Hunters in the Snow (1/4)

Hunters In the Snow
Tobias Wolff

Well I'm certainly glad something did come out of that story. It all seemed stupid and shallow play until Kenny shot his gun. The three boys, yes I do mean boys, from the beginning set the stage for the audience the kind of relationship they have together. Kenny and Frank obviously tease Tub about his weight, and Kenny and Frank introduce some interesting affair between Frank and some babysitter. All seems empty and messed up from the beginning. They all seem like they are independent and do what they please, but at the same time, the reader picks up on the fact that they all seem to have some kind of insecurity. Tub obviously is mad about being teased about his "gland" problem, and when he confronts Frank, he says, "You're a grown up, Tub. You can take care of yourself. Anyway, if you think you're the only person with problems I can tell you that you're not" (Wolff, 191). Obviously they are all struggling with some part of themselves. Kenny's main problem seems to be his anger. He says, "I hate that post", or "I hate that tree", and finally, "I hate that dog" and then proceeds to shoot each one of them. Originally I thought he was just an angry crazy person, but when the farmer revealed that he asked Kenny to shoot the dog, it seemed more like shooting the post and tree was just a way of preparing himself mentally for euthanizing the dog. I certainly don't think he is a stellar human being, but since the farmer revealed his intentions for his dog, Kenny's seemingly angry reckless actions make sense. I do wonder, however, if Tub hadn't shot him, would Kenny have harmed Tub. He did say after all, "I hate you", to Tub, and based on his previous shootings it really did seem as if Kenny would have shot him.