The final plot twist in "Hunters in the Snow" comes in the last two sentences of the story. Here the narrator speaks directly to the reader, giving...

The
final twist of the story is the revelation that Tub and Frank had been going the wrong way for
quite some time. The twist (if it is a twist) comes not so much from the informationearlier in
the story, Frank says that he left the directions at the tavern they stopped at to get warmbut
from the intent of the two men. The story is primarily about how emotionally distant these
friends are. The story makes it seem like Kenny is the bully and Tub is the victim, but in
truth, none of these characters are what they seem. It is only by their actions that we can
guess at their true character. Tub's decision to shoot Kenny reveals him to be the most powerful
personality of the three; in the same way, their decision to dawdle over getting Kenny to the
hospital has nothing to do with getting warm but everything to do with a conscious decision on
their part to be rid of Kenny. The two men have made a pact: as Tub says, real friends will
forgive anything. They absolve each other of their mutual sins.