1. “I stared at the mountain rising over me. Empty. It was a pointless thing to have done – climb up it, across it, and down it. Stupid! It looked perfect; so clean and untouched, and we had changed nothing, It was beautiful, immaculate, but it left me empty. I had been on it too long, and it had taken everything.” Page 117

The mood and tone in this passage is subordinate, meaning Joe is feeling very inferior and succumbed to ‘the power’ of the mountain. this is shown by the quote ‘rising over me … It was beautiful, Immaculate, but it left me empty.’ these show that he feels inferior to the mountain as if it is controlling him. He knows that he has given way for this to happen as if he was controlling himself but now in the situation he is in he cannot control it and it is the mountain that is controlling his fate. Joe the author also used a bit of personification when he says ‘and it had taken everything.’ this makes the thought of that the mountain is controlling him even more effective as it makes the reader see the mountain as a living being that is able to control him.

2. “The first feelings of panic built up as I stared wildly from one crevasse to another. Had we gone above or below that one? Or was it that lower one? I couldn’t remember. The harder I tried the more confused I became, and eventually I was weaving a contorted and terrifying path, unsure of where I was heading.” Page 123

This passage in the text “Touching The Void” by Joe Simpson has a mood and tone of discombobulation as in he is in a lot of fright, shock and confusion. When he says the words ‘panic, confused, contorted and terrifying.’ this shows that he is very discombobulated and scared as he doesn’t know where he is and is afraid of falling into another crevasse. Joe Simpson also uses rhetorical questions to create the mood and tone of discombobulated as it gives the effect that he doesn’t know the answer and is afraid and in shock the rhetorical questions he uses are ‘Had we gone above or below that one? Or was it that lower one? I couldn’t remember.’ Also when he says ‘I couldn’t remember’ this gives more effect that he is confused as he cannot remember what he wants the remember, therefore giving a discombobulated mood and tone.