Explain the Techniques Used in Touching the Void

556 Words3 Pages
Touching the Void is a true story about an accident of Joe Simpson while climbing in the Siula Grande in Peru with Simon Yates. Joe broke his leg during the climb and Simon was forced to cut the rope supporting Joe. Simon then make his way down the mountain thinking is dead because of the fall. Joe survived the fall, then he slowly crawls down the mountain and eventually he was rescued. Touching he Void is an autobiography written by Joe Simpson in two different perspectives which was his and Simon’s. Even though it’s about the same event but there’s are big differences between the two perspectives. In Joe’s account he used direct speech to show the audience that battle he had with himself while hanging on the mountain. It was a battle between the devil and the angle inside him. He had to decide whether to accept the situation as it is and give himself up to nature or keep fighting to survive. Joe said “I’ve broken my leg, that’s it. I’m dead.” this part showed the devil side which is telling joe to give up, accept his fate and die. However, later on he also said “It doesn’t hurt so much, maybe I’ve just ripped something.” this contrasts what he said before and it shows that he still finding glimpse of hope out of the current situation. In Simon’s account there was no use of direct speech. This showed that Simon did not hesitate to cut the rope supporting Joe, the decision came to Simon instantly after he identified the environment that he’s in. The use of direct speech was the key difference between Joe’s and Simon’s account, it created empathy from the readers towards Joe as they can feel him struggling in a mental battle with himself. The use of descriptive language creates the environment and make the readers feel like they’re in that situation. In Touching the Void, the technique of using descriptive language is constantly deployed in Joe’s account

More about Explain the Techniques Used in Touching the Void

Open Document