Boys Being Boys

In Tobias Wolff's Hunters in the Snow, three fools set out on a hunting trip.  These three men behave in typical fashion as one would think men do on a hunting trip.  They search the woods and tease one another.  Their findings for the day are dismal at best and after stopping to ask permission to hunt on a man's land, things take a turn.  One of the men, Kenny, seems to turn homicidal when he begins to shoot things, culminating with the murder of the dog.  It is later revealed that he was asked to kill the dog, but Tub subsequently shot Kenny, as he felt threatened.  As they journeyed to the hospital, Tub and their other friend, Frank, made several stops.  They leave their bleeding friend laying in the back of the truck each time.  On these stops, Tub and Frank talk.  They talk about their new loves and their weight problems.  This contradicts the idea that men don't need anyone.  At one point, Frank says, "'The way I look at it, Tub, no man is an island.  You've got to trust someone,'" (Wolff, 199).  Those shows that although these men seem like normal, hardened men, they have problems too and it feels good to be able to discuss them.  This again defeats the general stereotype of men being creatures that don't have or deal with feelings.