"Hunters in the Snow"
By: Tobias Wolff
Judged, uncertain, and afraid. Such qualities are those that define the protagonist, Tub. For, Tub is a man easily effected by others and not always seen for who he truly is. Although a man of large size, he expresses and is characterized by the emotional qualities often associated with females. In the short story, "Hunters in the Snow" Tub's qualities slow him down, make him feel vulnerable, and eventually lead to the path taken by the characters.
Tub's focus on emotions and feelings is not only what leads him to shoot Kenny, but also what distracts Frank and Tub from taking Kenny directly to the hospital. Rather than rushing straight there, the "friends" forget about their injured acquaintance to discuss and reconnect over each other's problems. Thus, the short stories central focus is not Kenny's health, but the path they took. This path is directed by the protagonists' actions which leads the characters down a different path than initially believed. Yet, this shift in direction was suggested by the uncertainty foreshadowed in Frank's secret of the babysitter which appears sporadically throughout the tale. Due to this foreshadowing, it is not a surprise when the short story ends with the phrase, "They had taken a different turn a long way back (Page 201)." For, as seen in the characters' own lives, none of the men had taken the same path, but rather had turned long before they themselves even realized it.
Do to the uncertainty of the character's own paths, the path's of the three men is left uncertain except for the reference to path of the north star. This hint, left to the readings of astrology and the symbolism of the north star as the sailor's help, suggests that the path they took and the journey they are on is not to the hospital. Rather, it is in the reference to the sailor's help that I believe Kenny is sailing into the path of death..
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