The
element of “Hunters in the Snow” which Tobias Wolff utilizes most prominently
in order to maintain the suspense of the plot is the surprising changes of
character that occur in Tub, Frank, and Kenny. To begin with, Tub undergoes a
dynamic transformation over the course of the story as he shifts from a
sympathetic, good-natured, and victimized man to a somewhat cold-hearted
individual. At the beginning of the novel, Tub is depicted as an overweight but
kind man who is constantly ridiculed by his friends for his incredibly large
size. For example, Frank and Kenny criticize his lack of physical agility and
merely sit and watch stoically as he struggles to climb through fences rather than
lend him a hand. Moreover, when he eats nothing but an egg and a stalk of
celery for lunch, they rebuke his lack of success on such a pathetic diet.
Consequently, the reader initially identifies Tub as a sympathetic character
who is subject to the bullying of his best friends on a regular basis; however,
when Tub ultimately shoots Kenny in a desperate attempt to protect himself
against what he believed to be a threat to his life, the reader can begin to see
that Tub is not as weak and victimized an individual as one might initially suspect.
While Tub may have been acting in self defense when he shot Kenny, this act
serves as the first indication that Tub may lack important rationalizing skills
and have issues with self-control. These flaws in Tub’s character are further
emphasized when he is convinced by Frank to eat four full plates of pancakes at
the diner. Wolff highlights Tub’s lack of self-control in remarking, “Tub ate
several mouthfuls, then started to wipe his lips… the syrup covered his chin;
it dripped to a point like a goatee… Tub took the fork in his left hand and
lowered his head and started really chowing down…Tub lifted each of the four
plates and licked it clean” (Wolff, 200). However, the full extent of Tub’s dynamic
transformation is best manifested in the fact that he, along with Frank, fail
to make any effort to retrieve the lost directions to the hospital or generally
make any effort whatsoever to ease Kenny’s pain or rush him to the hospital.
Although Tub may initially be seen as a bullied yet sympathetic character at
the beginning of the story, his selfish and irrational actions throughout the
course of the plot prove that he is instead a selfish man lacks compassion for
others and ultimately becomes a bit of a bully himself.
Frank’s
character also shows a bit of a dynamic transformation in the sense that he begins
the story being best friends with Kenny and ridiculing Tub, whereas, by the
conclusion, he has forsaken his loyalty to Kenny in exchange for a close bond
with Tub. However, I personally do not view this as much of a dynamic change
since many aspects of Frank’s personality seem to indicate that he is
unfailingly fickle. The fact that Frank never seems to take any initiative of
his own while hunting with Kenny and Tub but merely follows the decisions and
actions of others proves that he only intends to follow others. Furthermore,
his confession to Tub that he is in love with a fifteen-year-old rather than
his own wife proves that he is very capricious in relationships. Therefore,
while Frank does change friends during the progression of “Hunters in the Snow”
I do not believe that his character in and of itself changed in any significant
way; rather, I believe Frank’s tendency to be fickle was a consistent trait of
his which was displayed throughout the story.
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