Hunters In The Snow Character Analysis Essay

Dangerous Secrets in Tobias Wolff's Hunters in the Snow

In Tobias Wolff's 'Hunters in the Snow', the three main characters each have secrets which they are concealing despite their friendships. These obscuring truths later cause trouble for each of the characters and will lead to their destruction. How will their decisions and lies impact their relationships?

The first character introduced in the story is Tub. Tub is portrayed as being rather large. The reader?s first image of Tub is when Kenny says, ?He looks just like a giant beach ball with a hat on??(117). Tub?s inner conflict is his weight, which he lies about throughout the story. Tub is obviously self conscious about his weight and is in denial about his gluttony. He hides cookies

Tub admits, ?I?ve even got stuff (snacks) in the paper towel machine at work?Oreos, Mars Bars, Twinkies?(126). I believe that Tub reveals his secret to Frank because he wants help and he knows that Frank will be understanding. It is after this incident, that Frank takes Tub to a restaurant so he could eat until he was completely full.

The second character in the story is Frank. One gets the impression that Frank is very masculine. He repeatedly tells Tub and Kenny things that would make them more of a man.

When Tub complains that he is cold, Frank tells him to ?Stop bitching?Get centered?(118). Later, Frank tells Kenny that he is too talkative, as if men should not talk too much. This conversation with Kenny reveals Frank?s inner conflict. Frank has committed the act of adultery with his fifteen-year-old babysitter, Roxanne Brewer, and actually feels that he is love with her and wants to leave his wife. At this point, Kenny is the only one who knows about Frank?s secret. It is not until the conclusion that Frank reveals the truth to Tub. Frank is also in denial about his lust. He tries to justify his adultery by being ?really in love? (125) as he said to Tub in his moment of

His actions will cause a fatal consequence. Kenny is the practical joker of the group. In the opening scene, he tries to run over Tub with his truck, but jokingly of course. Kenny is also a smart mouth and a know it all. At one point in the story, Kenny purposely says, ?I won?t say a word. Like I won?t say anything about a certain babysitter?(118). He blurts out Frank?s secret just because he has the information. The climax of the story is when Kenny concocts a secret plan to act like he has lost his mind and begins to shoot everything that he supposedly hates, ?I hate that post. He raised his rifle and fired?I hate that tree? I hate that dog??(121), but what Frank and Tub do not know is that Kenny was given orders by the farmer to shoot and kill the dog because the dog was sick. Not knowing that Kenny was joking and seeing that he had actually killed the dog, Tub did not take any chances when Kenny said he hated him. Tub shot Kenny before he could shoot