Hunters in the Snow

by

Tobias Wolff

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on Hunters in the Snow makes teaching easy.

Kenny Character Analysis

Bullying, cunning, and brutal, Kenny is the ringleader of the friend group, but he is a genuine friend to neither Frank nor Tub. He obviously dislikes Tub, whom he mocks mercilessly for being fat, and, though he recruits Frank to gang up against Tub, he seems to have little regard for Frank either, threatening to betray Frank’s shameful secret about his illicit infatuation with “a certain babysitter.” Kenny has his mind set on violence and cruelty, and, unable to find a deer to shoot, he takes out his frustration by shooting the farmer’s dog. But he is not only aggressive, he is also sly: he doesn’t tell Tub and Frank that the farmer actually asked him to shoot his old, sick dog, and, pretending to shoot it out of hatred, he makes Tub think he is going to shoot him, too. Kenny’s prank backfires, literally and dramatically, when Tub shoots Kenny in self-defense. Although there is nothing redeeming about Kenny and some justice in his fate, by the end of the story one feels sorry for him: severely wounded, freezing, and reduced to reciting the sentence “I’m going to the hospital,” Kenny is totally neglected by Tub and Frank who, carried away by their revived intimacy, have unwittingly (or, perhaps, half-wittingly) taken a wrong turn on the way to the hospital.

Kenny Quotes in Hunters in the Snow

The Hunters in the Snow quotes below are all either spoken by Kenny or refer to Kenny. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Friendship and Cruelty Theme Icon
).
Hunters in the Snow Quotes

He looked like a cartoon of a person laughing, except that his eyes watched the man on the seat beside him. “You ought to see yourself,” the driver said. “He looks just like a beach ball with a hat on, doesn’t he? Doesn’t he, Frank?” The man beside him smiled and looked off.

Related Characters: Kenny (speaker), Tub, Frank
Page Number: 20
Explanation and Analysis:

They started off across the field. Tub had trouble getting through the fences. Frank and Kenny could have helped him; they could have lifted up on the top wire and stepped on the bottom wire, but they didn’t. They stood and watched him. There were a lot of fences and Tub was puffing when they reached the woods.

Related Characters: Tub, Frank, Kenny
Page Number: 22
Explanation and Analysis:

The snow was light but the drifts were deep and hard to move through. Wherever Tub looked the surface was smooth, undisturbed, and after a time he lost interest. He stopped looking for tracks and just tried to keep up with Frank and Kenny on the other side.

Related Characters: Tub, Frank, Kenny
Page Number: 23
Explanation and Analysis:

The snow was shaded and had a glaze on it. It held up Kenny and Frank but Tub kept falling through. As he kicked forward, the edge of the crust bruised his shins.

Related Characters: Tub, Frank, Kenny
Page Number: 24
Explanation and Analysis:

“I came out here to get me a deer, not listen to a bunch of hippie bullshit. And if it hadn’t been for dimples here I would have, too. […] And you—you’re so busy thinking about that little jailbait of yours you wouldn’t know a deer if you saw one.”

“Drop dead.”

Related Characters: Frank (speaker), Kenny (speaker), Tub, Roxanne Brewer
Page Number: 25
Explanation and Analysis:

“I hate that post,” he said. He raised his rifle and fired. It sounded like a dry branch cracking. […] “I hate that tree,” he said, and fired again. […] “I hate that dog.” […] Kenny fired. The bullet went in between the dog’s eyes. […] Kenny turned to Tub. “I hate you.”

Related Characters: Kenny (speaker), Tub, Frank, Farmer’s Dog
Page Number: 26
Explanation and Analysis:

“You get anything?” he asked.

“No,” Frank said.

“I knew you wouldn’t. That’s what I told the other fellow.”

“We’ve had an accident.”

[…] “Shot your friend, did you?”

Frank nodded.

“I did,” Tub said.

“I suppose you want to use the phone.”

“If it’s okay.”

Related Characters: Tub (speaker), Frank (speaker), Farmer (speaker), Kenny
Page Number: 27-28
Explanation and Analysis:

“You asked him to?” Tub said. “You asked him to shoot your dog?”

“He was old and sick. Couldn’t chew his food anymore. I would have done it myself but I don’t have a gun.”

Related Characters: Tub (speaker), Farmer (speaker), Kenny, Farmer’s Dog
Page Number: 28
Explanation and Analysis:

Right overhead was the Big Dipper, and behind, hanging between Kenny’s toes in the direction of the hospital, was the North Star, Pole Star, Help to Sailors. As the truck twisted through the gentle hills the star went back and forth between Kenny’s boots, staying always in his sight. “I’m going to the hospital,” Kenny said. But he was wrong. They had taken a different turn a long way back.

Related Characters: Kenny (speaker), Tub, Frank
Page Number: 35
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Hunters in the Snow LitChart as a printable PDF.
Hunters in the Snow PDF

Kenny Quotes in Hunters in the Snow

The Hunters in the Snow quotes below are all either spoken by Kenny or refer to Kenny. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Friendship and Cruelty Theme Icon
).
Hunters in the Snow Quotes

He looked like a cartoon of a person laughing, except that his eyes watched the man on the seat beside him. “You ought to see yourself,” the driver said. “He looks just like a beach ball with a hat on, doesn’t he? Doesn’t he, Frank?” The man beside him smiled and looked off.

Related Characters: Kenny (speaker), Tub, Frank
Page Number: 20
Explanation and Analysis:

They started off across the field. Tub had trouble getting through the fences. Frank and Kenny could have helped him; they could have lifted up on the top wire and stepped on the bottom wire, but they didn’t. They stood and watched him. There were a lot of fences and Tub was puffing when they reached the woods.

Related Characters: Tub, Frank, Kenny
Page Number: 22
Explanation and Analysis:

The snow was light but the drifts were deep and hard to move through. Wherever Tub looked the surface was smooth, undisturbed, and after a time he lost interest. He stopped looking for tracks and just tried to keep up with Frank and Kenny on the other side.

Related Characters: Tub, Frank, Kenny
Page Number: 23
Explanation and Analysis:

The snow was shaded and had a glaze on it. It held up Kenny and Frank but Tub kept falling through. As he kicked forward, the edge of the crust bruised his shins.

Related Characters: Tub, Frank, Kenny
Page Number: 24
Explanation and Analysis:

“I came out here to get me a deer, not listen to a bunch of hippie bullshit. And if it hadn’t been for dimples here I would have, too. […] And you—you’re so busy thinking about that little jailbait of yours you wouldn’t know a deer if you saw one.”

“Drop dead.”

Related Characters: Frank (speaker), Kenny (speaker), Tub, Roxanne Brewer
Page Number: 25
Explanation and Analysis:

“I hate that post,” he said. He raised his rifle and fired. It sounded like a dry branch cracking. […] “I hate that tree,” he said, and fired again. […] “I hate that dog.” […] Kenny fired. The bullet went in between the dog’s eyes. […] Kenny turned to Tub. “I hate you.”

Related Characters: Kenny (speaker), Tub, Frank, Farmer’s Dog
Page Number: 26
Explanation and Analysis:

“You get anything?” he asked.

“No,” Frank said.

“I knew you wouldn’t. That’s what I told the other fellow.”

“We’ve had an accident.”

[…] “Shot your friend, did you?”

Frank nodded.

“I did,” Tub said.

“I suppose you want to use the phone.”

“If it’s okay.”

Related Characters: Tub (speaker), Frank (speaker), Farmer (speaker), Kenny
Page Number: 27-28
Explanation and Analysis:

“You asked him to?” Tub said. “You asked him to shoot your dog?”

“He was old and sick. Couldn’t chew his food anymore. I would have done it myself but I don’t have a gun.”

Related Characters: Tub (speaker), Farmer (speaker), Kenny, Farmer’s Dog
Page Number: 28
Explanation and Analysis:

Right overhead was the Big Dipper, and behind, hanging between Kenny’s toes in the direction of the hospital, was the North Star, Pole Star, Help to Sailors. As the truck twisted through the gentle hills the star went back and forth between Kenny’s boots, staying always in his sight. “I’m going to the hospital,” Kenny said. But he was wrong. They had taken a different turn a long way back.

Related Characters: Kenny (speaker), Tub, Frank
Page Number: 35
Explanation and Analysis: