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What Is Tobias Wolff's Powder Short Story

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Tobias Wolff once said, "A true piece of writing is a dangerous thing". Ironically his short story Powder genuinely is a true piece of writing. Wolff 's Powder is a short story from his collection titled The Night in Question published in 1996. The Night in Question was his third collection published and one of his most famous. The short story Powder tells of the adventure of a father and his son battling obstacles to get home in time for Christmas Eve dinner. After a long day of skiing which the father insisted on, the duo began their trek home during a snowstorm only to be stopped by a trooper. The father and son were informed the road was closed. Reluctantly they headed to a nearby diner for burgers fearing that they may not make it home in time for dinner. Wolff and his father waited for the police officer to leave before taking advantage of the moment by heading out in the white night through the barricaded street. They forged through the snow relentlessly heading for home and it was then that Wolff had learned how to live in the moment. This story strongly reflects Wolff 's sense of self both before and after this adventure. As young Wolff and his father were baring the treacherous weather to make it home in time for Christmas dinner he discovered a new side of himself. Wolff described himself …show more content…

I am the type of person who plans as far ahead as possible to ensure that each day goes as expected similarly to Wolff 's character the son. "I was the type of boy who kept his clothes on numbered hangers to ensure proper rotation. I bothered my teachers for homework assignments far ahead of their due dates, so I could draw up schedules." (Wolff 3). Both Wolff and I share similar habits in our day to day lives that can be hard to stray from. Which is why when their departure day was failing to go as planned I made a connection to the son and knew how he must have felt with events not going as

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