Iceberg

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2004

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-13

Chapters 14-25

Chapters 26-34

Chapters 35-46

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

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Discussion Questions

Themes

The Importance of Truth and Questions

A drive to uncover the truth propels Hazel to ask questions and pursue her dreams of writing a story about the Titanic and becoming a journalist. She boards the ship knowing that she’ll be part of a historic voyage that will be remembered one way or another, and she hopes that she can be the one to tell the world what it was like to experience it. Hazel isn’t afraid to tell the truth, even if it risks scarring the White Star Line’s reputation: “If the Titanic had any more secrets, I would have to write about them too. People needed to know the truth. I planned to tell it” (43).

Almost immediately, Hazel begins asking questions, spying, and learning as much as she can about the ship and its history. She tells herself, “I would rather be curious than wealthy, for a girl with a mind full of questions is more valuable than a girl with jewels on her empty head” (94). Hazel prioritizes truth and knowledge over wealth and reputation, and she teaches others, like Charlie, this same value. Hazel meets Mrs. Abelman, who sees Hazel’s dream and her courage to achieve it. She gives Hazel a notebook in which to record everything she learns and wants to learn, and she takes Hazel to the library so that she can learn about icebergs. Through what she learns, Hazel figures out that the Titanic’s biggest threat is a dark iceberg and that the ship’s single hull poses a risk of flooding if a collision occurs. The more that Charlie tries to see what Hazel is accomplishing, the more he believes in her story and the need to tell the truth. Hazel finds out that the ship doesn’t have enough lifeboats and that the captain has a history of grandiose showmanship, and she knows it’s “possible for things to turn very much for the worse” (238). If the ship’s management was as concerned as Hazel about the ship’s safety, the crew may have averted disaster.

When the ship sinks, Mrs. Abelman chooses to stay on the ship to help others survive, thereby losing her life, but wills her estate to Hazel along with a letter encouraging her not to give up on her dream: “You have so many questions. Now go and find all of your answers. The questions are the best part of you, for they’ll guide you into a future better than you can possibly imagine right now” (323-24). Losing her dear friend breaks Hazel’s heart, but she decides that while she’ll never be able to tell all the stories of those who were lost that night, she can tell the shared story of bravery and sacrifice that everyone, whether they were a survivor or not, demonstrated.

Sacrifice, Hope, and Living for Others

When people sacrifice their own well-being or their lives in the hope that they’re doing so for a higher purpose (like to save someone else), sacrifice and hope go hand in hand. Hazel boards the ship already knowing the value of living for others since she’s leaving her life behind to earn money for her family. Hazel’s father stayed behind, sacrificing his life, to save his crew during a fishing accident, and Hazel learned from him that putting others’ needs first is an honorable choice. She carries this value forward, demonstrating it every day. Both Hazel and Mrs. Abelman have loved ones who sacrificed their lives for others, and they connect over their shared grief and admiration for what those loved ones taught them.

Although Hazel puts aside her own life for her family, she holds out hope of becoming a journalist by telling an inspiring and informative story about the Titanic’s first voyage. Hazel holds onto this hope of a better life against all odds because she’s female (and living in the 1910s) and because she comes from poverty. Mrs. Abelman sees the spark of intelligence, inquisitiveness, and resolve in Hazel and supports her, and Miss Gruber eventually sees it too and hopes that Hazel’s courage and willingness to dream inspire Sylvia. Others tell Hazel that she won’t make it and suggest that she give up on her dream, but none of this affects her vision or her determination.

When the Titanic starts to sink, Hazel, Charlie, and Sylvia work together to help one another and help others in need. In thinking of the crew’s obligations, Charlie says, “There are times in life when we each must live for something greater than ourselves” (297). He sees honor in sacrificing himself to save others and shares this belief with Hazel and Sylvia, who return to the lower decks, taking a great risk to find Charlie and Mrs. Abelman. Mrs. Abelman is resolute about staying behind to help others, giving the end of her life a higher purpose. After the ship’s sinking, Hazel reflects on the courage of the ship’s officers who “were valiant to the very end, each man to his duty, each man placing all others before himself” (334). She reflects that only because of them and the crew did anyone survive. She also reflects that each person aboard the Titanic experienced its fate, regardless of whether they survived, and that they all share a “story of courage, of compassion, and of heroism” (334).

Friendship and Overcoming Class Divisions

Iceberg demonstrates how friendship can be the key to overcoming societal divisions. Hazel befriends people from all walks of life and is initially self-conscious about whether she fits in with upper-class passengers but soon realizes that those who matter most to her accept her boldness and inquisitiveness. Hazel first meets Sylvia on the platform before boarding the ship, and because Sylvia is traveling first class, Hazel wonders why Sylvia is even talking to her. However, Sylvia seems unaffected by the difference between them (though aware of it) and just wants to make a new friend. On the ship, others constantly corral Hazel, telling her to stay where she “belongs,” and she notices that the ship keeps each class totally separate from the others. The ship itself sets passengers up based on how their lives have unfolded: “I had seen the views from the front of the ship, so I understood why they would be reserved for the first-class passengers. Who else would look ahead in their lives, anticipating their next business deal?” (37).

Hazel must sneak on board the ship just to be able to make the trip to the US and is leaving her family behind in the hopes of making enough money to send back to them. During Hazel’s first day and night on the ship, she’s starving and unable to find a comfortable place to sleep. Charlie sees what she’s going through and takes the risk of giving her a room and some food. Sylvia continues to take an interest in Hazel and invites her up to first class for dinner, even giving her a dress to wear so that she can more easily enter the café area and mingle. Hazel thinks back to what her mother said about the wealthy: “My mum used to say that anyone who wished to fit into high society needed three traits: intelligence, charm, and wealth” (68). Through Sylvia, Hazel encounters Miss Gruber, who initially displays open prejudice toward Hazel and attempts to get her in trouble for being a stowaway. Miss Gruber isn’t wealthy herself but works for the elite and has adopted an attitude of superiority.

However, Mrs. Abelman (like Hazel) goes where she likes on the ship and doesn’t allow rules about class to stop her from enjoying her life. Charlie is on the crew and is thus considered even “lower” than the third-class passengers, but this doesn’t stop him from working hard and doesn’t stop him or Hazel from befriending each other. When Hazel and the other survivors are taken aboard the Carpathia, class divisions vanish, if only temporarily: “For the first time since I had left Southampton, […] nobody seemed to care what class we had come from. We were all mourners, and all survivors […] trying to take our next breath through shattered hearts and exhausted minds” (328). Everyone has been through the same experience, and most have left loved ones behind.