Wolff Essay

“The Chain” and “Bullet in the Brain” A Chain of Violence, and a Link. In both of Tobias Wolff short stories, “The Chain” and “Bullet in the Brain,” the theme is revenge, or getting what is coming. “The Chain” starts with an act of violence and due to our main characters choices and actions, the violence continues on, a domino effect. While shorter in length, “Bullet in the Brain” also packs in violence with our main character being on the receiving end of it, and then reflecting on his entire

“Hunters in the Snow” by Tobias Wolff uses Kenny, Frank, Tub, and the dog to respectively symbolize Pestilence, War, Famine, and Death, the four horsemen of the apocalypse, to emphasize how maltreatment of others leads to loss. Before Kenny’s entered their lives, Frank and Tub were close friends. Kenny isolated the two so that they could not team up against him. He cleaves the two, by describing Tub offensively as “wasting away” before urging Frank to also humiliate Tub (Wolff 88). Kenny provokes the two

where vivid enough to be reproduced on film. Still, why make a film about such an average character? The real question is why did Wolff wrote about a character as unremarkable as Anders? Well, it seems to be because of a need that humans have to feel acted upon by a story, outraged, and exposed to danger and to a change. Rodríguez Guerrero-Strachan states that Tobias Wolff “expresses his preference for stories about people who led lives neither admirable nor depraved, but so convincing in their portrayal

stable, male role model that is to blame for his actions. To what extent do you agree? Tobias Wolff’s memoir, “This Boy’s Life”, explores the idea that an individual’s actions can be altered due to the people they are exposed to. The protagonist Jack Wolff lives an impressionable life where he undergoes somewhat of a dilemma in relations to his actions, being incapable of changing for the greater good of himself. The absence of a proper male role model plays a large role on Jack’s actions, though is

The evaluation of the short novel, Bullet in the Brain by Tobias Wolff was quite an interesting subject matter when it comes to the understanding of one’s true experience with the phrase “My life flashed before my eyes”. In this novel, Wolff tells a story about a man named Anders who experiences forgotten memories in his life and realizes what he once was and what he turned out to be in the end. Wolff’s interpretation of memory in this novel made a unique remark and left a deep understanding on how

could understand how easily Tobias Wolff conformed to the negative impacts he had grown up with. He is the equivalent of an unwritten book with the potential for success and academic achievement but tainted with abandonment and neglect. The antagonists -- Roy, Dwight, and even his own mother -- are the sources of false power and manhood he obtained which has an influence on his actions. Even with all of these influences, the young and naive Jack (a name Tobias Wolff

short story “Powder,” The father says, “I’ll tell you what I want, I want us all to be together again,” (35). We are left to wonder, how far a father will go to save his relationships with his family after being stuck on the top of a snowy mountain. Wolff portrays the father as an inconsiderate man with little care for the well-being of his marriage and relationship with his son. However, when his wife calls for a split, his efforts to save his relationship with his son increase. As the son notices

“Bullet in the Brain” was written by Tobias Jonathan Ansell Wolff, who was born in 1945 in Birmingham, Alabama. Wolff has a degree in English from Hertford College, and an M.A. from Stanford University. He also was in the Military during the Vietnam war. He published his collection of short stories called “In the Garden of the North American Martyrs” in 1981. Wolff also published memoirs, one being “This Boy’s Life” which won the Los Angeles Times Book Award. This memoir also became a successful

“Even together, people were as solitary as cows in a field chewing their own cud,” writes Wolff (123). This is an idea that seems to be deeply ingrained in Joyce’s consciousness, but does it represent how she truly feels deep down? Joyce seems to put on this facade of a strong self-reliant woman when, in reality, she relies more on her roommate Dina than she would care to admit. Throughout Tobias Wolff’s “Migraine,” Joyce insists on being independent; however, Dina’s leaving seemly causes her headaches

Wolff's short story "powder" the answer is robust. Wolff used many literary techniques such as conflict and imagery to convey the central idea of the robust love a father has for his son. Tobias Wolff used conflict frequently throughout "Powder" to display the strength of the father's love for his son. Wolff stated " Just before Christmas my father took me skiing at Mount Baker. He'd had to fight for the privilege of my company" (Wolff). This father wanted to spend some time with his