TASK 1:

One problem the men face when they are trying to get down the mountain is that they are losing light quickly and the weather is getting worse. They have also run out of gas which means they do not have any water. They need to get down the mountain fast and the only way they can is for Simon to lower Joe down fast. This causes a lot of pain for Joe which he strongly describes in the text. “The pain had reached a level beyond which it wouldn’t go.” This give the reader a better understanding of the pain Joe is going through which makes the text more meaningful.

Both Simon and Joe experience frost bite very severely which affected their decent down. It was harder for Simon who had to sit in a bucket seat and lower Joe because he was getting colder by the minute and his frost bite was worsening and making it difficult to lower Joe. Another problem they faced trying to get down was that the bucket seat Simon had to sit when lowering Joe down could easily collapse at any moment. which made the whole situation more intense. This was described by Joe, “I couldn’t ignore the thought of his seat collapsing and tensed up”

Joe recreates the tension he felt when being lowered over the cliff into the void by using simple but effective sentences that builds the suspense for the reader, for example “I screamed out a frantic warning but he couldn’t hear me. I shouted again, as loud as I could, but the words were whipped away into snow clouds” Joe also builds up the tension for the reader when he uses syntax’s that are short and fast, for example when the text states “A sense of great danger washed over me. I had to stop, I realised that Simon would hear nothing, so I must stop myself” These sentences also give the reader a better understanding of what Joe was feeling because of his use of emotive language.

TASK 2:

There were contributing factors as to why Simon made the decision to cut the rope. It was dark, absolutely freezing, they had no water and hadn’t had anything to drink in over 24 hours and the bucket seat Simon was sitting in could collapse at any moment. They had no communication with each other and couldn’t see each other either. All Simon knew was that Joe must have fallen or passed out because he was not taking the weight of the rope. Simon was supporting all of Joe’s weight for nearly two hours and couldn’t think of anything. No decision was going to be the right one but Simon needed to make a decision and he felt it was the best choice in the situation they were in.

Having Simons perspective on the situation was very beneficial to the reader and gave the reader a better understanding about the situation. It showed the situation in better detail and described the event through Simons eyes. It is included into the chapter to explain why Simon made the decisions he made.

Join the conversation! 1 Comment

  1. Hayley, the structure of your points is very good overall. Well done for including relevant, supportive evidence for each answer.
    * Watch any vague final statements (judgements) in your discussion. I.e. “which makes the text more meaningful” (in what way?) OR “These sentences also give the reader a better understanding of what Joe was feeling because of his use of emotive language” (Explain) OR “gave the reader a better understanding about the situation” (What do you mean here?)

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