Open Season

Joe’s government-issued sidearm is a symbol of Joe’s self-image, which is inextricably linked with his profession as a game warden. Throughout the novel, events involving Joe’s gun reflect his emotional state or internal conflicts. The narrative opens with an incident involving the gun wherein Ote Keeley disarms Joe and points the gun back at him. This situation illustrates Joe’s insecurity in his new position and the hostility he faces from the local community for taking the legendary Vern Dunnegan’s place. Joe later reflects on how this incident made him feel like a part of him died, and from that point on whenever the gun gets mentioned, Joe doubts himself and his chosen career path. Sheriff Barnum knows the incident is a point of embarrassment for Joe, so he purposely jokes about the situation to gauge the new warden’s reaction.

When Joe loses his gun for good in the fire at Clyde Lidgard’s trailer, this event is symbolically significant in two ways. The melted gun symbolizes how far Joe has strayed from the original duties of his role by investigating the murders, but it also represents the exterior forces that are sabotaging him in his quest for the truth.