Frank's "insights" into his own character suggest that he is unable to fully recognize the depth of his own immorality—or Tub's, after he shoots Kenny—and that what he is expressing isn't remorse at all. What Frank seems to be expressing is relief when Tub assures him that he doesn't believe Frank to be "a complete bastard" when Frank reveals that he is going to leave his wife and children for a young, teenage babysitter. Both Tub and Frank are deeply morally compromised and are able to rationalize their behavior to themselves and to each other. Frank is able to feel better about seducing a child and destroying a family when he compares it to Tub shooting Kenny.
A purpose of the scene is to solidify the shifting allegiances in the relationships among the three men and set up Frank and Tub to be complicit in Kenny's impending death. An overarching...
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theme that this scene helps Wolff to develop is an exploration of man's capacity for brutality and inhumanity and his willingness to accept it in others.
The scene at the tavern is important because it allows us to know more about Frank and Tub. Up until that moment, we've only really known about them through Kenny, the verbally abusive Alpha male of the group, who doesn't hesitate to insult people who are supposed to be his friends. Free from Kenny's overbearing presence, Frank and Tub can be more forthcoming in revealing their true personalities, and reflecting on their troubled lives.
As far as remorse is concerned, it's difficult to see much evidence of that. If Tub really were remorseful over shooting Kenny, then surely he would get him urgent medical treatment instead of just leaving him to suffer in the back of the van. As for Frank, he's already admitted to Tub that he feels bad about leaving his family. Yet his abandonment of Kenny would appear to indicate that this is a common pattern of behavior for him. So we really can't be sure that Frank's expressing genuine remorse as he shows no sign of changing his ways.
When Frank and Tub stop to warm themselves up, this demonstrates how little they care about Kenny. Most people would rush a friend to the hospital immediately, but Frank and Tub think of themselves first, leaving Kenny to suffer in the truck alone.
The hunting trip is symbolic of what should be a male-bonding experience based on the environment the three men have been raised in. Kenny bullies the other two, teases them, and plays jokes on them. The three men do anything but bond with one another, until Kenny gets shot. Once Kenny's practical joke goes wrong, and he's shot, then Frank and Tub begin to bond with each other. The ironic part of this is that Kenny is out in a cold truck dying while Tub and Frank are inside sharing their secrets. Frank and Tub are selfish, taking care of their own wants and needs first. I also find it's ironic that the weakest member of the group, Tub, is the one to shoot Kenny, the strongest of the group.
Frank feels the need to open up to Tub and share his fears about deserting his family. At the next stop, Tub shares his secret about his overeating. The two men have managed to reveal their innermost thoughts and fears, probably for the first time, to another man. This bonding experience, however, is at Kenny's experience. The two men are so oblivious to Kenny's situation at the end that they even take his blankets away because he keeps throwing them off.