Narcissism in Tobias Wolff's "Bullet in the Brain"
Narcissism is one huge problem in the current society. In Tobias Wolff short story "Bullet in the Brain," narcissism has been portrayed as self-pitying, immature, and selfish. To some degree, all individuals are narcists, therefore, writing it is an act of futility. A narcissist individual can only see from their own perspective. They will only see things about themselves because they cannot and will not change their perception to look at others differently. Narcissistic people only have one perception, and this can cause them to feel that they have high self-esteem, yet a lot of self-pity, as Anders displays in Tobias Wolff's "Bullet in the Brain."
Tobias Wolff's Life and Narcissism in His Writings
The life of Tobias Wolf reflects narcissism in his writings. He was raised by a single mum and rode a shotgun with her in the 1950s in search for uranium that they would trade to make themselves rich (Bridges). Unfortunately, Wolff found himself being oppressed by his British step farther (Bridges). As a result, Tobias letters of recommendation that later earned him a scholarship to East Coast School. Tobias Wolff wrote himself out that the trick became the truth. Tobias used writing to document his troubled, itinerant childhood and the life that he earned afterward.
Intellectual Pride in "Bullet in the Brain"
Narcissism in the short story "Bullet in the Brain" portrays intellectual pride. Ander got himself to the bank late and thus found a long queue. He got stuck behind two loud women who had a stupid conversation that angered Anders. Anders is a book critic with a weary, elegant savagery that he used to dispatch almost everything he reviewed. He sarcastically engages the women and even as armed robbers attack the bank and threatening everyone, he could not still keep his mouth shut (Wolff). He was shot in the brain and the incidences of what he remembers and what he does not recall are revealed by the author.
Pride and Inability to Understand the Streets
Even though Anders is smart when it comes to books, he is not savvy. He has pride in his intellectual capacity, unfortunately, he is blinded from understanding occurrences in the streets. Usually, it is critical for an individual to have an ability to use improvised mannerisms to deal with both their human a real-life conflict. First, Anders level of narcissism and pride over intelligence make him unable to make allies among enemies (Wolff). He uses sarcasm, but no one understands him because they are too strident. Anders doe does not know when to talk and when not to. Also, he does not know when to use his sarcasm and when not to.
Self-Pity in Tobias Wolff's "Bullet in the Brain"
Tobias Wolff's past frustrated him and it still affected him by the time he wrote the short story (Gale). As such, self-pity is portrayed in the short story. Self-pity is a trap that makes one focus on their past, the self-victimization that one uses more objective terms to lose the right perspective (Contino). Self-pity gives an individual an opportunity to talk about the psychological disturbances that persist their mind.
Narcissism and Life Reflections in the Short Story
The masterful short story raises themes of narcissism in the life of Anderson as experienced by Tobias Wolff (Birnbaum). There is randomness and control of the life that an individual life and one that was wasted. The short story gives insights of the kind of life that Anders had lived until he was shot. The protagonist does not recall the joy of giving respect, boredom at work, professional jealousies, disappointments in family relationships and disappointments in love. The author remembers the dreamy summer days where he played with neighborhood boys and when he was charm by a musical accent that elated him (Gale). At the moment of his death, Anders is lost in innocence and potential childhood. He is also disillusioned and detached from his self-destruction.
Works Cited
Birnbaum, Robert. “Tobias Wolff.” The Morning News, 10 Nov. 2009, themorningnews.org/article/tobias-wolff. Web. 20 Jan 2018.
Bridges, Lawrence. “A Conversation with Tobias Wolff Directed by Lawrence Bridges.” YouTube, 15 Nov. 2009, youtu.be/0MZ3oKPFf90. Web. 19 Jan 2018.
Contino, Paul J. “This Writer's Life: Irony and Faith in the Work of Tobias Wolff.” Short Story Criticism, Ed. by Jelena O. Krstovic, vol. 136, Gale, 2010. Literature Resource Center, pp. 18-24. Web. 19 Jan 2018.
“Tobias Wolff.” Contemporary Authors Online, Gale, 2009. Literature Resource Center. Web. 19 Jan 2018.
Wolff, Tobias. “Bullet in the Brain.” Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing, edited by X. J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia., Pearson, 2016, pp. 211 – 215. Print.
