Theme Of Hunters In The Snow

Tobias Wolff’s Hunters in the Snow explores the latent meaning of insecurity. Wolff’s use of vivid imagery and descriptive language allows the reader to be more engaged and focused on the details that aren’t necessarily mentioned in the story, but that are interpreted throughout. Kenny’s malicious behavior in the constant bullying of the insecure Tub served as the primary motivation that leads to Kenny’s death. Kenny was a bitter man that received pure enjoyment from teasing and bullying Tub. He was reckless and took his jokes too far, which made him dangerous. In the beginning, Kenny pretended to try to run over Tub when they went to pick him up. This was the start of the malevolent actions. Later, he shows no concern or sympathy when he shoots the dog between the eyes. This shows his lack of compassion and how heartless he really is. Kenny tries to show off how tough he is by shooting everything he “hates” and then giving off the impression that Tub would be next.

Unlike Kenny and Frank, Tub doesn’t try to belittle his friends or find humor in the insults that they constantly dish out. By being a sensitive and emotional guy, he allows his emotions to build inside of him. He never really confronts his friends about their actions towards him because he is actually scared of them. He is also weak which is characterized by his complaining and that creates an illustration of Tub’s sensitive character. When Frank and Kenny focus on Tub’s weight, Tub complains that his “glands” are the cause for his obesity. He also complains because he had to wait an hour and then again when he is cold. These examples portray Tub’s character as immature and are the subjects of his approach to expressing himself and not being able to handle serious