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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. Immediately after Anders's evocation of a Biblical place, the woman in front of him takes what action?

2. The man with the pistol asks Anders if he has what condition?

3. Who is the first character to whom Anders speaks after the robbery begins?

4. What term is used to describe the bags handed to the bank tellers?

5. Anders sarcastically compares the complaint of the woman in front of him to what medical emergency?

Short Essay Questions

1. How is the motif of violence featured within the very first section of the story?

2. How does Wolff use allusion within the story?

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

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

6. Discuss a moment in the story that reveals who is in charge of the bank robbery.

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

8. Describe the first physical contact one of the robbers makes with Anders.

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

10. What is the main conflict at the center of the story and who is involved in that conflict?

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

Look carefully at Anders’s language use throughout the story. What is Wolff’s purpose for shaping Anders’s voice in the way that he does? For example, why does Wolff choose to have Anders make an allusion to an Ernest Hemingway story as he is remarking on the robbers’ use of language?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the story’s use of the classical art motif. Why does Anders examine particular elements of the ceiling mural depicting Zeus and Europa, for example, and how do choices such as these dovetail with messages depicted in the story?

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