Recent media tactics have lead America's attention to the reality-based television program; in particular, starring the celebrities that many have looked up to. Programs such as The Osbournes, The Anna-Nicole Show, and The Newlyweds have displayed the ridiculous faults of these stars that Americans have looked up to. What is ironic is that these programs have not improved our view upon these celebrities, but it has used satire to create humor in the ridiculous ways in which these people live their lives. This method is not new to entertainment. Through satire, Tobias Wolff uses the characters in "Hunters in the Snow" to attack their own selfishness, immaturity, and machoism.
Selfishness may be considered the strongest and most appalling of the three aspects used by Wolff to criticize his characters. Early on their hunting trip, while walking through the woods, Tub had "stopped looking for tracks and just tried to keep up with Frank and Kenny [until] a moment came when he realized he hadn't seen them in a long time," (115). Frank and Kenny never considered waiting for Tub. Perhaps, the most appalling of the events in "Hunters in the Snow" would be when Frank says, "I"m going to have to stop," enters a tavern ahead and proceeds to leave Kenny in the back of the truck (119). This would not be entirely selfish if it weren't for the in depth conversation Tub and Frank partake in regarding Frank's relationship with Roxanne Brewer. They take so long that when they return, "Kenny had tried to get our of the truck but he hadn't made it. He was jack-knifed over the tailgate, his head hanging above the bumper" (121). After returning Kenny to the bed of the truck, they return to driving, only to break again after "Frank almost didn't make it around a curve, and they decided to stop at the next roadhouse" (121). Again, the two indulge in a conversation and Frank told the waitress to, "bring four orders of pancakes, plenty of butter and syrup," and Tub proceeds to eat all of them while Kenny is still in the truck outside (122).