-‘-‘-‘-‘-‘- TASK 1 -‘-‘-‘-‘-‘-
List some of the problems the men face trying to get down the mountain. Include quotations from the text (pages 85-94) to support these ideas.
Chapter 6, titled ‘The Final Choice’, presents many inconveniences for the men. These problems start with the quote ‘Simon let me slide faster than I had expected, despite my cries of pain, he had kept the pace of decent going.’ The urgency of the situation is starting to weigh down on Simon. He knows that there isn’t a second to waste in getting Joe down the mountain, and even a moment’s hesitation could be fatal to them both. Joe’s harsh cries are heard faintly by Simon, and in this moment he has a choice. Put Joe through an unimaginable amount of pain, to save him and himself, or discontinue his determination to rescue the two of them.
‘. . . The spin drift was worse than before, and that could only mean it had begun snowing heavily. “At this rate we should be down by nine o’clock’ he said cheerfully.” He is Simon and as he so cheerfully regards how soon they should be down the mountain, another threat is drowned out by his optimism. Snow had begun falling rapidly and at this point in the text, barely halfway, this sentence that is camouflaged by Simons happiness is only the start of something a lot bigger. It is foreshadowing, subtly signalling the events that are to come. In such an important part of the text, there is not much context to what time it is, but we get the sense that nine o’clock is not too many hours away. Simons hopeful tone makes the reader confident in their descent.
Lillian, there are some relevant and intriguing ideas presented here – well done. There were moments where you could have extended your discussion E.g. “It is foreshadowing, subtly signalling the events that are to come” (I.e. What do you mean?) “Simons hopeful tone makes the reader confident in their descent.” (I.e. Examples? For what purpose?)
* Consider what changes you would need to complete the points you are making 🙂