"Hunters in the Snow"
Tobias Wolff
Three men display their manliness through the manliest of outdoors activities: hunting. However, they neither bag a deer nor live up to the stereotypes surrounding the male gender. Through the characterization of Kenny, Frank, and Tub, Wolff illustrates that not all that grows facial hair is man.
In Kenny's case, his inability to be direct about any serious matters ends up getting him shot. First, he briefly mentions the babysitter Frank plans on running off with without explicitly telling Tub his plans. Then, he fails to tell the other two hunters that the property owner asked him to kill the aging dog. Upon turning his gun at Tub, Tub preemptively puts a bullet in Kenny's side. If Kenny had been direct with his friends, Tub would not have felt the need to defend himself.
In Frank's case, his inability to be serious about life will most likely ruin his marriage and perhaps Kenny's death. As Kenny referenced, Frank reveals to Tub that he plans to leave his wife and kids for a 15-year-old babysitter. Because he has no regard for his obligations to his family (and the law), he is sure to leave his children without a father for a relationship that will be unstable at best. Also, when Tub leaves the directions to the hospital behind, Frank chooses to keep going, justifying his decision only with: "I remember them pretty well," (Wolff, 199). Had he seriously questioned his memory, Frank would have realized he had taken a wrong turn and possible doomed Kenny.
Finally, Tub's imperfections lie in his inability to control himself. Most noticeably, Tub has some sort of eating disorder; he is overweight and feels the need to beguile people into thinking he has a hormone problem. More significantly, his wild impulse forces him to shoot Kenny. If he had more confidence, Tub would have not felt that the other two hunters were literally out to kill him.
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