Tobias Wolff

Tobias Wolff, author of the short story “Hunters in the Snow”, uses multiple elements of fiction such as suspense, conflict and mystery to create said story. All of which come together to create a remarkable, intriguing, and eye opening story for the reader to enjoy and ponder over for a substantial amount of time after finishing. The element of mystery becomes most apparent during the beginning stages of the story when the main characters are being introduced. With minimal details and no background information Wolff forces the reader to only have one option and read on. Tub is presented to us when he is on a sidewalk pacing back and forth - “One driver stopped for him but before Tub could wave the man on he saw the rifle on Tub’s back and hit the gas.” This only begs the questions, why does he have a rifle? and Why is he out in public with the rifle? The only way to find out is to
An unfortunate event occurred when Tub had to shoot (in what appears to be self defense) Kenny after he fired at a post, killed an innocent dog, then turned to Tub and said “ I hate you”. As the story moved forward Kenny remained in the bed of the truck bleeding out as Frank and Tub stopped at a diner in the midst of promising Kenny they would take him to a hospital. One they get back on the road Wolff ends the story in suspense when Kenny is saying to himself “ I’m going to a hospital ”, but it is made clear to the reader by the narrator - “But he was wrong. They had taken a different turn a long way back”.
All in all, Tobias Wolff created an amazing short story that contains a lot more than what is shown on the surface. Using mystery, conflict, and suspense this short story captivated the truth about human nature and how the idea of power over others can consume a person and transform them into something