blog #3

Hunter's in the Snow by Tobias Wolff

This disturbing short story left me feeling slightly uneasy and uncomfortable by the end of it. The three characters mentioned, Frank, Tub, and Kenny, all seem to be facing there own set of problems, which help to characterize each man. Tub is self conscious of his weight, yet indulges in gluttony. Frank is married, yet is having an affair with a fifteen-year old. Lastly, Kenny is simply the bully, poking fun at Frank's and Kenny's imperfections. The story really starts to take a gruesome turn when Kenny lashes out and shoots the tree and dog, then threatens tub. I was immediately reminded of an untamed animal, recklessly attacking and causing destruction. The animal instinct then spreads when Tub shoots Kenny due to his threat. After the incident, they figure they better take Kenny to the hospital, but they make a few stops along the way. Tub and Kenny stop for coffee and pancakes, completely disregarding that their friend is potentially dying in the back seat. It becomes clear that the men have not intention of taking Kenny to the hospital when the narrator states, " But he was wrong. They had taken a different turn a long way back," (Wolff, 201). The question is, did they want him to die? Or did they not realize he would die if they didn't take him to the hospital? After all of Kenny's teasing, it is possible that the two were fed up with it and didn't want to deal with it anymore. It may also be possible that since Kenny was always teasing Tub about being a woos, Tub and Frank may have thought Kenny was strong and could handle not going to the hospital.