The Final Choice – Chapter 6

1.) There are many problems for the men when trying to descending the mountain they have just climbed. This problems include temperature, dehydration, Joe’s broken leg, time, environment and frost bite. The extreme temperature of the cold climate provides many issues for the men as for one the penetrating temperature can force death to occur as hypothermia can take place. This also leads the men to obtain frost bite in their fingers which consequently produces less feeling in their fingers meaning when the men are attempting tasks the completing of the task cannot be done or the accomplishment is dramatically slower.  A quote that presents the effect of frostbite was “It wasn’t until I tried to slip off my left wrist that I realized how useless my hand were. Both were frozen.” Another problem to men was dehydration. This was always in the back of the men’s mind since the gas cooker got exhausted of gas as without it there would be no melting in snow to drink. This is essential as water is one of the key foundations to support life and without it a human can only survive a maximum of 2 days with devastating effects along the way. The main dilemma was the dehydration affecting the men’s mental state which therefore produces hallucination, false statements and affects their decision making.  A quote that shows the effect of dehydration to Simon’s mental state was “I smelt the water in the snow around me and it maddened me.” To add another problem to the men was the climax of the journey so far which occurred to be Joe’s vital fall generating a broken leg. Having to endure a broken leg has to be the biggest problem faced for the men for multiple reasons. Firstly with Joe’s broken leg, this limits his physical ability of strength, balance and mobility affecting the completion of tasks when operating down the mountain. Secondly the pain furiously attacking Joe puts stress in Joe as physically he could perish from internal bleeding and mentally as the main subject on his mind is the conflicting pain. And thirdly for Simon physically he has to carry Joe’s weight which creates stress on his muscles losing more energy but mentally having to decide whether to abandon Joe or suffer and risk his own life saving a loved partner.  A quote that displays the fire burning pain that Joe is feeling because of his leg was “The pain had reached a level beyond which it wouldn’t go.”

2.) Joe uses structural syntax and narrative techniques to create a tension build up when getting lower into a drop or the ‘void’. Joe uses the punctuation of comma’s in simple sentences to create a pause and build up tension which emphasize the sentence. Joe will also add short passages of short sentences to create a rushed feeling. An example of this is with the quote “A hundred feet. Fifty? I had no idea.”

Joe  also includes foreshadowing in the text  to create tension which is where the author indicates or hints future events creating tension for the reader as the reader starts to anticipate the future event like what is going to happen, where is going to happen, how is it going to happen and who with. In this case Joe foreshadows that a negative event will take place due to the emotion and reaction when realizing that the speed he was getting lowered increase dramatically. The selected text “I’m going down fast but it’s steady. He’s trying to be quick … that’s all. I knew it to be true, but there was still something wrong.” implements the area of foreshadowing.  Me as the reader understands from Joe’s narration that although Joe felt like he knew what was going on, he still sensed a presences that something was not right.

One Reply to “The Final Choice – Chapter 6”

  1. Michael, well done for giving multiple points about the difficulties the men are facing on their descent!

    Continue to be concise and structures in your answer. I.e. State the difficulties the men are facing (your point), support your points with examples (quotations), explain the effect of the details on the reader’s understanding, and relate these details to your own or a wider world context, where appropriate.

    Keep going with your second answer – this looks great thus far 🙂

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