Shadows in the ice – Chapter 7

1.) Contrast is significant in the used sections of text. Joe describes his surroundings of the crevasse below him as the of the dark void of the inescapable end and the sky above him as the chance of existing life of light. The demonstrates the concept of contrast as both the crevasse and the sky described by Joe are of polar opposites which is why the contrast so significantly.

The selected text “the stark blackness of the drops, too deep for the light to penetrate…the black space held untold horrors….staring at the black hole in front of me….the dark spaces menaced” portrays the crevasse in Joe vision. However Joe contrasts these dark, horrific images with the descriptions of the night sky with: “small hole in the roof, where the sky was cloudless, packed with stars, and moonlight was adding its glow to their bright sparkle.”

The reader understands from Joe’s descriptions of the contrasting images of the crevasse and night sky is that Joe’s feelings are connected with the descriptions of the images. The reader also can visualize that when Joe is looking down towards the near impossible crevasse negative feelings present themselves as Joe can only think of the reality of the ‘odds’ of getting down the mountain. However when Joe looks towards the sky Joe presents himself with the thought of a glimmer of hope as it illustrates the event he has put himself in. This is because although the sky is mostly packed with clouds there is a small hole where you can see the stars. As the reader I perceive this to be an analogy of Joe’s situation as although things seem to unfavor survival there is still a glimmer of hope he will make it down.

2.) The rope in the text between Joe and Simon is significant as it symbolizes the connection and accountability that exists between Joe and Simon. However Joe’s hope disappears as well as the connection and accountability that exists between the rope as Joe no longer believes they are connected.

The text states ‘Maybe he heard me just then? He won’t leave unless he’s sure. How do you know he’s not dead already? Did he fall with me? Find out… pull the rope’ shows the constant questions asked by Joe in his mind and the selected text ‘So he must have hit the slope and stopped. He would be dead. He must be after that fall’ shows the conclusion Joe has come to after the pull.

The reader understands from Joe constant thoughts and before and after the pull of the rope is that before the pull of the rope hope still lingures between the connection and accountability of Joe and Simon on the rope. As the reader I perceive this because Joe constantly questions that there is still a possibility that Simon is still alive and tethered. But also because of Joe’s and Simon’s strong bonded relationship Joe cannot 100% believe that Simon is dead for certain until he see it for himself.  However after the pulling the rope testing if Simon is still alive and receives no response, Joe forces himself to believe that he is dead so that he can realize that he can’t rely on Simon no more and take action on his own.

 

3 Replies to “Shadows in the ice – Chapter 7”

  1. Michael, I have enjoyed reading these responses from today. You have made clever connections about how Joe perceives the crevasse to be – through his lens of emotion, and how the night sky appears more a reality, with some projection of hope from Joe’s thoughts.

    I am not sure whether this work is finished but it was great to read the ideas you have had thus far. 🙂

Leave a Reply to Michael Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *