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Powder by Tobias Wolff - Papers

Powder by Tobias Wolff

A free-spirited father tries to win back his family by taking his son on a ski trip in Tobias Wolff’s short story “Powder”. The son’s mother was reluctant to let his father take him skiing just before Christmas Eve, but she gave in. Although the weather should have stopped the father and son from arriving home in time, the father risked their lives and drove through the snow to keep his family intact. The symbols portrayed in this story create key elements to the plot; without them the story would be ineffective.
The most reoccurring symbol in the story is snow. It is obvious that this symbol holds importance for Wolff titles the story after the weather condition. Without the snow, ...

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extra night and leave when the roads get better but the father’s existence in his family depends on whether or not he gets his son home on that exact day. Not only is the snow keeping them from getting home, it’s keeping the father from being a part of his family and having his son’s trust. The snow then symbolizes danger when the father decides to drive through it, even though the state trooper said it was forbidden. The snow’s significance changes throughout the story. First it is a friend to the father, giving his father a good excuse to be with his son, then becomes evil, keeping them from getting home, and then becomes a friend again. Although the snow is dangerous to drive through, the fact that the father is able to do so impresses the son. “He was a great driver,” the son thought of his father as they drove through the fresh snow. The last line in the story is the son telling the reader “if you haven’t driven fresh powder, you haven’t driven” (1064). It is clear that the ...

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Powder by Tobias Wolff. (2011, April 27). Retrieved December 5, 2025, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Powder-by-Tobias-Wolff/98523

"Powder by Tobias Wolff." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 27 Apr. 2011. Web. 5 Dec. 2025. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Powder-by-Tobias-Wolff/98523>

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PAPER DETAILS

Added: 4/27/2011 10:07:06 AM
Submitted By: padme0723
Category: English
Type: Premium Paper
Words: 769
Pages: 3

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