BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE Flashcards
Plot
guy goes hiking/rock climbing alone
he’s describing loads of technical terms
then he falls and gets his hand stuck behind a boulder
he tries to free it but he can’t
‘this technique is known as stemming or chimneying’
he used technical language to show he is an extremely experienced climber, and clearly knows what he is doing, which adds to the surprise and hopelessness of the accident to show it could happen to anyone.
being very specific to help the reader picture the situation
‘instantly i know this is trouble’
‘fear shoots my hands over my head’
he uses short sentences to draw the readers attention and to build tension/create suspense.
‘time dilates’
the boulder ‘consumes the sky’
‘fear shoots my hands over my head’
‘The flaring agony throws me into a panic
‘personification
shows time slowing down
since there are no people around, he is personifying things around him
‘palm in, thumb up, fingers extended’
tri-colon shows the detail
short sentences to
catch the readers attention
create tension
express the fact that he is isolated (‘then silence’)
Ends with one word nothing’
to express the loss of hope and understanding that he was stuck.
How does Ralston convert a sense of danger para 1 (1)
He creates a sense of immediacy and tension
How does Ralston convert a sense of danger para 1 (2)
The opening words are in the present tense to create a sense of immediacy for example the opening words “I come to another group drop off “plunges the reader directly into the narrative
How does Ralston convert a sense of danger para 1 (3)
Throughout the start of the narrative he repeats words that are associated with enoseure and entrapment ‘claustrophobic’ ‘narrow slots’ ‘in narrow passages like this’
How does Ralston convert a sense of danger para 1 (4)
Words associated with precarious situations build up tension and highlight Raltons vulnerability ‘dangle’ ‘overhang’
How does Raltsom convert a sense of danger para 2
- crushes, smashes -
‘tearing skin’
- other verbs such as ‘ensnares’ ‘ricochets’ ‘grunt’ ‘grimace’ ‘paralyses’
Violent verbs to convert urgency
destructive with their harsh constonant/ onomatopoeic sounds
- images are graphic lingers in the readers mind
How does Ralston convert a sense of danger para 3
- ‘consumes the sky’
- ‘fear shoots my hand over my head’
- ‘flaring agony, ‘searing hot pain’
Metaphors/ personification created powerful visual image
hyperbolic metaphor. Removal of light could also be interpreted as a loss of hope/imagery of the foreshadowing potentially fatal consequences
converts violence and intensity of feelings rushing through him
sensory images associated with heat created a sense of intensity
