Tobias Wolff's "Bullet in the Brain" tells the story of a disrespectful literary critic who is shot in the head by a memory before his gruesome death. Wolff's story inspires readers not only to question but also to reflect on their thoughts regarding the ability of life to change in a single moment, in a single act. Various readers and literary examinations interpret Anders' challenging character from different aspects. Although "Bullet in the Brain" typically perpetuates biology readings or displays of disapproval, this text actually redefines these readings and reveals, through the incorporation of characterizations, rhetorical tone and flashbacks, that this story is actually developed as an allegory aimed at disrespectful misogynistic male audiences. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay The significant presence of characterization in the story helps the target reader learn and understand Anders' character first, and then draw lessons from it. In the first paragraph, readers develop a somewhat suspicious perception of the main character as the story builds its claim by asserting: "He was never in the best mood anyway, Anders – a literary critic known for the tired elegance and savagery with which he dispatched almost everything he examined. (Wolff 82). When the target male reader reads and contemplates this sentence, his mind assumes that Anders will be a harsh and critical person who has the capacity to land himself in trouble if he is not careful. Anders' critical nature is once again reinforced to the audience when the narrator states, "He did not remember the pleasure of paying homage" and "[Anders] had no choice but to examine the work of the painter. It was worse than he remembered” (Wolff 82). These parts of the text reveal the savagery that reigned in Anders' head to characterize him as a wicked man. While other readers might overlook the importance of this part of the story, the target audience sees this section of the story as preparation for what will happen later in the progression of the story's events. What also makes the beginning of "Bullet in the Brain" so significant is the fact that Anders, even when held at gunpoint, cannot restrain his harsh thoughts to protect his life which is in the hands of restless thieves armed with weapons. This action demonstrates, to the misogynistic audience, that Anders is stubborn. While sexist male readers may find humor in the fact that the main character says and does whatever he wants. The reader develops a dislike for Anders' disrespectful manner because he realizes that something bad will happen if he continues to be disrespectful. Men identify with Anders' personality because they have experienced times in their lives where they wish they could express what they think. Texturally speaking, men can make a lot of sense from the text and its lessons about disrespect because they have all witnessed another person's disrespect. Yet, right after Anders is shot in the head, his inner thoughts are revealed and contextualized for the men to interpret and realize that his death serves as a lesson of respect to others. With the help of the rhetorician, the tone of the story changes several times. which take the reader on a ride through different empathetic emotions to understand the allegorical connotation of the story. Some audiences might think thatthe role of the rhetor is not essential to the lessons of the story, but male misogynists appreciate that the rhetor is the entity responsible for creating the thoughts, feelings, and emotions in which the story progresses line by line. As the story's exposition develops more and more, the men expect that this story will eventually be one-dimensional, based solely on the first paragraph which depicts Anders, "stuck behind two women whose the loud and stupid conversation put him into a murderous temper” (Wolff 82). . At first, the story seems somewhat normal since one of the first images shown is of loud, obnoxious women in a bank. Unbeknownst to the audience, the somewhat misogynistic tone of the story transforms into a dangerous tone. The tone and mood of the story changes dramatically once “silence settles over the bank,” to reveal two masked men with guns in their hands (Wolff 82). Suddenly, reading about a potential heist catalyzes the reader's concerns about Anders' safety, as he or she believes that Anders may not be a compliant hostage. Once Anders is shot in the head for disrespecting the thieves, the target readers indicate that the climax of the story has just occurred. This pivotal moment in “Bullet in the Brain” constitutes one of the story’s final tonal transitions. As this dangerous (and fearful) tone fades from the lines, the target male readers adopt an empathetic tone as the story reveals the context of Anders' troubled life. Misogynists note that the text manipulates them to create empathy for a character who remembers his first true love, forgets the "hundreds of poems" once memorized, or recalls his deceased mother's wishes to kill his father ( Wolff 83). The rhetorician's revelation of this emotional passage serves to actively uncover the idea that complex characters have experienced complex events. Male misogynists understand that the headshot is a symbol (and dramatized consequence) of continued disrespect. The target audience realizes that the shooting is Anders' punishment for his lack of respect at the time and all these years. The misogynistic men are immediately prompted by the rhetorician to feel sympathy for Anders' bloodied body on the cold marble floor of the bank, because they see in him a part of themselves. The target audience's response to this part of the text is what ultimately gives allegorical meaning to the story. At the very end of the story, the audience discovers, through a flashback, that Anders' critical and misogynistic nature came from his fascination with hearing. southern dialect of a boy on his baseball team when he was younger. Some audiences might believe that flashbacks are not essential to the events taking place in the text, because the past does not predict the future. However, this flashback serves as the final piece of the puzzle in understanding Anders and why he is the way he is. This flashback (along with the other flashbacks mentioned previously) causes the misogynistic male audience to understand and feel empathy for Anders' character. Anders was respectful as a child when the audience read his flashback in which Anders thought that "others would think [of himself] as being a fool, harassing the child for his grammar" (Wolff 83). Nowadays, decades later, Anders is now the type of person who cannot remember the "pleasure of giving respect" to people (Wolff 83). Seeing Anders, even if only for a brief glimpse, in this image challenges the original perspective.