Touching the void

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1.) Joe’s account starts with the action verb ‘hit’ which underlines the falling action, literally, at the very beginning. Hence, we already sympathize with the character as we predict pain after the fall. The verb ‘shattering’ is audio visual imagery that helps to build a clear sensual image of the physical pain in Joe as he felt a ‘blow in [his] knees.’ Sympathy arouses. The negative verbs, ‘splitting’ and ‘screamed’ shows reaction to the ‘shattering blow’, reinforcing the pain. The short sentence ‘I slid, head first, on my back’ mirrors the fast paced action in Joe’s account. The sense of confusion is hinted at as Joe vaguely describes the events. The future tense narration ‘would be ripped’ highlights concern for Simon despite his grave situation. It builds interest for the reader. The phrase ‘sudden violent stop’ brings about the uncertainty of events. Thus, emphasizes on the precariousness of death itself. Confusion as well is tinted upon as he has no idea of events.

2.) In the second paragraph, though there is change of moment there are fast paced thoughts. ‘My thoughts raced madly’ is a personification as he personifies thoughts which paint the insanity and unawareness of events. This is ironic as he is the only one involved in the event and no one better can understand what is happening. Hence, confusion is derived. The metaphorical phrase, ‘then pain flooded’ creates destructive image in the readers’ minds. It emphasizes on the smooth sailing of pain throughout the body. The phrase ‘fierce burning fire’ is also a metaphorical phrase that forms hell-like images.

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3.)  The ‘grotesque distortion in [his] knee’ is a graphical description that describes not only the physical state but also the emotional state of mind. The ‘twisting [of] the leg into a strange zig-zag’ creates rough imagery of pain. But Joe ‘didn’t connect it with the pain.’ This shows he was in the state of denial. The kinetic verb ‘kicked’ shows that he was an active victim. Despite almost ‘touching the void’ (death) he ‘kicked.’ Indeed, he is an inspiring character. This paragraph is full of long sentences that describe the pain he suffers. However, to establish this comfort he uses a short sentence ‘the pain eased.’ Hence, this highlights the sense ...

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