Disaster – Chapter 5 (Climax)

When Joe shatters his knee, it is one of the most climactic moments in the text. Joe uses extremely descriptive language to try and bring the reader into the story, to make them feel all the things he was going through at the time. “My knee exploded, bone grated and the fireball rushed from groin to knee” This hyperbole exaggerates and the metaphor gives the reader an image forces the reader to think about the unbelievable pain Joe is experiencing and puts them in the moment. In this section where Joe is examining his knee, he often talks about the pain as being fire, “A fierce burning ball”, “Stabs of fire”, “Pouring on fire”, “And the fire rushed from groin to knee” uses repetition to provide effect, He also uses personification to talk about the pain as he often refers to it as fire. This is also a contrast to the cold snowy environment he is in and I think this tells us the fact that the pain is so great he does not notice the cold and also that the pain is so great it takes over all his thoughts.

Simons perspective is a key part of the text because it gives the thoughts and views of the person witnessing the injury, and is, therefore, going to be more rational in his thinking and in giving his opinions and it is an interesting thing to be given a perspective that, up until then, has not been presented to the reader. It shows Joe and Simon’s relationship changing because Simon realizes that he and Joe would be lucky to get back down the mountain alive, and if they did so Simon would be the one doing it all and I think this changes their relationship from being equals ( All though Joe indirectly saying he looks up to Simon because he is everything Joe is not ) to being one that is similar to a adult and a child because Simon is having to do most of the work.