'Ice Break' af Astrid Blodgett, novelleanalyse

A family is one of the most important things in many people’s lives. Our family shapes us and helps us grow to achieve our goals in life. But all families have gone through several family crises and it is often up to the parents to figure out how to deal with these. Sometimes the solution is getting a divorce. Seeing your parents stop loving each other can be a dreadful experience in a child’s life. In the short story Ice Break written by Astrid Blodgett in 2012, the main character Dawn experiences what it feels like to be a child in a broken home. She tries to deal with her parent’s unhappiness while protecting her little sister from getting hurt.

The main theme of the short story is family relationships between parents, parents and children and between siblings. The story illustrates family interactions for better and for worse. It is obvious to the reader that the relationships are ultimately based on love but this is sometimes overshadowed by conflicts. This makes the narrator’s family seem dysfunctional. Both Dawn’s parents and uncle and aunt have a conflict of different interests and perspectives on raising children. For instance, Dawn’s mother and aunt are concerned about their family’s safety when going ice-fishing: “She’d already told him it was late in the season, the ice might not be good” (l. 13-14). This is probably a concern that comes out of love but Dawn’s father interprets it as an underestimation of the men’s knowledge about ice fishing: “What was your Aunt Helen talking about, not to go on the ice so late in the season? She doesn’t know what the hell she’s talking about! I sure hope she didn’t talk Rick out of going. Aunt Helen, your mother, they have no idea” (l. 137-139). This misunderstanding makes Sam very angry which affects Dawn and her little sister. This and the breaking of the ice shows the importance of communication and listening to your partner.