"a debt I can never repay"- Joe Simpson.

Reaching The Void

Chris Campbell

January 15, 2001

A debt that cannot be repaid caused by a strong and torturous experience, not only is there a life debt but an owing for going against the odds. Although they both knew the risks and consequences involved with the climb and that a broken limb meant certain death, they still fought against fate and won. This compelling story shows that friendship is stronger than both life and fate. A story which will put a question to any persons morals.

This story questions morals, when Joe broke his leg both Joe and Simon were sure he was dead. This asks the question if your sure to die are you left behind or are you carried along until believed dead. Different cultures do different things and it challenges every persons morals. In Inuit society when an elder decides they are no longer able to carry on the family leaves him/her to die in the home. If Simon and joe himself believed he was dead why did they try to carry on risking Simons life as well? Was it that neither would accept death like this? Different people have different morals, Simon and Joe both wanted to try to the end even though there was little hope. Simon would not leave Joe for dead, not when he knew Joe was alive. The difficulty in mental conflict from cutting the rope must have been excruciating, knowing your friend who you have spent days trying to save has now been lost so near to the end

Ancient Greeks believed that you would be punished if you fought fate, and it seems as though that is what happens to Joe. Neither of them wan to accept what has happened, these exerts explain what happened and how neither of them wanted to accept that fate:

Joe-"he would leave me, he had no choice. left here? Alone? I remembered Rob, who had been left to die...but Rob had been unconscious, had been dying. I had only a bad leg."

Joe-"his eyes had been full of thoughts. Pity. Pity and something else; a distance given to a wounded animal which could not be helped."

Simon-"he told me that he had broken his leg. He looked pathetic, and my immediate though came without any emotion, you're fucked, matey. Your dead...no two ways about it! I think he knew it to."

Simon-"I looked back and was amazed to see that joe had started traversing away from the cliff. He was trying to help himself." Simon-"I couldn't help him, and it occurred to me that in all likelihood he would fall to his death. I wasn't disturbed by the thought. In a way I hoped he would fall. I knew I couldn't leave him while he was still fighting for it, but I had no Idea how to help him."

When ever Joe thought he had won over fate another obstacle was thrown into place. First when they finally get the chance to evacuate form the mountain joe breaks his leg, but that doesn't stop him. Then the torture of being lowered thousands of feet. So very near to the bottom of the mountain Joe is lowered over a cliff and Simon is force to cut the rope and joe falls into the crevasse. Left for dead Joe makes his way out of the crevasses only to have to blindly crawl though a maze of walls and crevasses which make up the glacier. The whole time crawling through the glacier he could her the trickle of water but could not get to any of it. Then he finally emerges form the glacier only to stumble his way through boulders further injuring himself finding water but only to know that he must continue on. Then crawling for miles over rocks and mud get right near to camp and a storm seeps up making him have to search for the camp in blinding snow and ended up finding camp by wandering into the bathroom boulder. Even then he cannot rest but is thrown onto a mule and brought off the mountain to a crude hospital. But he was alive! He had won!

The debt that cannot be repaid, a life debt. Even though Simon had mentally condemned Joe to death did not stop him from trying to save his life. Joe had though himself as good as left for dead but Simon still helped him. eventually Simon must have thought that if Joe can keep going like this then he should do all that he could to save him. The debt that cannot be repaid is not only for Simon saving Joe's life but also for giving Joe the chance to stay alive.

Facts of life are cruel and harsh, but facts can sometimes change and friendship can not only shatter beliefs but disturb fate itself. Joe and Simon had a strong bond and they would have surely died if one wasn't watching the others back, friendship this strong comes very rarely and should be embraced. Bonds grow strong in circumstances as such and that is the reason Joe Simpson is alive today, I envy Joe and Simon for their courage, stamina and faith in each other.

The Komogata Maru

1)This is a play which must be looked at form multiple views to comprehend the Irony. First the play is set in a brothel which is to say that the people residing withing are of questionable character themselves. But to have them judge others and deem them unfit to enter the society because they are "not the kind of people we want in this country" is irony in its purest. But the irony does not stop there, it goes further, back to the pilgrims and first nations. The first nations did not want the Europeans in their land because they did not respect the land. They beat back the first few settlers but that did not stop the overwhelming flow of more settlers. The Canadian government did not want the Sikhs and east Indians to settle on Canadian ground, but that also did nothing to stop the flow of immigrants.

2)The play is a reconstruction of an actual event which is a red stain on the somewhat clean history of the Canadian government. Obviously there was racial tension which were more of an issue years back, which have lessened. Although racial tensions still exist it was a much larger issue in the past, not only with immigrants from India but just about any immigrants. The last thing the school board wanted to do was stir up a hornets nest with this play and I cant say I blame them, especially because it took place in BC in Vancouver harbor. The amount of violence, realism and actual relative history involved in the play makes it different from many other plays. The play integrates many relative occurrences in to days world and if understood could have a severe impact on ones psyche.

3)Although the play was taught in history class it does not have any emotional impact. It is taught as a side note of Canadian history and therefore the little I knew hardly made me think about the happenings of the incident . Even though I knew the going ons of the incident I meant nothing to me. The play sets a mood and aura for the incident and the play is unequaled by any history lesson. It gives a sense of the emotions intertwined into the conspiracy, which show the pure ignorance of some, the stupidity of others, and the desperation of a few outnumbered. The play shows how the travelers on the Komogata Maru were willing to die to be in Canada, you would think that the government would see that as a extreme form of patriotism but they only saw it as a intrusion of a invasive species, but not knowing it was not unlike their own.

4)There was one charter who seemed to morph though out the story, Hopkins was the name, shot and killed by a one Mewa Singh, 3 shot one to the heart. I believe that although Hopkins was all for ridding Vancouver of the Komogata Maru at first sight, he, in the end, realized the consequences of his actions. Even though everything seemed normal, his view on the situation and changes form wanting to exterminate them at one point to wanting to let them into the country. At first he was hard cold until he saw the horrid conditions of the Komogata Maru and even when he was being pelted with stone he did not rebel against them. Hopkins seemed to be a moral character never using unnecessary force.

5)The only person I could relate to in the play was Evy. She was the only person with enough sense to see that the potential immigrants were doing nothing wrong and that in fact it was the government who was at fault. Even though she was the owner of a brothel, I was more closely related in thinking to me than any other charichtor

Kids story/self intorduction/skit.

(set up all equipment and armor during skit.) one day I was sitting at home vegging on the couch just, just channel surfing, but I came apon a bike show, it was amazeing they were hopping all over the place, on boulders and cars, riding alond boards only as wide as their tires. I thought to myself, "I could do some of that and if I try really hard mabey I can be as good as the guys on tv!". As soon as the show ended I got on my bike and went riding. well I can tell you, the guys on tv had practiced alot. I came home brusied and batterd but I was so happy I could hop 3 times. Now, I have gotten many injurys over the years ( show and tell about collar bone and other injurys)so safety gear is important! Im getting close I thought, yeah right, from then on it only got harder. untill one day I hit the point where everything came into place, it was all so easy ! and all the actions came ( although I still amke mistakes but hey Nobodys perfect) the ramps (ride the ramp) I can wheelie drop ( wheelie drop) hop onto things ( hop up) and even rock back and forth and spring on to my back wheel and hop off. (balence) now dont go home and try to ride off a drop with your bike beacuse you saw me do it beacuse you'll probably get hurt, it takes practice to get this far, practice makes perfect and if you fall down get back up brush yourself off and try again. if you have a dream never give up, well I gotta go now mabey I will see ya later, bye ride out put bike in hall, get props out of room