Autobiography - Lesson 6 - Suspense Worksheet

In the gripping excerpt from 'Touching the Void', the narrator is found in a dire situation, suspended in mid-air, barely able to muster the strength to keep his head up. A profound exhaustion overwhelms him, accompanied by a longing for the ordeal to end, as the agony of his endless dangling becomes too much to bear. The rope gives a sudden twitch, and he wonders about his companion, Simon, pondering when he will join him in this precarious position. A sense of resignation washes over him as he contemplates the end, expressing a wish that their monumental climb of the West Face would be recognized and not lost to oblivion.

The narrative continues to build suspense as the rope, his lifeline, frays against the cliff's edge, dislodging icy fragments into the abyss. The narrator's body has succumbed to the bitter cold, leaving him numb and detached from the peril he faces. His thoughts drift, and the looming prospect of death does not evoke terror but an indifferent acceptance. The failure of his torch in the freezing darkness, the sight of distant stars, and the eerie calm of the storm's aftermath create a stark contrast to the inevitable plunge he experiences. Suddenly, the rope lurches, and he is falling into the void, the stars extinguished, his emotions and fears dissolved into the velocity of his descent until he is violently swallowed by the snow, sliding deeper into the crevasse, and the terror of his predicament fully hits him.