Tobias Wolf

Tobias Wolff is a strange writer whose work is “so absolutely clear and hypnotic that a reader wants to take it apart and find some simple way to describe why it works so beautifully”(Tobias Wolff, This Boy’s Life [back cover]). Although sometimes taking place in such foreign locations as Vietnam, Wolff’s stories are predominantly based on banal situations and people. The magic in his writing though is the fact he draws the reader into the story at all times. He does so by connecting his characters and their conflicts to the reader, be it through quirks, qualities or quandaries. Wolff perfects these concepts by writing in his own lucid, terse style. “The tales in Wolff’s [books] are seamless, their characters relentlessly ordinary”(Joan Smith, “Spelunking…”). Through personal experience and careful observation Wolff gathers the necessary insight to piece together novels that clearly dealt with the “normal” man and woman, their problems, and their accomplishments. Wolff’s stories do not consist of big drug deals or heated love triangles, but instead of prosaic situations. One such is when Wolff’s older brother sent him some writing he had done and Wolff considered turning it into his English teacher as his, but dismissed the idea knowing he would never get away with it (Tobias Wolff, This Boy’s Life 200-201). Although occurring in hackneyed settings, many of Wolff’s characters find themselves in situations they would never have thought possible: “The characters of these stories are basically decent people who discover that they're capable of things they never expected -- and can never again believe themselves worthy of being considered decent. (Charles Taylor, “Sneak Peeks: The Night In Question”). For example, in the short story “Hunters in the Snow,” by Wolff, a group of three middle-aged men are hunting in the woods when they come across a farm. Two men go inside and come out later and one is acting a little strange. The strange one says, “I hate that tree,” and shoots a tree. Next, he approaches the farmer’s dog, and says, “I hate that dog,” and shoots the dog. Finally, he approaches one of his friends, nick-named “Tubs,” (for chastising purposes) and says, “I hate you Tubs.” The next moment Tubs fires upon him, delivering a nasty stomach wound. They quickly race to the hospital, and as they are driving the third friend informs Tubs that the farmer had asked him to shoot the dog, seeing that he was old and miserable (Tobias Wolff, “In the Garden of North American Martyrs” ?). So, this example demonstrates how Wolff can take an ordinary setting (hunting in the woods) and turn it into an extraordinary event for the three men participating in it. Wolff enjoys touching on the humor of the ordinary person and the situations they must deal with, such as the story of Dog Stew. “Dog Stew” was the name given to a puppy Wolff had rescued from the hungry Vietnamese soldiers during the war. He cared for the puppy, minimally, but it usually ended up being more of a nuisance because of the harassment he received from the soldiers, who would rub their bellies and lick their lips whenever they saw him. On Wolff’s last night in Vietnam, he was having dinner with some of his good friends from the war, and he was served a bowl of soup. He said it was very good and asked what it was, and his friends only replied by rubbing their stomachs and smacking their lips. Although slightly appalled, Wolff knew inside him that it was destined to happen… how could it not, with a name like Dog Stew? These kind of comical and ironic situations are copious in Wolff’s books, and make them all the easier to read. All in all, Wolff’s portrayal of banal situations and people is the driving force behind his main strength as a writer, drawing the reader into the story. When reading Wolff’s books, the reader tends to feel drawn towards the characters and the problems they face. This “magnetism” is a combination of Wolff’s lucid writing style and choice of subject matter (prosaic people and places), woven together in the way only Wolff can do it. Wolff uses three main elements to connect the character to the reader: quirks, qualities, and quandaries. Wolff’s books are packed full of quirks; it is impossible to turn a page without seeing one. The author of this document can relate to many of the quirks presented in Wolff’s characters, which is what draws him and all the other readers of Wolff into the story. For instance, one morning in Vietnam “…I got hungry and made a sandwich… I became aware of my hands and what they were doing. How strange it is to spread mayonnaise. It can be the strangest thing you’ve ever done”(Tobias Wolff, In Pharaoh’s Army 134). Not meaning to diverge from the main subject, but the author of this paper knows exactly what it is like to experience the oddity of such menial events as spreading mayonnaise;