“Hunters in the Snow” is the story of three friends named Tub, Kenny and Frank. They are friends and decide to go hunting outside Spokane, Washington. They fail to get game and Kenny shoots a dog that belongs to an old farmer. Kenney is the leader among the three and regularly insults both Tub and Frank. The three struggle to control the group at different points in the story. Each tries to outdo the other by controlling the group and things get ugly. The story uses conflict, suspense, surprise, and mystery to highlight the power struggles between these three friends. The conflict involves arguments occurring between the three friends and increasing arguments and physical insults. Suspense refers to a style that puts the reader in a dilemma about what will happen next to the friends. Surprise refers to things that happen against the reader's expectations. Mystery refers to the anomalous events that occur in the story. The plot of “Hunters in the Snow” explores the power struggle between Tub, Kenny and Frank. “Hunters in the Snow” by Tobias Wolf highlights the theme of a power struggle between Tub, Kenny, and Frank using mystery, conflict, surprise, and suspense. Say no to plagiarism. Get a Tailored Essay on “Why Violent Video” Shouldn't Games Be Banned? Get an Original Essay The perceived roles of the three characters in the story influence how they interact with each other Kenny perceives himself as the leader of the group and believes he is justified in insulting Tub Frank's loyalty at the beginning of the novel is to Kenny. However, when Tub becomes aggressive, Frank befriends him and shows his loyalty to him, Tub is interested in power like Frank and Kenny and this increases his desire to gain acceptance from his friends he gets the leadership role and is happy because he intends to avenge the way Kenny has always treated him. The first element of fiction that highlights the power struggles in the group is suspense. Kenny decides to head towards Tub with the intention of scaring him. This section creates suspense because the reader is unsure if Kenny will overwhelm Tub. Kenny seeks Frank's approval in his actions through a subtle gaze. To illustrate Tub says "You almost ran me over, you could have killed me." It's sacred but the man next to the driver tells him that Kenny was just teasing him. This indicates that Kenny is insecure in the group and believes that Frank is more powerful than him. Evidently Tub and Kenny experience the leadership role at distinct moments and at those moments Frank approves of their roles by validating their actions. Frank is the "yes-man" of the story and plays an instrumental role in validating their leadership role. The author uses mystery to emphasize the power struggle that seems to never end between these three friends. The transformation of the characters in the story is mysterious. Tub changes from a friendly character to a cruel person. His transformation is caused by the desire for more power. He ends up shooting Kenny. His action can be interpreted as an act of revenge. The author's reference to the hostile climate is symbolic of power struggles. The weather at the beginning of the story is cold and snowy. When Tub shoots Kenny, he loses his strength. They throw Kenny in the back of a freezing pick-up truck that's freezing and doesn't care about him. This action indicates the lack of empathy in Tub and Frank. Suspense plays a crucial role in bringing out the power struggle between Tub, Frank and Kenny. The three characters get lost during the hunt. The episode involving Kenny and Tub depicts a high level of suspense in the story. The author notes that "Kenny turned to Tub. I hate you. Tub shot from the waist. Kenny threw himself backwards against the fence and got down on one knee. He folded his hands over his stomach," he said,”.