Analyse af Tobias Wolffs novelle 'Powder'

The story is about a boy and his father. They are on a skiing trip on Mount Baker. The father had to beg the mother to go on this trip because apparently he took his son to a nightclub when he went to see Thelonious Monk. He promised the mother that they would be back for the dinner on Christmas Eve. It began snowing heavily and they became stuck. The roads were closed and a trooper blocked the way. They got something to eat at a diner and when the trooper left momentarily they drove on the closed road. The father was desperate because if they didn't make it back home to the Christmas dinner the mother would never forgive him. His father does not encourage the boy to drive past a road block ever.

The main characters this story focuses on is the son and his father. The story also mentions the mother and a trooper. There aren't any other characters worth mentioning.

I'm not too sure just how good of a relationship the parents have, but they seem to be fine. They don't seem to be on the verge of divorcing, but they do seem to have a few fights. The father is the rebel of sorts. He takes everything as it comes and gets a bit scared when he gets in trouble. He is quite carefree. The mother is of course angry with this. She wants the best for their son and for him to be safe. The son is a bright kid. He thinks ahead and he is organized. He doesn't seem too fazed with his father’s decision to cross the road block.