Question

Source A: 21st Century prose fiction
The Silent Land by Graham Joyce
An extract from the beginning of a novel written in 2010.
A student said, ‘In this part of the story, where Zoe and Jake are caught in the avalanche, I can’t believe Zoe is so slow to react to the warning signs because, in the end, the situation sounds really dangerous.’ To what extent do you agree? *

Answer 1

Answer:

I don´t agree.

Explanation:

I think it´s impossible to understand Zoe´s mental process at the time since I haven´t been in such a situation. However, the story makes it clear that she didn´t realize the warnings before the avalanche, and that made her not react more quickly.

It´s stated that she felt snow slipping from underneath her, and she heard a rumble that could have been a sign. Even when she saw that Jake had stopped and later started to go towards her and warning her, she was still in disbelief. I guess that she could have been more prepared, as it´s expected that people are trained to be safe while skiing. But we can never presume how we´ll react in such a situation, and I can imagine that even with many signs of an avalanche coming, the idea of such a horrible thing happening must be hard to believe at first.