Hunters in the Snow
By: Tobias Wolff

In this short story, Tub, Kenny, and Frank go on a hunting trip together for the day.  It is cold and snowing outside, which is not ideal hunting weather in Tub's opinion.  Tub consistently annoys his friends with negativity and complaints.  Frank and Kenny seem to enjoy ganging up and Tub and giving him a hard time. After a few hours of hunting, the men stop to eat lunch.  Kenny and Frank eat heavily, while Tub snacks on a hard-boiled egg and a stick of celery.  Kenny and Frank tease Tub about this and his weight.  Tub snaps back and claims he has a gland issue.  After they continue hunting again, Tub ends up separated from his friends and sits down to eat again.  "He ate both the sandwiches and half the cookies, taking his own sweet time" (Wolff).  With this sentence, it became very clear the Tub was lying about his glands.  He pretends to have health issues as a way to avoid the jokes about his weight.  This is an internal conflict.  Tub is essentially living a double life.  "When I said that about my glands, that wasn't true.  The truth is I just shovel it in" (Wolff).  Tub confesses the reality of his health to Frank.  He tells his friend how difficult it is to keep up this lie.  His wife, friends, etc. all think he truly has problems with his glands.  However, Tub actually is overweight because he eats so much.  Because he basically lives two separate lives, Tub suffers from an internal conflict.  He must keep up with his lie.  If he ever wants to tell the truth, he has to build up the courage to fess up and do so.