Writing About Bullet in the Brain [Categories: Life Choice, Course Reading, Re-Genre]: Please complete the following:
Bullet in the Brian is a story about a book critic who seems to be angry at the world for its lack of creativity. He goes to a bank close to closing time. While waiting a teller closes her line and the women in front of Anders makes a snarky comment. Anders although mad about the line closing too seems to direct his anger at this woman. While making snarky comments back to the woman she begins to look over his shoulder in fear. He turns and behind him are two men with guns getting ready rob the bank. They tell everyone to be quiet but Anders cannot seem to keep his mouth shut and continues to comment on the robbers choose of cliques. One of the robbers steps to Anders and instructs him to be quiet. Anders begins to laugh in his face, and the robber shoots Anders in the head. Anders has a flashback while the bullet is going through his head. Re-Genre Analysis: Fatal Bank Robbery A bank in a small town was robbed at gunpoint today. A man in his sixties was fatally shot. It was near closing time when two men entered the front entrance taking the security guard hostage while entering the establishment. The robbers now identified as Marshal Smith, and Greg Johnson made off with about $5,000, but were later apprehended five miles away from the bank on their way out of town. The men both have extensive criminal backgrounds. We were able to get an interview with Lydia Murphy a woman who was inside the bank during the robbery. Murphy is a forty-year-old native of the town. She could not recall any major crimes like this one occurring in the town before. Although she was extremely shaken up Murphy managed to give us a recap of the events. She told us that the men came into the building wearing black ski masks and blue business suits. She almost did not notice them because she was in the middle of disagreement with Anders Williams. Anders Williams, the man who was fatally shot. The two men were holding the security guard with a gun to his head, they then went on to threaten the tellers saying “One of you tellers hits the alarm, you’re all dead meat. Got it?”. They handcuffed the guard and knocked him to the ground where he hit his head cutting it open. She began to sob at this point telling us how Williams the man who was fatally shot seemed to find the situation funny. She told us he began to laugh at and mock the robbers. Anders Williams, was a book critic in his sixties. According to Murphy he could not help himself but to laugh at the clichés Smith and Johnson were using. Murphy recalled Anders’s last words, fighting to hold the tears back she told us he was in conversation with Marshal Smith. Smith told Anders “F**k with me again, you’re history. Capiche?” At this Williams burst out laughing and responded with “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Caphice—Oh, God, caphice”. At this point Lydia could barely hold the tears back. She said after Williams last comment Smith was fed up so he raised his gun and shot Anders in his head. Lydia told us minutes before the shooting happened she looked at Anders with pleading eyes and asked him “Please be quiet”. But Anders rudely disregarded her pleads and continued to antagonize the robbers. Lydia distraught, with some of Williams blood still on her shirt from being just inches from Anders when he was shot remembers him muttering the words “They is” while he was falling to the floor. Murphy was not sure what these words meant but hoped his loved ones would have a connection to it. After getting in contact with and talking to Anders daughter she told us what these words could possibly mean to Anders. She paused thinking to herself to a little bit and then went on to tell the story her dad used to tell her as a little girl. When he was a little boy Anders and some neighborhood kid would always play baseball. One day one of the boys brought their cousin along. When the cousin was asked what position he wanted to play he said “Shortstop, Short’s the best position they is.” Anders became fascinated with that. He repeated “they is” over and over in his head. He believes this I where his love for language began and credits it for him becoming a book critic.
2 Comments
Sabatino
10/10/2017 04:29:58 am
Thanks for sharing this post. This newspaper article provides the 5W‘s and integrates quoted material to provide context and insight into the crime and the man’s life. If I were the newspaper editor, I would work with you to provide some more details to provide even more information to the reader. What details would you add?
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10/10/2017 07:34:59 am
I enjoyed your post. I really liked how you incorporated the memory of the baseball field, and how you had him muttering 'They is' as he died.
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Erica O'Brien
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