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Touching the Void

Touching the Void is a non-fiction story which is about mountaineering in the unconquered West Face of Siula Grande, a remote, hazardous, spectacular, ice-covered mountain in the Peruvian Andes which is a ridge high about 19,000 feet. The protagonist is a guy called Joe who broke his leg into a strange zigzag and his mountain climbing partner Simon faced a moral dilemma. The two accounts are both first person narratives and used short sentences to show their own viewpoint and emotions. Joes account started with the interesting sentence, I hit the slope of the cliff before I saw it coming. It vividly shows that something bad had happened to Joe while Simons account started with more straightforward language that we would use to describe a day in mountain. Joe uses explicit words such as, .ruptured, twistedcrushed to clearly describe the grotesque distortion in his right knee. He also uses direct describing words shattering splitting to give us an idea about his pain. On the other hand, Simon uses overtly rational language for example I took everything in and knew instantly that he was dead. This point of Simon was also agreed by Joe who also thought Something terrible, something dark with dread occurred to me..Im dead to show us a clear and graphic assessment his perspective of torment. Simon even thought In a way I hoped he would fall which was the words that relate to logic. Simon is a cool man who is not in panic even if he was in this extreme situation. Though there are some similarities in language, their perspective and viewpoint was naturally unlike. The main reason for this was the very different situations they were in. Joe was in a serious situation where he didnt even know whether he would survive or not. He broke his right leg very badly and there was no help available on a mountain high about 19,000 feet. But, Simons first two paragraphs described mundane events. He simply said I rested a while. Since Joe was thinking about his survival, his couldnt have a calm and clear mind, I feel like screaming.swearing. If I said I word, I would panic. I could feel myself teetering on the edge of it. However, Simon who was uninjured and vividly accepted without a question that I could get off the mountain alone. They both are sure that Joe was in a bad condition. If there is just two of you a broken leg would turn into a death sentence.Joe was emotional, suffering and in a panic because he was dealing with his life on the edge of the mountain. On the other hand, Simon was cool and assessing his friends chances of survival and on his own. What should he do? He must ask to himself, Is self preservation more important than friendship? In conclusion, I would like to say that Simon should try to stay with Joe before he finally falls from the mountain and die from cold. We shouldnt leave a friend in need. If we couldnt help him, at least we should be with them when the worst thing happens. And after that, its your decision whether to continue staying with him or leave him. Friends are the most important thing of our life after our family. So, we should take a very good care of them.

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