“Hunters in the Snow” deals with the motif of alienation, or isolation. Tub and Frank both experience isolation from others, reinforced by the secrets they are keeping. Kenny and Frank rush ahead of Tub while hunting, and almost leave without him. Tub has to run to catch up with them, and pulls himself into the truck before it drives away. Indignant, he says,”’I used to stick up for you.’ ‘Okay, so you used to stick up for me. So what?’ ‘You shouldn’t have just left me back there like that.’” (90) Tub is continually being excluded from his friends, who seem to have teamed up against him. Kenny and Frank mock and tease him, leaving him isolated from his so-called friends. Later, Tub stands up to Frank: “‘What do you know about fat,’ Tub said. ‘What do you know about glands.’ As he spoke he dept shaking Frank. ‘What do you know about me.’” (94) Tub’s statement here shows that none of the friends have really made any
effort to get
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Tub is isolated from others around him, since he cannot bond with others. Initially, he is constantly teased for being obese, he is powerless in the power dynamic between his friends, he is not able to form any kind of human connection whatsoever, despite his futile attempts at doing so. This all has a snowball effect on him, contributing to his feelings of emptiness and isolation, and his secret of overeating contributes as well, making him feel that he is leading a double life, perpetuating his isolation, since he is afraid of other’s ridicule if he confesses it. Paul is isolated due to his perspectives and desires, but is has to do more with the world he lives in, in opposition to his desires, as he cannot achieve a lifestyle of wealth infused with beauty in his drab, industrial world. He is alienated because it prevents him from