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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. Once inside the brain, the bullet is said to come "under the mediation of" what kind of "time" (35)?

2. The figures painted on the bank ceiling are wearing what garments of clothing?

3. The man with the pistol finally takes what action that snaps Anders out of his fog?

4. What male figure does Anders reflect upon as he is gazing at the bank ceiling?

5. The memory that emerges within Anders's conscious mind takes place in what season?

Short Essay Questions

1. Where are the entrance and exit wounds inflicted by the bullet to Anders's head?

2. What season and time of day are portrayed within Anders's one witnessed memory?

3. To what question does Anders answer, "No" in Paragraph 20 before he fights to maintain decorum?

4. In what way does the narrator make a distinction between different kinds of time?

5. Wolff compares the speeds of what two objects within Paragraph 35?

6. What threat does the man with the pistol make against Anders before shooting him?

7. What event happens to force Anders to examine the domed ceiling of the bank?

8. Discuss an instance of irony within the story.

9. What event causes Anders to imagine a cartoon bubble and what does it say?

10. The man with the pistol wonders aloud if Anders views him in what way?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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?

Essay Topic 2

What is Wolff’s message concerning the link between awe and vibrancy?

Essay Topic 3

Could "Bullet in the Brain" be classified as a horror story? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

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