"Eleven" & "Bullet in the Brain"

The story “Eleven” describes a young girl on her eleventh birthday and how horrible that day was for her. I love idea that you are not just one age, but all of the ages that you have experienced before that too. There are days that I really do not feel the age that I am, but much younger. The characterization of the teacher in the story is one that I can really relate to. I have had a teacher like that. One who automatically assumes that the first person to speak is telling the truth and you cannot change her mind. The dialogue is also relatable because sometimes adults refuse to listen to children because they don’t feel that the children can have anything of interest to say. It is extremely frustrating. The main character does not get the chance to say much out loud. Mostly we see her inner monologue.

In contrast the main character in “Bullet in the Brain” speaks quite a bit. He cannot seem to help himself. He keeps insulting the dialogue of the men with guns. He is inappropriately amused by the situation that he is in and they are paying too much attention to what he is saying. While the little girl in the first story only has to wear and ugly sweater for a while on her birthday, which is admittedly humiliating, Anders winds up dead because of his inability to stop his inner critic from coming out.