Touching the Void

Simon and Joe

I am constantly in awe of Joe Simpson and Simon Yates who climbed the
Peruvian Andes in the novel, 'Touching the Void', despite the
criticism you hear of them and others challenging themselves with
hazardous activities.  I can see how a previously unconquered west
face of Siula Grande is tempting to the professional climber.
 
See the following link for a discussion of the title of the novel by
other students alongside comments about their essays:
http://nautical11.wordpress./category/reading/extended-reading/touching-the-void/

  Should Simon have cut the rope?  This is the question at the heart of
the book.  The knee jerk reaction to this question is sometimes no, he
was his mate!  If Simon didn't cut the rope he would not have saved
his friend's life plus he could have put his own life in jeopardy.  It
was simply the decisiveness of Simon that saved them both.  No, Joe
wasn't to know that the bottom of that crevasse where he had spent a
night there would be a way out deep down in the darkness.  What gives
a man the courage to plunge himself into the unknown like that?   The
fighter within Joe felt that he could not sit there to die and had to
fight.  See the following clips of the documentary:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcQbRjTq82E&feature=relmfu
 
A touching reunion brings these two back together and an understanding
is evident and made crystal clear between the them that Simon did
right.
 
The style of the novel is discussed in the following link.  Be sure to
scroll down onto the easier to read typed notes below the annotated
text.
http://www.acceleratedstudynotes.com/2012/02/10/language-analysis-touching-the-void/
 
See the following for a helpful study guide to chapters:
http://delasalleenglish.weebly.com/uploads/5/9/0/8/5908529/void-key_quotes_updated.pdf

Mrs Leary