Summary Of Snow By Tobias Wolff
The overall structure and plot of the story plays a part in how Wolff viewed his own life within the characters. It opens with a simple yet intriguing statement: "Tub had been waiting for an hour in the falling snow" (Wolff 1). Immediately, this hook does its job drawing the reader into the story and making him wonder what is going on. In the same paragraph we find that Tub is walking down the street, carrying a rifle and seemingly, shooting the breeze. But then a car comes from nowhere, nearly killing Tub and forcing him to leap off the roadside. Inside the truck, Tub's friends, Kenny and Frank, wait laughing at the apparent "joke" that they had just played. Tub doesn't seem quite as amused, stating, "You could've killed me!" (Wolff 5). Then, the three friends begin to make their way towards the woods to go hunting for
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deer, which seems to be a normal habit for these three men (Bernardo 1). On the trip into the woods and while they are walking around searching for tracks, Kenny and Frank don't seem to like Tub very much. Not only that, they seems to exclude him from walking with them in the forest. They make fun of him about his eating habits and even try driving off without him: "When Tub crossed the last fence into the toad the truck started moving. Tub had to run for it and just managed to grab hold of the tailgate and hoist himself into the bed. He lay there, panting. Kenny looked out the rear window and grinned" (Wolff 47). The qualities that these characters possess and their specific attitudes make you think that's there's an even deeper level to the writing- possibly stemming from Wolff's personal experiences.
The story continues with the plot moving forward rather quickly and more evidence is found that may tie into Wolff's preferences for how the story should be written.
The friends make their way to a farmhouse to ask the property owner if they could hunt for a deer on his land because they had seen tracks leading up to his property. The farmer agrees but tells them they probably won't find anything. But the three men head back out anyways. Hunting is an activity which Wolff's father used to take him and his brothers out to do (Biography 2). It's interesting to see how Wolff uses hunting as the basis for the story. Not long later Kenny appears to start going crazy. He states that he hates certain objects- then he shoots them "dead." He shoots a tree. He shoots a dog. Then he says to Tub: "I hate you" (Wolff 78). But before Kenny could pull the trigger, Tub shoots off his rifle, hitting Kenny right in the stomach, knocking him over backwards. Frank just stood there stunned while Kenny started apologizing immediately, saying he was never going to shoot Tub. Meanwhile, Tub just keeps saying he shot him out of defense. That it wasn't his fault. Which could be a lie, but it isn't said in the story. Wolff is known for his lies and he even states that saying: "I
was a liar when I was a kid. I still am a liar". Near the end of the story some crazy things start happening that relate to Wolff's ability as a storyteller. The three men are headed off to the hospital with Frank and Tub riding up front and the injured Kenny lay out in the truck's bed. Tub and Frank begin to talk, which may not seem so odd at first but its personal talk about families and personal happenings which seem a little out of place for two people that seem so different. Wolff is using an interesting tactic, not necessarily tied to his personal life, but tied to his history as a storyteller instead. He's using the abilities he's picked up from living with a family of storytellers to interlace some unusual happenings within the story. Kenny is still laid out in the back of the truck while Tub and Frank pull off to the side of the road three separate times, once for coffee, once to warm their hands from the frigid cold and a third time so Tub could hoard some pancakes because Frank felt pity for his seemingly unchangeable diet. These stops are increasingly random and seem completely inappropriate seeing that there is a man possibly dying in the back of the truck (Bernardo 3). But the story ends in a highly dramatic way with Tub and Frank changing paths away from the hospital and Kenny freezing in the truck bed thinking he's on his way to safety. It's an odd end to a story but with Wolff's background as a great storyteller it makes complete sense. Wolff is not notably known for his writing as much as he is for his storytelling. So an ending as dramatic as this one is not only expected but consistent with whom Wolff is.
deer, which seems to be a normal habit for these three men (Bernardo 1). On the trip into the woods and while they are walking around searching for tracks, Kenny and Frank don't seem to like Tub very much. Not only that, they seems to exclude him from walking with them in the forest. They make fun of him about his eating habits and even try driving off without him: "When Tub crossed the last fence into the toad the truck started moving. Tub had to run for it and just managed to grab hold of the tailgate and hoist himself into the bed. He lay there, panting. Kenny looked out the rear window and grinned" (Wolff 47). The qualities that these characters possess and their specific attitudes make you think that's there's an even deeper level to the writing- possibly stemming from Wolff's personal experiences.
The story continues with the plot moving forward rather quickly and more evidence is found that may tie into Wolff's preferences for how the story should be written.
The friends make their way to a farmhouse to ask the property owner if they could hunt for a deer on his land because they had seen tracks leading up to his property. The farmer agrees but tells them they probably won't find anything. But the three men head back out anyways. Hunting is an activity which Wolff's father used to take him and his brothers out to do (Biography 2). It's interesting to see how Wolff uses hunting as the basis for the story. Not long later Kenny appears to start going crazy. He states that he hates certain objects- then he shoots them "dead." He shoots a tree. He shoots a dog. Then he says to Tub: "I hate you" (Wolff 78). But before Kenny could pull the trigger, Tub shoots off his rifle, hitting Kenny right in the stomach, knocking him over backwards. Frank just stood there stunned while Kenny started apologizing immediately, saying he was never going to shoot Tub. Meanwhile, Tub just keeps saying he shot him out of defense. That it wasn't his fault. Which could be a lie, but it isn't said in the story. Wolff is known for his lies and he even states that saying: "I
was a liar when I was a kid. I still am a liar". Near the end of the story some crazy things start happening that relate to Wolff's ability as a storyteller. The three men are headed off to the hospital with Frank and Tub riding up front and the injured Kenny lay out in the truck's bed. Tub and Frank begin to talk, which may not seem so odd at first but its personal talk about families and personal happenings which seem a little out of place for two people that seem so different. Wolff is using an interesting tactic, not necessarily tied to his personal life, but tied to his history as a storyteller instead. He's using the abilities he's picked up from living with a family of storytellers to interlace some unusual happenings within the story. Kenny is still laid out in the back of the truck while Tub and Frank pull off to the side of the road three separate times, once for coffee, once to warm their hands from the frigid cold and a third time so Tub could hoard some pancakes because Frank felt pity for his seemingly unchangeable diet. These stops are increasingly random and seem completely inappropriate seeing that there is a man possibly dying in the back of the truck (Bernardo 3). But the story ends in a highly dramatic way with Tub and Frank changing paths away from the hospital and Kenny freezing in the truck bed thinking he's on his way to safety. It's an odd end to a story but with Wolff's background as a great storyteller it makes complete sense. Wolff is not notably known for his writing as much as he is for his storytelling. So an ending as dramatic as this one is not only expected but consistent with whom Wolff is.