After The Ice

Winter is symbolic of death. Waking up on an icy winter morning in Arkansas to the phone call of death, was what Paul experienced. This morning would always be remembered by him because it was the morning that he got the phone call to report to the hospital. After sitting in the hospital for hours, the death of his nephew, Keith, was pronounced and it was presumed that it was not accidental. Keith’s step-father was charged with murder. Paul, to this day can not get two images out of his mind; the image of that icy morning driving to the hospital, and the image of Keith’s step-father in an orange jump suit handcuffed in the courtroom. Paul does not understand why the step-father committed this awful act, and he continues to imagine the amazing life that Keith had ahead of him. The memories at the age of seventeen become even more powerful, as Paul’s family grows older because he now has kids older than Keith was when he was murdered. Paul continues to imagine the relationship between Keith and the step-father, and what act could have caused the step-father to murder Keith.

Paul Crenshaw, an assistant professor at Elon University, wrote After the Ice to share and recreate his feelings after the murder of his nephew, Keith, for the reader. Paul recalled the feelings and emotions he felt “after the ice” when he heard the news that Keith’s step-father was to blame for his death. Paul achieved his purpose of having the reader feel the pain and confusion that he felt about the murder of his nephew. By explaining all of his memories with such detail, the reader was able to feel as if they were memories of their own. Paul Crenshaw achieved his goal, as the reader is left off questioning what could have drawn the step-father to murder Keith, and what life Keith could have had.

A Symbolic Time

JONATHAN NACKSTRAND - AFP/Getty Images

In literature, winter is symbolic for death, as well as a time of reflection. The picture above helps convey the emotions felt by Paul, as he had to wake up to the death of his nephew on a winter morning. Paul also reflected on the death of his nephew, Keith, in the essay, connecting to the symbolic meaning of winter.