Analyse af Astrid Blodgetts 'Ice Break'

What goes through your mind when you see your father, frightened and struggling to save you and your younger sister, trying to escape from a sinking car filled with ice cold water? No one can ever imagine, unless you’ve experienced it with your own eyes. Dawn and her younger sister Janie is about to go ice fishing with their grumpy dad when this tragic accident happens for no reason – or is there a reason? In the short story “Ice Break” from 2012 by Canadian writer Astrid Blodgett, her version of a family in imbalance is described in a tragic fictional short story, which leaves the reader in sorrow.

The first time we are introduced to the family situation in this short story is on the first page in the second section: “Earlier, Dad had asked Mom to come. Mom said no. She always did”. The whole story is written from Dawn’s perspective, and this little passage clearly gives us the feeling that there are some tensions in the relationship between her mom and dad, and that Dawn is very aware of their situation. Another passage where we are introduced to the family situation is in the bottom of page 3 and top of page 4, where Marla, who is the eldest sister, refers their parent’s situation to their neighbor’s situation, the Pichowsky family, who got a divorce last year and moved. So clearly, the two eldest sisters are aware of the family situation.