7. Name the violent actions taken by the man with the sawed-off shotgun.

8. How does the theme of social status or class come into play within the story?

9. Provide an account of the chain reaction that leads to Wolff's revelation of the story's main conflict.

10. What evidence suggests that the robbers are indeed following a script of sorts throughout the robbery?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Trace the characterization arc of Anders’s character throughout the story. Discuss whether Anders is a round or flat character and whether he is a static or dynamic character.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss Wolff’s purpose for using scientific and realistic language to describe certain elements of the story, such as the path the bullet takes on its way through the protagonist’s cranium.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the reasons why "Bullet in the Brain" uses an omniscient narrator and a plot that unfolds largely in real time. What elements of the story's themes lend themselves to these choices and what are Wolff’s intended effects on the reader?

(see the answer keys)

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