Ice Man – Elmore Leonard 2012

The title “Ice Man” can be referred to a person we meet in the short story. His is called for “iceman”, but his real name is Darryl Harris. The Iceman works for “immigration and Customs Enforcement”. He is a white man who is racists, we can see that the way he treats the Indian boys. He seems like a cold man as his nickname “ICE”

The short story takes place in the US and it is about Victor and his friends Nachee and Billy Cosa.
Victor loves to ride bulls and he is very good at it. When Victor turns twenty he wins 4,000 dollars at the All - Indian National Rodeo in Palm Springs. After that Victor and his friends - Nachee and Billy Cosa, decides to celebrate his rides at the bar where they drinks some tequilas and talk. Victor tells his friends, how he learned to ride bulls while he was working for his boss Kyle McCoy. At the bar he sees police officers that are at the bar to check if there are any workers without permission. Victor also noticing that a white man (Darryl Harris) at the bar watching Victor and his friends. The white man is working for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and asks Victor about his age. The white man provokes and threatens Victor to accuse him for something he didn’t do.

Victor and his “NDN brother” (10) Nachee and Billy Cosa are Indian. Victor is from a “Mimbreno Apache”(8) and his to friends Nachee and Billy Cosa is from “Mojave” (9) tribe. We don’t get so much information about the boys, but Victor is twenty years old and loves to ride bulls. He and his “ NDN brothers”(10) work for a man who named Kyle McCoy. At the beginning of the short story the three boys acting normal, where they are sitting at the bar and celebrate Victor. But later when the Iceman provokes them, they begin to behave differently. They become more annoying, unrespectable and provocative in they way they talk to the Iceman. Although the boys are from different Indian tribes, they supports, defend and help each other when the Iceman provokes them. The guys are proud Indian guys.

The conflict between Victor and the Iceman is about discrimination. The Iceman behave racist when he all the time watching the three boys in the bar. The Iceman works for the “Immigration and Customs Enforcement” (10), where he takes “illegal aliens to prison” (10). It is maybe the reason he has the courage to provoke the Indian boys. The Iceman threaten Victor to accuse him for “Drunk and disorderly” (11), unless he shows an ID that show he is “old enough” (11) to drink.
The Iceman trying to entertain himself by irritates the Indian boys, who are at the bar to celebrate Victor. The Iceman wants to see the boys ID, but the boys do not have their ID on them. They don’t carried about it, because they are American citizens. They way Victor and his Indian friends acts is normal. They being discriminated and treated differently in their own country. The Iceman seems to be a cold white man like “ICE”. He acting like his behavior is normal and treats the boys like that, just because “they are being Indians” (12). He doesn’t see his behavior wrong and also says “what’s wrong with that” (12). Since America is a free country should all be treated equal. There should not be such a racist people like The Iceman who works for the public authorities.

In the short story “Iceman”, we see the three Indian boys who are being treated unfairly by the Iceman. This also happens in real life. There are many people who have been treated in an unfair and unreasonable manner, maybe because of their race, clothing, sex or religion. When I think of the injustice, I just think of racial difference. The most viewed injustices that you can experience here in Denmark will probably be discrimination. I have not seen or been in a situation where I have been treated unfairly. I am one of the many Muslims who live in Denmark and many of them are often generalized and are treated differently. The reason why I might not have experienced it can be because of my white Caucasian color that makes me look like a Danes. I hope not that I will be treated injustice for my nationality or religion. We all se in the media and reading in the Internet all the horrible stories many immigrant in Denmark have experienced. But injustice is not only based on race or religion, but also something else. I would say that injustice is something you feel and decide. You may feel that you are being treated differently than the others in the classroom or at work. The only way we can solve it is to treat everyone equally.