Interpretation of Chapter 6 of Touching The Void

Simon's Dilemma

In this chapter of Touching the Void, Simon is confronted with a harrowing decision: Should he sever the rope holding Joe, possibly killing him in the process to save himself, or should he keep the rope attached, while his stability on the mountain deteriorates with each passing second as it crumbles beneath him, hoping that Joe will find a way to relieve the weight? Bearing in mind his ignorance of Joe's predicament, this is a very difficult choice to make—one that ordinary people could not even imagine having to decide (Simpson, 1988).

Interpretation of Chapter 6 of Touching the Void

Alone for the first time on the freezing mountain, having just made a life-threatening decision, it's easy to imagine that having a good night's sleep would be burdensome. Simon dips in and out of consciousness. Simon is not upset that he possibly killed Joe; he describes Joe as only "the weight gone off from my waist so suddenly and violently that I couldn't fully grasp it all" (Simpson, 1988, p. 123). This shows that Simon is trying not to think of Joe as a real human whom he possibly killed. The adjective "violently" has connotations of pain and murder, which could suggest that Simon is subconsciously casting himself as the villain. Moreover, this internal conflict highlights the moral complexities faced by individuals in life-and-death situations.

After a long night of tossing and turning, Simon wakes up feeling surprisingly refreshed, ready to complete his descent, and determined that he won't spend another night on the mountain. This, combined with his state of dehydration, leaves the reader believing that his journey on the mountain is to end soon; he will either die of dehydration or climb to the foot of the mountain before the day is done. When Simon tells the reader that "I felt watched," it is probably because, having convinced himself that by cutting the rope, he is acting almost like a criminal whose crime yet undiscovered, is feeling excessively paranoid. Alone on the mountain without Joe, Simon is fabricating beings out of the stillness, almost as if to keep him company and break his climb down in solitude. This is displayed when he says, "I knew it, and they knew it" (Simpson, 1988, p. 130). The verb "knew" is a common verb yet is nonetheless an interesting choice of language as it has connotations of certainty. It shows that, at the time, Simon believed his fate to be ensured.

In the morning, when Simon recalls that he dressed "like a priest before mass, with careful ceremony," it brings together extremes, shedding new light on the situation (Simpson, 1988, p. 132). The simile used conveys a message of goodness, as priests are supposed to be messengers of God, who behave perfectly. However, the creator of the simile was at that moment anything but good, for he believes that he killed an innocent man. The design of the simile is to cast a bad light on poor Simon and is strategically placed to do just that.

Simon wakes in the morning to find the past day's events a distant dream. He says, "The dread in the night had gone with the dawn," suggesting that he is putting the incident behind him in order to continue with the more important task ahead (Simpson, 1988, p. 135). He even states, "the dark thought-wracked hours behind me" (Simpson, 1988, p. 136). The word "dark," combined with the fact it is behind him, suggests he has freed his mind of any lingering guilt and is finally ready to finish what he and Joe started what seems like years ago. This resolution underscores the human capacity for resilience and the necessity of psychological survival in extreme conditions.

References

Simpson, J. (1988). Touching the Void. Jonathan Cape.