Question 10 – June 2015 Higher – Who do you think suffers more in Touching the Void, Joe or Simon? How does Simpson make you feel as you do by the ways he writes?
Touching the Void is a book that explores both of the main types of pain that a human can feel and that is physical and emotional. The events that occur during the book cause both characters to suffer from both of these pains but I believe that each character suffered more of one type of pain than the other; Joe suffered more physical pain than Simon but Simon suffered more emotional pain than Joe. I believe that Simon’s emotional pain was the result of the very difficult decision he had to make between cutting the rope that held Joe and let him fall to his death or keep holding on and eventually fall down with him. Simon decides to cut the rope and this decision invites many unanswerable questions into his mind and many thoughts that trouble him throughout the rest of the trip. He burnt Joe’s clothes as a ritual act to get rid of any threads that may connect to Joe’s spirit and remind him of his unforgivable decision. The parts of the book where Simon is talking are written by Simpson himself which may suggest that the pain Simon went through, lead him to not want to write about his perspective himself but rather let Joe express himself through Simon’s thoughts.
NOT COMPLETE
May 22, 2016 at 12:35 pm
The ideas are excellent in this answer, but it misses a very significant element – the use of quotations and the analysis of those quotes for how Simpson uses language to get his ideas across.
To answer well, you’ll need to find a quote where Joe is struggling to survive and look into the metaphors, the use of words, the structure of the sentences and the over-all impact of these quotes.
Perhaps a position you might take is that Joe experiences both physical pain (There are a million quotes to support this) and also emotional pain (the struggle to go on when he thinks he’s been left for dead or that he has no hope of survival (remember when he lowered himself into the crevasse and didn’t give himself the option of climbing back out? whereas Simon experiences more emotional pain over his choice and the sense that his partner had died/suffered due to his decision – your reference to the burning of the clothes is a great way to demonstrate this, but again – it needs to be supported by quotes.
Hope this helps. If you get a chance, add some quotes and analysis at the bottom and I’ll give you feedback. Remember the quote reference sheet I gave you which is here:
http://antihero.edutronic.net/touching-the-void-quote-reference-sheet/
CW