Hunters in the Snow by Tobias Wolff tells the story of three "friends" on a hunting trip. Tub is one of the hunters with his own set of problems. He takes a lot of abuse in this short story from the other two hunters, but still remains friends with them throughout their adventure.
Tub needed friendship in his life, and the other two hunters, Kenny and Frank, is where he got it. He had a family at home, but he needed to get away sometimes. ""If you want to piss and moan all day you might as well go home and bitch at your kids"-Okay, Kenny, let's hit the road""(188). Even though they are "friends", Tub takes a lot of verbal abuse from Kenny. "He looks like a beach ball with a hat on" (187). Tub puts up with most of the abuse because of their friendship, but he eventually grows tired of it. After Frank made a fat comment to Tub, he "grabbed Frank by the collar and backed him hard up against the fence. Frank tried to pull his hands away but Tub shook him and snapped his head back and forth and finally Frank gave up-No more talking to me like that. No more watching. No more laughing"" (195).
Frank and Tub both have major problems. Tub has a problem with gluttony and blames it on his glands. And Frank is having an affair with his teenage babysitter. Frank told Tub of his affair, but instead of being disgusted by this, Tub sided with Frank. "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). Later on, Tub tells Frank that nothing is wrong with his glands; he just eats too much. Frank reacts in a similar way that Tub did; he sided with Tub and made him indulge his habit. Frank took Tub to a diner and made him eat four plates of pancakes. When they talk about their problems with each other, they are able to justify their problems and are able to live with it easier. .
Tub probably has few friends because of his personality and his weight problem.