Hunter's in the Snow

Hunters in the Snow by Tobias Wolff

The character of Frank is a very close average of Kenny and Tub. While Kenny is brass, hot-tempered, insulting, and foolish and Tub is quiet, tentative, emotional, and wimpy,  Frank lies somewhere in between the two. In the beginning, almost symbolically, while Kenny and Tub are on opposite sides of the car, Frank is in in the middle. He is not so much a mediator as he is just two-faced. The beginning of the story it is Frank and Kenny who are very cliquey and very often gang up and abandon Tub. In another scenario when walking up the stream, the more closely-knit duo leave Tub alone, "Frank and Kenny worked one bank and Tub worked the other, moving upstream" (Wolff 189). This shows how Frank has his own macho, assertive side to him when he sides with Kenny. However, after Kenny is shot and taken out of the picture, one witnesses the other side of Frank. He now no longer is a bully to Tub but acts much more like a supportive friend. He no longer is engaging in listless banter and jokes but opening up about serious problems. He lets Tub in on his secret and when tub admits to his eating problem, he accepts it. Had Frank been with Kenny upon hearing Tub's secret, he would have hooted and hollered along with Kenny. However, now that Kenny is not present Frank does not feel compelled to be insensitive towards Tub. Frank is pretty much the chameleon of friends.