Theme Analysis in Tobias Wolff’s “Hunters in the Snow” Hunters in the Snow identifies a theme of how selfish and careless humans can be when faced with a conflicting situation that affects one’s action. Imagine you’re in a troublesome situation lost in the middle of nowhere with a group of friends, most likely you would be confused or upset, or simply be in wanderlust; however this could lead into insanity and even deciding to only fend for yourself. Next thing you know, you turn against your friends and try to rekindle a friendship after the fire you had between with them burnt out. This is similar to what goes in the story, Hunters in the Snow, with three men out hunting in a cold, hostile environment. Tobias Wolff shows this theme of carelessness and selfishness when he writes about how Frank and Kenny are leaving Tub behind to get to the truck to move to a different spot. When Tub finally reaches the spot where the other two men are located, “You’ve got a short memory,” Tub said.
“What?” Frank
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I really had that coming. I guess I’ve just been a little too interested in old number one. I’ve had a lot on my mind. Not that that’s any excuse.” (Wolff 89). Once again, Frank is seen wanting to get on tub’s good side. In order to do this, Frank seems honestly apologetic at first, but then fails to show the sympathy by voicing his own problems when he didn’t listen to tub in the first place. Frank then comes into realization of his selfish behavior and throws out a careless apology as though it would fix the situation like it never happened, but knowing it could not pass by as an excuse. The act displayed relates to reality when we feel like we are not given enough attention. It seems as though we need to be the center of attention, especially for those who think the world revolves around them, such as Frank. Nonetheless, the story demonstrates the selfishness and carelessness of how human beings can be when they only think of themselves and not others as