The writer starts off by two fairly long sentences, with a slow pace which reflects the calmness and tiredness felt by Simon. He uses words such as “grateful” which imply almost a pleasant tone in Simon. Both theses ways show the reader that Simon is clam, slow and not panicking, giving him a good mind to start with to make a serious decision.
Simon is “suddenly” pulled several feel, just like Joe but he instantly pushes his ‘axes into the snow.’ Rather than feeling hopeless by the ‘speed of it’, Simon quickly thinks and does a sensible thing to save himself immediately. This tells the reader that even in a sudden accident, Simon
is successful in making a thoughtful decision, as he doesn’t care about his feelings much, in fact tries to put them aside, and thinks about a ways to safety.
Simon also stays realistic about every even, not trying to lie to himself but taking things as they are. ‘… You’re dead…’ the Simon writes in simple language using ellipsis before and after to emphasize the fact that it’s simple as that. By putting the thoughts of Simon as they came, we see that he doesn’t try to deny the fact that Joe’s leg is broken or anything but instantly thinks about the result. He puts his emotions to one side and thinks facts.
Lastly, the Simon’s thoughts are presented as if he is carrying out a cost-benefit analysis inside him. “if I tried to get him down..” this shows that Simon is constantly thinking about what to do and what would be best, putting all the goods and bads to it forward, taking his time as reflected by the long sentences and doesn’t panic, which helps him reach a suitable conclusion.