I believe that the quote in the beginning of the book means that people who dream their dreams awake make them come true as they will turn their thoughts into actions by putting effort into them to make it possible. People who dream at night don’t actually consciously think about what they are dreaming, therefore they won’t fulfill their dream.

My initial impression of Joe Simpson is that he is a very spiritual man who has a special connection with the mountains. He also portrays himself to be a very experienced cleaver mountaineer and outdoors man. his writing style makes the reader want to trust Joes word and believe what he says even if it may not be true.

these lines tell us that Joe thinks Simon is a great genuine guy, and that they have been good friends for a long time. Joe also calls Simon very special which means that his character must be very strong and important to the text as well. when Joe says “There were a few other people I could have coped with for so long” it further shows that these two guys are perfect companions for each other with a similar level of skill and expertise. Due to their similarities I sense that Joe and Simon also express an unspoken competitiveness between each other that could potentially result in some conflict throughout the book.

In the beginning of the book Joe describes Richard as an odd fellow who travels around the world to unusual or ‘alien’ countries. He travels alone as his traveling companion was shot dead by soldiers in Uganda. I think Joe and Simon view Richard as different from them as he is not a real climber and more of a tourist.

This would cause problems because if something were to go wrong or if they were in a life threatening situation they couldn’t just call for help. Even if they ran out of food It could end up costing them many problems as they would have to walk long distances just to get the simplest of things.