The Secrets of "Hunters in the Snow"

  In Tobias Wolff’s “Hunters in the Snow”, the three main characters each have secrets which they are concealing despite their friendships. These obscuring truths later cause trouble for each of the characters and will lead to their destruction. How will their decisions and lies impact their relationships?

    The first character introduced in the story is Tub. Tub is portrayed as being rather large. The reader’s first image of Tub is when Kenny says, “He looks just like a giant beach ball with a hat on…”(117). Tub’s inner conflict is his weight, which he lies about throughout the story. Tub is obviously self conscious about his weight and is in denial about his gluttony. He hides cookies and sandwiches in his clothes, but in the presence of his friends, he acts as if he is on a diet and eats a boiled egg and celery. His friends mock him about his diet and can see that he is not loosing but gaining weight. Later in the story, Tub finally reveals to Frank the truth about his gluttony. Tub admits, “I’ve even got stuff (snacks) in the paper towel machine at work…Oreos, Mars Bars, Twinkies”(126). I believe that Tub reveals his secret to Frank because he wants help and he knows that Frank will be understanding. It is after this incident, that Frank takes Tub to a restaurant so he could eat until he was completely full.

    The second character in the story is Frank. One gets the impression that Frank is very masculine. He repeatedly tells Tub and Kenny things that would make them more of a man. When Tub complains that he is cold, Frank tells him to “Stop bitching…Get centered”(118). Later, Frank tells Kenny that he is too talkative, as if men should not talk too much. This conversation with Kenny reveals Frank’s inner conflict. Frank has committed the act of adultery with his fifteen-year-old babysitter, Roxanne Brewer, and actually feels that he is love with her and wants to leave his wife. At this point, Kenny is the only one who knows about Frank’s...