Lara Docarmo
Professor Krista Keyes
English 1020
06/20/2016
Word Count: 916

An Analysis of Pam Houston’s “How to Talk to a Hunter”

Pam Houston’s “How to Talk to a Hunter” shows the different ways men and women think and act. How both men and women interpret and make sense of things differently. Just like any relationship, there comes a time where ends don’t meet. In this particular story, the hunter and the narrator have a hard time understanding each other, or more specifically, the narrator understanding the hunter. Whether it be his language, preferences, or actions, the narrator has a difficult time figuring out what he wants from her and if he is actually genuine. The narrator
But with the good comes the bad. As the narrator starts to realize the damage the hunter has done to her mentally, she starts to “Think about what it means to be patient. Think about the beautiful, smart, strong, clever woman you thought he saw when he looked at you. Pull your hair. Rock your body back and forth. Don’t cry” (Houston 18). Whether it be her thinking about her self-worth, or the actions she does in order to show her anxiety like pulling her hair or rocking back and forth, the reader can place all the details together to possibly relate back to a time where they felt worthless and anxiety ridden. This certain passage may not have several descriptive words, but the way Pam Houston describes the narrators thought process and how it later penetrates her physical body assists the reading in understand the narrator’s current mental status. Very few stories have an author that can transcend emotions to the reader directly. Whether it be the communication gap between men and women, Pam Houston perfectly shows how difficult it can be to understand the intentions of others. One more way the narrator becomes confused are through her male and female best friends. While the female and male’s advice are perfectly divided, they are also polar opposites. While the female friend has more anger and resentment towards men, the male friend on the other hand tends to be more simple and passive. From this