Both "Hunters in the Snow" by Tobias Wolff and "The Lesson" by Toni Cade Bambara have more than one lesson for the reader to note. However, there is a bigger concept in these stories than the selfishness and greed of human nature or the need for true friends. "Hunters in the Snow" is about an over weight hunter, whereas "The Lesson" is about a young girl living in the slums. One would think these stories to be completely unrelated. Yet, the opposite is true. Of the similar concepts common to these stories, I find that pride is the most important.
"Hunters in the Snow" is about Tub, an over weight hunter who has a lack of self-control when it comes to food. The story begins with Tub waiting to be picked up by his friends, Kenny and Frank, to go hunting. His friends arrive late, but do not care. Over the entire trip, his friends were constantly criticizing Tub's weight. Every time Kenny or Frank brought up his weight problem Tub would say "It's my glands" (Wolff 114). All three of these men had a problem with trust and friendship. Kenny was an angry man; Frank was a hippie who thought he was in love with a 15 year-old, even though he was married; and Tub was an insecure man with a severe eating problem. Both Kenny and Frank were both hateful to Tub. Eventually this hate led to a misunderstanding during which Tub shoots Kenny. They get directions for the nearest hospital and are on their way. After some driving they stop to warm-up, and Frank and Tub have some time to talk, and Frank tells Tub about his love affair. Later in the car, Tub realizes that he left the directions to the hospital when they stopped, but Frank claims to remember them. Their bonding continues at another stop when Tub confesses that his weight is just a result of his eating habits. The story ends leaving the reader to assume that Kenny might die, because they took a wrong turn, and were not going to find the hospital. .
