The images presented in the text illustrate the character’s feelings of pain and survival, whilst also giving an idea that he wants to leave but doesn’t feel able to at the same time. An idea of some of these feelings are shown when the character states that it is as if the mountain is holding him back from leaving. However, perhaps the real reason he doesn’t want to leave is because he has became attached to where he is, through the feelings he has associated with it.

The images that have been presented affect our understanding of the events as they create an atmosphere that the climbers have returned back somewhere from a long journey. Feelings of hunger, fatigue and tiredness are associated with this atmosphere. This can be shown when the text raises the subject of the camp and when the character talks about certain details like resting and leaving.

Certain vocabulary have been put in the text to add emphasis and to capture the feelings of the reader, which helps to prevent the story from sounding dull. An example of this is when the text references “bitter feelings”. The use of this can show that tensions could have been going on between the climbers and raises questions for the reader as to how they could have originated. The text also gives references to certain details without explicitly saying them, e.g. “blackened fingertips” that are referring to frostbite.