Sawdust And Hunting Husbands: A Comparative Analysis

All Roads Lead Nowhere In both "Sawdust" by Chris Offutt and "Hunting Husbands" by Jo Carson, we see characters willing to go to great lengths to try and get what they think they want in life. Nonetheless, they appear to be trapped in an endless cycle, and it appears for them as though all roads lead nowhere. Despite the effort each makes to try to escape the life given to them, the battle they are fighting is one in which they seem destined to lose.
"Sawdust" takes place in a small Appalachian community where people live very simple lives, and those who are born there rarely ever leave. "Sawdust" revolves around a young man named Junior who decides that he wants to try to pass the GED test, the equivalent to earning a high school degree.
Junior feels that with passing the GED test, he will earn the respect of many throughout the community, and will have the qualifications needed to get a good job outside of the community. As we later find out, and to his surprise, quite the opposite is actually true. The story begins with Junior explaining that not a single person from his community, including himself, has finished high school: "Around here," Junior says, "a man is judged by how he acts, not how smart he's supposed to be" (Offutt 3). We first get a glimpse of what Junior's future has in store for him when we learn about Warren, Junior's older brother. Warren is a high school dropout who found himself a simple job that pays just enough to get by. He tells Junior that all he is good for is taking care of their mother. At one point in the story Junior describes his father's suicide and hints at his fear of ending up like his dad when he gets older. This is when we first begin to see that Junior is not like the other people of the community, and is not content with the life laid out for him: "Around here, we're mostly brown. I wouldn't mind talking to somebody of another color but they don't ever come around these parts. Nobody does. This is a place people move away from" (6).
Like "Sawdust," "Hunting Husbands" also takes place in a small Appalachian community where no one's future appears overly promising. The story involves two women who seemingly live unhappy lives married to men whom they do not love. As in "Sawdust" the main character in this story does not seem to be content with her life, and is willing to take drastic measures to try to improve it. We are told the story from the point of view of the main character, a middle aged woman with children, referred to as "June Bug." Much the same way as Junior saw the GED as a possible way to change the life laid out for him, June Bug sees this kind of opportunity in the form of a road trip. Rowena, June Bug's good friend who is also unhappy with her life, proposes the idea of going on a road trip in search of new and better men. Rowena describes the activity as hunting husbands. After some convincing, June Bug gives in, and they pack up the car with the children, and without telling their husbands anything, are on their way. Along the way, June Bug begins to reconsider what she's doing and Rowena senses this. Trying to convince her to not back out Rowena says, "June Bug, you got a pair of the biggest assets in Tennessee and you've been sitting at home waiting for them to sag or Gene (her husband) to get there, whichever comes first, and I can tell you which it's likely to be" (Carson 43). From this quote we are able to see why June Bug is willing to go on this trip, for it appears that with the life she is living as of now, she is essentially just waiting to die.
Initially both the GED test and the road trip appear to be good ideas. June Bug is full of enthusiasm as they hit the road, and Junior couldn't be more anxious to take the test: "Most people run from a snake without ever knowing if it was poison or just alive. The GED was the same way" (Offutt 7). Both characters feel that they are taking the right course of action and will end up better off for it. As we later see though, both characters are only to be let down.
The people of both communities are not particularly happy with the actions which both June Bug and Junior are taking. June Bug knows that her husband will be furious if and when she returns, and fears the way others will come to think of her. The reaction Junior receives from the community is even harsher. When he walks in to VISTA, the test center in the nearest town, the lady behind the desk gives him one glance and says, ""The barbershop is next door" (Offutt 7). When he tells his mother of his idea she tells him he should think about reading the bible instead of fixing to get learned. Warren ridicules Junior as well and tells him that GED stands for Get Even Dumber. A group of kids make fun of Junior and pick a fight with him all while sarcastically calling him "doctor." Junior even takes criticism from the community's preacher who goes to Junior's mom and guarantees her a sweet place in heaven for all her burdens on earth. He describes Junior as "too hardheaded for his own good" (10). Whether it is jealously due to the fact that these two characters are determined enough to better their lives that they are willing to go to great lengths, or anger due to the fact that some feel that June Bug and Junior think they are better then everyone else, both characters are forced to deal with negative consequences due to their actions.
Just as we begin to see both courses of action in full effect and are expecting to see both Junior and June Bug find a way out of the life cycle that they were placed in, both plans come to a dead end. Junior finds out that he did in fact pass the GED and June Bug arrives at a camp site to find two young and good-looking men there for her taking. However, for whatever reason, neither is able to bring themselves to take advantage of what they worked so hard to come to. Disappointed with June Bug's sudden lack of enthusiasm Rowena says, "You married Gene Bittner just ‘cause he's the first one asked, didn't you?" (47). June Bug does not deny this and appears to be disappointed in herself, knowing that what Rowena said was true. As Rowena runs off with both men, June Bug says she does not want to go and is left by herself to think:
I've been thinking that in a couple hours, Gene will get home from Crossroads and he'll be mad I'm not there but he'll also be drunk and he'll probably pass out on the sofa and not even think about me being gone until tomorrow morning. And when he starts to look, all the things will still be like they are supposed to be. Nothing new. Nothing gone (Carson 50).
When Junior arrives back at the test center and is greeted with a job application, he refuses it, telling the woman, "All I wanted was this (the form saying he passed the GED)" (Offut15). Confused, she tells him that sometimes she didn't even know what she was doing here. "None of us do," Junior replies. "Most people around here are just waiting to die" (15). In each of these stories, we see an individual who is not content with the life they have and is willing to go to great lengths to change it.
In "Sawdust," Junior takes ridicule from everyone and spends hours studying to prove that he can pass the GED. In "Hunting Husbands" June Bug embarks on a long road trip, spending money which she cannot afford to spend in hopes of finding a man who will treat her right. In each case, the main character seems to have something special about them, Junior being smart and June Bug being beautiful, which represents a way for them to get out of the situation they were born into. In both situations, it looks as though the main character might have broken the cycle and found a way out, but for one reason or another does not jump on the opportunity. One may only guess why, after such an effort to change their lives, they do not take the opportunity when presented. We are only left to speculate whether it was fear of change, loyalty to their roots, or some other factor holding them back. Despite the effort each put in to change their situation, in the end each character finds themselves back where they started, and each seemingly comes to the realization that they are fighting a battle in which there are no
winners.