Frank And Tub example essay topic

Just as kids have the desire to be accepted by their peers, adults also have the same yearning to be accepted by the people around them. Tub, Frank, and Kenny in the short story "Hunters in the Snow" written by Tobias Wolff are pushed to murder from their desire for acceptance by their peers. Through the character's actions and statements Wolff reveals the extreme measures in which adults will go to, striving to be accepted by others. As with children, adults also display different behaviors to be accepted by their peers. Although, Frank felt Kenny was trustworthy, he later learned that he was deceitful. Kenny clearly portrays one who is deceitful in order to get the attention he feels he deserves.

This is obvious when he says to Frank", 'I won't say a word. Like I won't say anything about a certain babysitter' " (188). Kenny broke his confidentiality with Frank by mentioning this in front of Tub. This was an act of getting noticed and making himself feel more significant.

Kenny demonstrates how he can be intimidating when he exhibits his control over the dog and, "got down on all fours and snarled and barked back at him" (191), causing the dog to "slunk away into the barn, looking over his shoulder and peeing a little as he went". (191) His intimidation continued after they went out on foot to hunt for a deer and came back without seeing one. As they are walking back he shoots a tree, and then shoots a fence post just because he said he didn't like them. Then when he said", 'I hate that dog,' " (192) and shot the dog, Frank and Tub became nervous. When he turned to Tub and said", 'I hate you' ", (192) Tub got defensive and shot Kenny first. His intimidation finally got the best of him.

Kenny also had a corrupt mouth. Obviously he felt he didn't get the respect he deserved without the use of it. When he tells Tub", 'All I can say is, it's the first diet I ever heard of where you gained weight from it' " (189). Afterwards, Tub gets defensive and Kenny made fun of him by saying", 'Oh, pardon me.

I take it back. You " re just wasting away before my very eyes... ' " (189). Some people take being accepted by their peers to excessive limits such as being deceitful, intimidating, and having a corrupt mouth.

As some people get older they feel they are losing their youth. Frank was no exception to this. He had the desire to feel wanted by someone younger, so therefore he admitted to Tub that he was in love with a younger girl. He asked Tub", 'Tub, have you ever been really in love?' " (197), after asking this he confides in Tub that he is speaking of the babysitter. In addition, Frank acts as a mediator to try and keep Kenny from being too cruel to Tub. When Tub overlooked the deer tracks Kenny got upset and Frank tried to make things better by saying", 'Relax, you can't hurry nature.

If we " re meant to get that deer, we " ll get it. If we " re not, we won't' " (190). Frank is also ambivalent with his feelings about his friends. Some people go along with how someone else feels in order to feel they belong. At he beginning of the story he picks on Tub about his weight as much as Kenny does, leading the reader to believe that he didn't like Tub.

When he tells Tub", 'Tub, you haven't seen your own balls in ten years' " (189). This was very hurtful to Tub. Then at the end of the story after Kenny was shot his feelings changed. He takes Tub to a roadhouse and buys him a big meal and told him to eat it all and not leave anything on the plate. Frank not only wants to be accepted by his peers but also has the desire to feel young again and also tries to keep things honorable between his buddies; in addition, he changes his feeling to suit the situation he is in. Tub is a character that is trying harder than any to feel part of a group.

He wants to feel valued so much that he waits an hour in the snow for Kenny and Frank to pick him up to go hunting. In addition, he keeps something from Frank and Kenny, but eventually tells Frank that he hadn't been telling the truth about his weight problem when he says", 'When I said that about my glands that wasn't true. The truth is I just shovel it in' " (199). He also told him it happens", 'Day and night, Frank. In the shower. On the freeway' " (199).

He even said", 'I've even got stuff in the paper towel machine at work' " (199). Some people feel they have to make-up excuses of why they are the way they are in hopes of getting sympathy. A low self-esteem can push people to create problems that are not really there. Because of Tubs secret about his weight problem, he is very understanding when Frank tells him how he feels about the babysitter. Tub tells him", 'Frank, when you " ve got a friend it means you " ve always got someone on your side, no matter what. That's the way I feel about it, anyway' " (198).

Some people will do most anything to feel a part of a group such as being the dependable one, keeping secrets from those you feel are you friends, and being very understanding when someone else feels they can confide in you. The fight for acceptance never ends, no matter how old you are you always want to feel you belong, whether it's at work or just a social gathering. Adults go through just as much scrutiny as children do, if not more, trying to fit in with their peers. Therefore, adults may take their actions a little more to the extreme than kids do.