Question 1
Round characters;
Anders is a round character in the sense that he acts in a manner that is unexpected at the time when such behavior does put him in a precarious position. This can be seen in the story where at the bank the thieves order everyone to be quiet yet he continues talking even when he is specifically warned by one of the robbers in not to talk. He also acts as if he is in a comfort zone, acts reluctantly while everyone else is tensed. His round character can also be explained in terms of his protagonist nature where he clearly provokes the lady in front of him when he says to her that the predicament in which they were was a great script yet he acknowledges that it was dangerous.
The teller who stuck a ‘position closed’ sign in her window and began to pass time with a man yet the line of customers at the bank was still long. This was unexpected of her since she still had customers waiting to be served. It can be seen here that she acted surprisingly since the customers in line did not expect such behavior from a bank teller. She is described in the story as a protagonist in that respect.
The robbers are clearly protagonists since they ably change the dimension of the story and affect the characters of other persons in the story. For instance, Anders was clearly observing others discuss yet when they enter the scene they make all the people to stop what they were doing first by ordering that all persons should be silent they change the character of the two women standing in front of Anders. Anders on the other hand starts talking which culminate in him being shot in the head by one of the robbers.
Flat characters include;
The guard who is brought up to the scene by the writer but only to develop the character of one the robber who was in possession of a short gun. The guard enters and leaves since he is not further developed by the writer.
The two women who was having the conversation with the woman in front of Anders only enters the scene but is not developed by the writer besides the conversation. They are the supporting cast on the story therefore the writer does not majorly change their character.
Coyle and his cousin, they enter and exit the story within the same page. The writer has not dwelt or developed their characters. It can easily be concluded that Wolff brings these characters to the story merely to show the kind of life Anders had while growing up and that the genesis of his critical and inquisitive nature had long been conceived. The later can be seen when he refrains himself from asking the ‘kid’ to repeat what he had said because he did not want the others to think him a jerk for teasing the kid for his grammar.
As regards dynamic characters,
Anders, his temperament also depicts him as a round as well as a dynamic character given that at the beginning he is described as having a murderous temper. That is at a time when the women in front of him were having a conversation yet he wants to start a conversation with the woman at the time of the robbery.
The two women who were also having a conversation at the beginning were no longer having their conversation at the as the story progresses. Their change of character is apparent therefore creating a sense of dynamism in their character.
Question 2
Whether I feel empathy for Anders, the answer is yes and no. Yes only to the extent that he does not remember things that had happened prior to his being shot such as the poems he had committed to memory not even his fiancée. No because his shooting was as a consequence of defiance since prior to his shooting, he had been warned more than once by the robber not to talk but he disregard the warnings. He continued to provoke the robber even where the robber even with the knowledge that the robber was holding a weapon.
