Open Season

“With Wolf Mountain in front of them and the foothills and canyon in back, the Pickett family, eight miles from town in their house, lived a life of deep and casting shadows.”

The government-owned game warden house that the Picketts live in sits far outside of Saddlestring. This excerpt describes the isolation of the house, which reflects the isolation that the Picketts feel in Twelve Sleep County, as they have a difficult time integrating into the community. Additionally, the house is surrounded on all sides by geographical features, hinting that the family is trapped and vulnerable; the image of “deep and casting shadows” suggests secrets and hidden threats. Their emotional and physical isolation leaves them vulnerable to manipulation, especially by Wacey.

“‘Maybe it’s because you’re the new guy. People here still can’t get used to the fact that Vern Dunnegan isn’t around anymore,’ Marybeth said, and Joe knew instantly she wished she could take it back.”

Sheriff Barnum and the entire police force speed past Joe’s house on their way to investigate a report at Crazy Woman Campground. Vern Dunnegan was such a legendary figure in the community that Marybeth assumes the locals resent Joe for taking the man’s place, which is why they didn’t call him to join them. Marybeth understands Joe’s insecurity about filling Vern’s position, so she wishes she hadn’t openly acknowledged it. This quote reinforces the theme of The Pressure of Living Up to Expectations and Joe’s fear of failing to do so.

“He had been expecting to die at that moment, and for all practical purposes he deserved to die, having given up his weapon so stupidly. But it hadn’t happened. Joe had holstered his revolver with his hands shaking so badly that the barrel of the revolver rattled around the mouth of the holster.”

Joe’s gun is a symbol in the novel that represents his role as a game warden and his self-image. When Ote takes Joe’s gun, Joe goes through an intense internal shift, as the incident completely rocks his sense of security in his career. This incident also shows the strength of Joe’s moral convictions because even though he nearly lost his life, Joe still goes on to write out Ote’s poaching ticket with shaking hands.

“She wished she had a secret pet, one that neither her parents, the rude girls at school, or the coyotes knew about. A secret pet that was just hers. A pet she could love and who would love her for who she was: a lonely girl who had moved from place to place before she could make friends and who had a little sister who was too adorable for words and a baby on the way who would command most of her parents’ love and attention for…maybe forever.”

Joe’s job has moved his family around Wyoming, and the constant change prevents Sheridan from forming bonds with other children her age. She also worries that her parents will no longer give her attention when the new baby is born, which will push her further into isolation. Sheridan’s desire for “a secret pet” is granted when she finds the Miller’s weasels in the woodpile, and she thinks of them as surrogate friends.

“They both remembered sitting in the shaded backyard, sipping cocktails while Vern barbecued steaks, and Vern’s attractive wife, Georgia (they had no children), mixed drinks and tossed salad inside. The house at that time seemed almost elegant in a way, and both Joe and Marybeth were envious. The future seemed so bright then.”

Joe recalls the early days of his career when he and Marybeth visited Vern and his wife in Saddlestring and idealized the couple’s life in the game warden's house. The “shaded backyard” and “cocktails” suggest leisure and affluence, which is a contrast with Joe’s present situation. However, Joe comes to see the follies in his fantasies, as the house isn’t compatible with a family like the Picketts. The small government-issued house is a point of shame for Joe, who wishes he could give his family a larger space of their own, highlighting the theme of the pressure of living up to expectations.

“‘Forget it babe,’ Wacey said gently to her, giving her a brotherly punch on the arm. ‘He’s married.’

‘So are you, honey,’ she said.

‘It’s different with Joe, though,’ Wacey answered, shrugging as if he couldn’t understand it himself.

‘Good for you,’ she said.”

The novel introduces Wacey Hedeman in the middle of an extramarital affair. This immediately establishes Wacey as a foil to Joe, since the two have nearly identical career paths but opposite personalities. In this quotation, Wacey draws attention to the difference between himself and Joe, since Joe would never cheat on his wife like Wacey does.

“Vern Dunnegan had cast a big shadow. So big, Marybeth had said, that Joe had yet to see much sunlight in the Twelve Sleep Valley as far as the community went.”

Vern’s shadow is an important symbol in the text that represents his influence over the Twelve Sleep County community. Because of Vern’s legendary reputation and decades of work in the region, Joe’s experiences as the new game warden are tainted with comparisons to Vern and his practices. Marybeth knows that Joe can’t integrate into the community because Vern’s connections are still so strong.

“Marybeth had been on a career path—she was a bright and attractive woman. But by marrying Joe in college, having children, and moving around the state with him from one beat-up house to another, her life had turned out differently than she, or her hard-driving mother, imagined. Marybeth deserved a certain standard, or at least a permanent home of their own; Joe had not been able to provide either.”

In this quotation, Joe describes the discrepancy between the life Marybeth once envisioned for herself—full of money and prestige—and the reality of the life she has with Joe, with its financial insecurity and “beat-up” homes. This quotation connects to the theme of the pressures of living up to expectations, as Joe thinks Marybeth and her mother resent him for not being able to provide a life of comfort.

“As he stared up at the hard white stars—there were so many of them that the night sky looked gauzy—Joe realized that if things were to change for him and his family, he probably would have to change. Marybeth and his girls deserved better than what they had; to give them more, he would have to give up the other thing he deeply loved.”

One of Joe’s major conflicts throughout the narrative is his love for his job and his love for his family, which don’t seem compatible. Joe’s childhood dream was to become a game warden and work in the Wyoming wilderness, but the job is extremely low paying and doesn’t offer the material means to fully support his family. Joe refuses to give up his family, so throughout the text, he grapples with the harsh reality that he might have to give up his dream and face reality. The imagery of the “hard white stars” reflects the difficulty of Joe’s situation as they look down on him coldly.

“‘Saddlestring is dying, Joe. This pipeline will bring in a bonanza for the whole county. It’ll be like the oil-boom days of the early eighties once again. People around here will have good paying jobs again.’

Joe shook his head. What a gamble Vern had taken with the community and environment.”

Vern visits Joe in the hospital and describes the pipeline project he’s working on with his new employer, InterWest Resources. Vern thinks the pipeline will revitalize the economy of Saddlestring, while also making him extremely rich. This quotation connects to the theme of the Conflicts Between Economic Interests and Environmental Protection. However, Joe realizes that although the locals may prosper, the surrounding natural environment may suffer as a result of the pipeline, highlighting his ethical nature and his commitment to his job.

“‘Vern,’ Joe reasoned. ‘You know what we’re supposed to do if we find something like this. Or even suspect it. And what if it’s tied to the outfitter murders in some way?’

Vern rolled his eyes.”

Joe heard a rumor from a pair of hunters that there might be an endangered animal living in the Bighorn Mountains, and Joe sees it as his duty to investigate it. Vern thinks Joe should let the issue drop, and Joe is shocked that his old mentor has so thoroughly discarded the ethics of his previous job. Cracks in Vern’s agreeable exterior begin to show and make Joe suspicious of Vern’s honesty.

“‘Think of the people who work in the lumber mill,’ Vern said. ‘Think of the logging truck drivers, the cowboys, the outfitters, the fishing guides. They’d be unemployed while the Feds roped off the entire valley for the future. Environmentalists from all over the country would move in with their little round glasses and sandals and start giving press conferences on how they’re here to protect the innocent creatures from the ignorant locals.’”

This excerpt develops the theme of the conflicts between economic interests and environmental protection. Vern takes a human-centric view that the livelihoods of people should always be placed above the protection of small animal populations. Vern is deeply cynical about government-run conservation efforts and the haughty environmentalists who run these programs, highlighting their derision for people like him and Joe.

“‘Animals die, Joe,’ Vern said. ‘Species go belly up. It happened before the first fish crawled on land and figured out lungs, and it will continue to happen. What gives us the right to be so arrogant that we think we can control what lives and what dies?’”

Vern continues to explain his stance on conservation, claiming that humans should not get involved in the natural extinction and survival cycles of the world. This statement becomes ironic by the end of the text, as Vern himself directly impedes the Miller’s weasels’ chance of survival by exterminating an entire colony for his own benefit. Vern’s self-serving logic in this quote highlights the theme of The Corrupting Influence of Power and Money.

“‘Yes, I should be,’ Joe said quietly. He did not say what he was thinking, which was, Shouldn’t you be out there following up every last possibility instead of sitting here on your butt, drinking coffee and worrying about the election?”

Joe visits Sheriff Barnum to inquire about the murder investigation, which he believes has stalled despite the myriad leads that can be followed. Barnum allows Joe to investigate Clyde Lidgard’s trailer, but he tells him not to neglect his duties as game warden. Joe finds this ironic, since Sheriff Barnum, in his preoccupation with the upcoming election, has neglected his own duty to investigate the murders and potential connection to the Miller’s weasels.

“When she stood her stomach ached. The feelings welling up inside of her were overwhelming: anger, fear, and guilt. Maybe she should have told her mom and dad about the creatures. If she had told them, possibly they would somehow still be around.”

Before Sheridan leaves with her family to stay at the Kensinger house, she tries to feed the weasels in the woodpile, but they don’t come out. Sheridan worries that the weasels have left her, or even worse, that they are angry at her. Sheridan’s guilt and extreme anxiety manifest as physical symptoms, highlighting the pressure the young child is under.

“‘The first is that there are some pretty powerful people who want me out of the field. The second is that it looks like you’re talking to the newest employee of InterWest Resources.’

‘Are you sure?’ she asked. ‘Joe, is this something you really want to do?’ Her concern was genuine, and he loved her for it.”

Les Etbauer at the Game and Fish Department suspends Joe for a months-old violation, but Joe suspects someone forced Etbauer to rush the suspension to sabotage Joe’s investigation. Joe reluctantly decides to accept the InterWest job offer, and Marybeth surprises him by asking if that’s really a career he wants to pursue. This quotation connects to the theme of the pressures of living up to expectations, as Joe realizes the pressures to find a better-paying job are of his own making, and Marybeth only wants him to be true to himself.

“He tried not to dwell on the fact that this might be one of the last times he drove this pickup or wore his uniform. He wouldn’t just be losing his job—he’d be losing his own self-image as well. Without a badge he was just like everyone else.”

Joe takes great pride in his role as a game warden, and the suspension threatens to not only take away his source of income, but his entire self-image. This quotation subtly employs the language of endangered species—a major motif throughout the text—when Joe worries that he’ll become “just like everyone else.” Joe takes pride in being a moral, ethical worker, and he worries any new role he takes won’t offer him the same opportunity to maintain his values.

“Joe had a feeling that it wasn’t as much of a surprise to Vern as Vern made it out to be. They were now playing some kind of game with each other. But in this kind of game, Joe was an amateur and Vern was an All-Pro.”

After telling Vern about his suspension at headquarters, Joe suspects it was Vern who called in the favor to Les Etbauer out of spite for Joe not immediately taking the InterWest job. Joe, however, cannot reveal his suspicions because he knows Vern would deflect and lie. Joe comes to understand that Vern is an expert manipulator—an “All-Pro”—while Joe, “an amateur,” doesn’t feel comfortable playing the same manipulative games.

“Joe, you are a good man. You’re the last of your kind. Don’t forget that. There aren’t many like you left. You have a good heart, and your moral compass is a model of its kind. You need to do what you need to do. Things will work out, and we can talk all about it later.”

Marybeth explicitly employs the motif of endangered species to describe Joe and his upright character. Contrary to Joe’s paranoid beliefs, Marybeth wholeheartedly loves and supports Joe, not because of his job, but because of who he is as a person. Marybeth wants Joe to follow his instincts and keep investigating the murder and the Miller’s weasels because she believes that Joe’s moral convictions are important.

“Despite what she had told her mom, Sheridan wasn’t feeling good. She stared blankly at the television set. She had not eaten much breakfast and her stomach hurt. Last night had been the worst night yet. In the unfamiliar bed it was almost as if that man was in it with her, he seemed so close.”

Wacey told Sheridan he would kill her whole family if she didn’t keep the weasels a secret, and the burden of this secret weighs heavily on the young girl. Sheridan’s guilt and fear manifest in her inability to sleep or eat, as well as her paranoia that Wacey is watching her at all times. Sheridan must continually lie to her mom and dad to cover up her secret, which only intensifies the guilt she feels. Her discomfort is amplified in the “unfamiliar bed,” where she feels even more vulnerable than usual, and the simile “it was almost as if that man was in it with her” shows her hypervigilant and paranoid state.

“He was enraged when he thought of the killing field and the purposeful, deliberate way a species had been completely wiped off of the face of the earth. In all of his studies and all of the gossip he had heard over the years, this was the first instance he knew of in which there had been a purposeful and determined effort to wholly terminate a species.”

Joe finds the abandoned burrows of the Miller’s weasel colony in a secluded basin in the mountains, but he also finds poison, shotgun shells, and illegal cyanide cartridges. Joe is deeply saddened and angered at the sight of the exterminated colony because the Miller’s weasels had survived against the odds, only to be killed again by people under the corrupting influence of power and money. This mass killing highlights the cruelty and inhumanity of people like Vern and Wacey.

“He was so tired, so drained. He had not slept in two nights and had not eaten since breakfast, now almost 20 hours ago. And he was absolutely enraged. He knew it wouldn’t be long before he would explode. The only question remaining was how many people would be involved in the blast.”

Joe speeds back into Saddlestring after leaving the hospital where Marybeth underwent surgery after being shot. At this pivotal moment, Joe’s quest for the truth becomes a quest for revenge because the conspirators have now directly harmed his family. His barely contained anger is described through the visceral image of his “exploding.” The metaphor of Joe being like a ticking time bomb emphasizes that his anger has the power to destroy those who have wronged him.

“‘That’s how it started,’ Vern said, his voice small. ‘All I wanted to do was make a lot of money and all Wacey wanted was to be the sheriff. All I wanted were the big bucks I know I deserve after all those years of working for the state.’”

After Joe confronts Vern with evidence of his involvement in the Miller’s weasel extermination and murder cover-up, Vern confesses about his motivations. This quotation connects to the theme of the corrupting influence of power and money: Vern initially got involved in the conspiracy because he wanted to get rich off the pipeline project, and the weasels threatened that plan. After this decision, Vern and Wacey desperately tried to hold onto their money and power through escalating actions of murder and deceit.