What do the wolves represent in the story, The Years, Months, Days?

The wolves that the Elder encounters represent his hunger and intense desire to remain alive. Like Blindy, the wolves serves as a personification of the Elder's hunger and thirst. He encounters the first wolf at the spring in the ravine and the two stare each other down until the wolf finally leaves. That shows readers that the Elder is constantly staring down his hunger and thirst but he is overcoming them each time in order to continue his mission to protect and grow the corn stalk. He constantly has to overcome that and it is an everyday struggle. The wolf then brings the rest of his pack and they trap the Elder in the ravine. This symbolizes that his hunger and thirst are constantly threatening him and he cannot escape it.