127 Hours: Between a Rock and a Hard Place

Question 1

‘refrigerator chockstone’

Answer 1

metaphor - helps communicate size/weight of the rock

Question 2

‘claustrophobic’, ‘the slot narrows to a consistent three feet across’

Answer 2

references to confined spaces emphasise the small size of them and hints for the first time at a fear of being trapped

Question 3

‘sometimes in narrow passages like this one’

Answer 3

technical expertise - moves away from subject to explain to reader

Question 4

‘you can imagine using it to clump up the inside of a chimney’

Answer 4

direct address (2nd person) - involves reader and makes a clearer image

Question 5

‘chockstone the size of a large bus tire’

Answer 5

metaphor - helps reader to visualise, as well as emphasise the sheer size of the rock

Question 6

‘if i can step onto it, then i’ll have a nine-foot height to descend’

Answer 6

future - draws reader into decision making process, as well as foreshadowing that perhaps that doesn’t happen

Question 7

‘dangle’

Answer 7

give impression of precarious position; creates feeling of danger

Question 8

‘instantly, i know this is trouble, and instinctively’

Answer 8

alliteration draws attention to writer’s reaction; adverbs show speed of reaction and creates a tense atmosphere

Question 9

‘consumes the sky’

Answer 9

personification - image is aggressive/frightening, as if the stone is attacking him

Question 10

‘time dilates, as if i’m dreaming, and my reaction decelerate’

Answer 10

clauses get sequentially longer - mirrors the way time feels to writer, as well as mimicking his reaction time slowing down

Question 11

‘collision’, ‘yank’, ‘ricochets’,’crushes’

Answer 11

words with violent connotations to emphasise how aggressive accident is.

Question 12

‘ensnares my right arm’

Answer 12

personification/metaphor - compares to an animal caught in a trap, which makes rock seem like it is actually active

Question 13

‘flaring agony’

Answer 13

metaphor - compares to something explosive; violent image

Question 14

‘i grimace and growl’

Answer 14

alliteration creates the sound of the growl in reader’s head

Question 15

‘anxiety has my brain tweaking’

Answer 15

metaphor - comparing to a drug addict who is desperate for next fix; pain is all he can focus on/pain is disorienting

Question 16

‘i cry out …’

Answer 16

-ellipses illustrates fragmented thought process and makes it more vivid

Question 17

‘shove’ ‘heaving’ ‘pushing’ ‘lifting’

Answer 17

series of verbs - graphically evoke the effort that reader can visualise

Question 18

‘nothing’

Answer 18

one word sentence/negative - communicates desperation and leaves reader with a sense of hopelessness