Suspense In Astrid Blodgett's 'Ice Break'

For my Realistic Fiction Book Talk assignment I have read the realistic fiction book Car Trouble written by Jeanne DuPrau.

The stories “Contents of the Dead Man’s Pocket”, “The Leap”, and “The Trip” all explore aspects that are drastic for the characters and are thrilling to the audience to read. Common elements can be found in each story. Even though each story is similar, each story has a unique way of hooking the reader that stays true to the theme and plot.

“Stability in Motion” is written by a Marina Keegan about her car. While reading this short story, readers get an insight of what her car means to her. This short story lets readers into the happy and sad times in the life of Marina Keegan, with the many personal elements and stories that she includes. In “Stability in Motion”, Marina Keegan shows her audience that her car is not only her transportation, but her place of happiness and her best friend.

      Her children is the only thing that has consumed her mind in several years until the unexpected sum of cash shows up. Even before Mrs. Mallard starts upon her shopping spree, she prioritizes what to buy in her mind for her children, a dollar...(321). She knows exactly what to buy and how much to spend on each since she knows the value of a bargain.

“The Red Convertible” shows the evolution of two brother’s relationship. Edrich cleverly uses the red convertible to symbolize the changes in the brother’s relationship, turning a seemingly simple short story into a complex ride of emotions. The car that is a “calm and gleaming” (437) token of close brotherly love turns into a painful reminder of change. Its descent into a raging river coincides with the end of a brother’s life and the conclusion of a

The characters in this short story have an object which they seem to both enjoy and use to bond with one another by taking trips. Erdrich, uses the car as a symbolism of the bond that the Lamartine brothers share. The trips that both brothers went on were full of adventure and joy and much of that joy came from having the car and

     One of the most important scenes in the story takes place in the vehicle. The grandmother spots an old family graveyard that once belonged to a plantation. She tells the children that the graves

In the beginning, the grandmother is reading the newspaper where she then learns about the Misfit who escaped prison. The grandmother says, “I wouldn’t take my children in any direction with a criminal like that aloose in it. I couldn’t answer to my conscious if it did” (O’Connor 485). This quote foreshadows as the accident happened with her guidance on the road it is what led them to steer off the main road. They were on and into the arms of who they call the Misfit and his

However heart wrenching; the story is of finding hope for survival, throughout the biting cold,

No cars: That’s when I began to understand, and my nerves stretched tighter and tighter as I walked.” (Northrop, 35). He also tells us through the text that “We thought that was as bad as it could get. And then the power went out.” (Northrop, 52) and “I turned the faucet knob and nothing came out.” (Northrop, 132). These sentences help to develop the mood of isolation and being cut off from the rest of society. The students can’t call or text anyone from their snowy prison, and nobody knows that they are still there. There is no way for any cars to even get to the school, and plows would end up stuck in the snow as well. The power goes out and the pipes freeze, making the students feel even more separate from the rest of the world, since they don’t even have access to basic necessities like light and running water. All in all, the descriptions used in the story are the main method that the author uses when developing the mood.

The ice helps the reader to be able to connect with the inner feelings of the narrator’s inner conflict with himself.

This clever story is crafted down to the smallest detail - every word and expression implies something, often has a second meaning and so manipulates the reader's opinion. The factor that makes this story even more

The author utilizes juxtaposition to compare the girl's memory with reality. After describing the daughter’s game in the van, the author describes the winter scene. She focuses the

Early in their lives, two young sisters, Ruth and Lucille, experience loss and abandonment from the men in the family. Their grandfather had died in a train derailment into Lake Fingerbone before they were born, and their father leaves them while they are very young. Then their mother commits suicide, but not before dropping the girls off on their grandmother’s porch. Moreover, then, “she sailed in Bernice’s Ford from the top of a cliff named Whiskey Rock into the blackest depth of the lake (23), again into Lake Fingerbone. After only a few months their grandmother dies leaving the girls to the remainder of the family, a collection of eccentric females. The girls deal with all of this by relying on each other. Soon, their great Aunt’s,

Next you will see an old Volvo because when Roo’s dad died he passed his car down to Roo. This car came into my mind when I pictured and old volvo, and that’s why I decided to chose it. Then you will find a text message between Roo and Tilly before Roo crashed. I recreated this text using the conversation through text message in the book, and I used this photo to show there conversation.