payment page
The two robbers are dressed identically in black ski masks and blue suits, and the narrator is only able to differentiate between the two by their weapons; one carries a pistol and the other carries a sawed-off shotgun. The robber with the pistol is the more significant of the two because he is the one who singles out and ultimately shoots Anders. On a more basic level, this robber symbolizes the literal danger of cynicism, as he shoots Anders in the head when Anders cannot stop himself from making judgmental comments. However, the robber’s character also illustrates the need for empathy.
The reader does not know anything about the robber. We do not know his name, his age, his backstory, or what pushed him to rob this bank in the first place. As a result, the reader is forced to make assumptions. For example, Anders notes that the robber’s eyes are “rawly red-rimmed” and “twitching.” One could make the case that the robber is angry, distressed, or possibly impaired. Furthermore, the robber shoots Anders because Anders keeps laughing at him and making fun of the way he talks. This could mean that the robber has a serious anger management issue or that he is deeply insecure and was embarrassed that Anders saw through him so easily, a rather human impulse. The ambiguity with which Wolff writes about the robber is intentional; it forces the reader to make the same superficial judgements that Anders makes throughout the narrative. As a result, the story becomes a cautionary tale about the dangers of cynicism and the importance of empathy.
