Share your literary essay with the rest of the students that chose this short story. Take some time to read 2 or 3 other essays. Comment on them. Your comment should be about something you noticed them doing well from our lessons. For example, "You did a really good job explaining your evidence"
Part 1
ReplyDelete“Up the Slide” is a story by Jack London that takes place in the past in the Yukon territory. The setting in the story “Yukon” is an extremely cold place, people that live there constantly need wood to stay warm and not freeze to death. The main character “Clay” and his friend “Swanson” are there and spending the evening there. Clay volunteers to gather wood to keep warm and sets out on his journey. As he wanders off to a great pine tree he saw earlier he realizes that it's going to be a dangerously almost -impossible trip to gather wood. As the story progresses he climbs up a steep, icy cliff that has many dangerous risky things on it. The author uses these events to teach us about how when it comes to survival you should never stop trying; never give up. The readers are left wondering if Clay and Swanson ever survived at the end and if their problems get fixed easily and happily. The readers will also be constantly on their feet wondering if he makes it out alive or not. The author uses these events to teach us about how important it is to never stop trying to reach your goals/prize.
The theme “when it comes to survival you should never stop trying” is shown through character actions in the short story “Up the Slide” multiple times. Clay took risks in order to get to the dry pine tree to bring it to swanson. Without fire both could suffer miserably in the cold harsh weather. Clay attempted to climb up the steep, slippery mountain covered with thick snow and ice. Despite him falling 5-10 times he got back up to where he originally was and continued climbing up. He was aware of the things that awaited him at the mountain. To point out, he was greeted with harsh cold weather. He had 2 options, don't gather wood and risk dying or, get wood and have a chance at survival. Truly, the actions he did to save himself and swanson were risky, he climbed higher and higher to the tree. Although it could be argued that the theme is “You should always care about your friends”, the text actually says how Clay tries hard to survive so he doesn't die, he doesnt once think about swansons while climbing. So the theme of this short story is most definitely “When it comes to survival you should never stop trying”. It's important to realize that after Clay was going through harsh, snowy conditions on the mountain, he did eventually reach the top to gather wood, while doing so he knew it was right to not give up in the process of climbing up continuously. When Clay arrived back to where he and Swanson arrived earlier, he was greeted with Swanson laughing at him and not taking him seriously with the things he went through, to gather firewood. Clay knew that getting wood and sharing the wood was the kind thing to do, he wanted both of them to live, but he didnt expect Swanson to laugh at him especially after he went through everything to get wood. Clay continues caring about swanson and doesn't think much of how he laughed, the theme is clearly “When it comes to survival you should
good use of the quotes
DeleteNice grammer
Deletepart 2
ReplyDeletenever stop trying” because there's a lack of parts in the story with clay caring about swanson a lot. A particular quote found from the part where he was climbing is “twenty feet of nearly perpendicular climbing would bring him to where a slide slope more gently in. By making a long zigzag across the face of the slide and back again, he would arrive at the pine”. His actions showed the process and struggles of reaching the pine from the mountain. Clay traveled on the mountain in various ways including climbing in zigzag ways, crossing over things, and climbing in perpendicular ways to reach the great pine tree. With attention to Clay being exhausted, numb, tired, and out of strength shows how he did not give up even through the struggles he faced. It's important to realize the actions of Clay showed how he kept trying to survive through the harsh conditions that day in Yukon. With this in mind it's important to understand that when swanson started laughing at Clay some readers may have questioned why he was laughing when Clay, had just gone through a miserable trip to get wood, it showed that swanson didn't really understand what Clay had to go through to get al the way back to him. Clay had to go through multiple obstacles to survive and gather wood for a nice fire to make food and stay warm. Without Clay's help, Swanson and him would have died miserably in the cold. This also shows how Swanson didn't know what Clay went through and he thought it was funny how he came back with snow all over him and his face. At the time, Clay must've felt horrible when swanson was laughing at him because he tried his best and expected swanson to greet him nicely. To put it differently, he was laughing and giggling at Clay.
By all means when it comes to survival you must do everything you can if you want to survive and that's exactly what Clay did, he used his survival skills to make sure he wouldn't fall, and that he could cling to rocks and other natural materials laid on the mountain naturally. With this in mind, Clay was aware when he realized that thrusting his mmittended hands through the snow and grass was very unsafe and dangerous for him to be doing. The words used for Clay's emotions throughout the story show how he figured out how to safely but dangerously climb up the cliffed mountain with great techniques used. He kept climbing to get his prize; a forest of pines that sell for a great amount of money in yukon. His emotions slowly show how he realized he was trying his best to achieve his goal and survive to get what he needs on top of that cliff. The quote in the story “When he held onto a bunch of roots the snow, coming in contact with his bare warm hand, melted, so that his hands and the wristbands of his woolen shirt were dripping with water. Particularly, the coldness was quick to attack, and his fingers were numbed and made worthless. This entire quote/large sentence shows how he almost gave up because of how the snow “attacked” him. Accordingly, the author used Clay and Swanson's character actions to show their relationship, struggles, feelings, and also what they both were going through that day in the short story. The author also used symbolism to connect to the theme to show what Clay was going through. Cleary, the character actions show the theme.
part 3
ReplyDeletePlot events in the story constantly showed the theme. First of all, when traveling with his sled dogs to the mountain he was determined to get that tree he saw earlier. The 17 year old put his eyes on the tree and discovered it on a mountain which made him want to get it so swanson could cook dinner and make a warm fire. The small group of pines got him motivated to get the one great pine standing in a mini forest of them. Him traveling with his sled dogs shows he is going to get a tree that he will bring back to swanson. Determination is seen through this plot event, determination connects with not giving up/never stop trying. When Clay was climbing up the sloped snowy mountain, the author described the mountain as a “steep slide and its snow covered slippery surface” this quote from the story can connect easily to the claim and theme because it shows how “when things are tough you need to not stop trying” this different theme connects to the current theme of “when it comes to survival you should not stop trying”.
Readers may question why he struggled so much to get up the mountain, the plot actions in the story describe the struggles of climbing up steep mountains in cold weather. By all means, this shows that mountains can connect to struggles and that it was a struggle to climb that steep, slopped, snowy, and icy mountain. It also clearly connects to struggles people can have, and that you should keep trying to survive in a dangerous situation. When these plot events were told in the story the plot events showed a symbol really clear. The pine tree and the mountain are both a symbol of how you should keep trying to survive to achieve what you came for and what your goal was. The plot of events showed how Clay struggled but still wanted to keep going even though he was close to giving up. The mountain was extremely steep and most likely icy from the snowy conditions in the story. A big plot event in this story showed how he ventured up the cliff and how the events show the symbol and theme. When he was climbing down the mountain it seemed to be extremely steep, he knew that this was just as dangerous as climbing up, maybe even more dangerous. “Each time saved himself by what appeared to him a miracle” that sentence shows how he was extremely lucky sometimes and even really skilled to save himself. He refers to not falling as a miracle to tell how lucky he was in not falling down to his death. The author used clear plot events to show the number of times he fell down a little bit on the mountain and got back up easily and didn't give up. Clearly, the plot events show the theme.
part 4
ReplyDeleteThe figurative language found in the short story describe how and what Clay's actions looked like and, it also described his surroundings and what he saw during the risky moments of his life. First of all, the quote with a simile “he clawed up the broken rock, hand and foot, like a cat” shows how he was climbing to not fall so easily down the steep mountain. He used a technique using his feet, and hands. He described his feet and hands as cat claws to show that his grip was strong and he wasn't letting go anytime soon. Second of all, the other quote with a simile “The grasses gave him much trouble, and made him long for soft-tanned moosehide moccasins, which could make his feet cling like a second pair of hands” readers may be confused on how this makes sense in the story, but this piece of a figurative language (simile) shows how strong his feet were clinging onto the mountain. Another piece of figurative language that may be confusing to readers that is found in the story is repetition. Repetition is shown when he kept falling and then regaining strength to climb back up to his original spot he fell from. This shows how he never gave up and knew he had to make it up the mountain and get that great pine tree standing still. Clearly, all of these pieces of figurative language show the theme and the claim. The amount of smiles and repetition in the story really show how hard it is to try to get up that steep mountain. The author used figurative language to refer to Clay's actions as things that he was acting like, and also to describe the setting, and obstacles he went through to survive. The amount of imagery in the story really gives me information on what Clay was climbing up and what the area surrounding him and the mountain were like. The imagery also described the little forest of pine trees and it informed me on what Clay was trying to reach and get for swanson and him. The imagery described the treacherous snow covered slope that looked impossible to Clay at first glance. A personification quote found in the short story is “This the frost was quick to attack”, is telling how the coldness started beating him down and making his body almost completely worthless because of the harm and pain he went through because of the weather in Yukon. The author used figurative language to connect Clay's actions to animals and items to show how he used a lot of strength to go up the mountain. Clearly, this shows the theme.
Clearly the theme of “Up the Slide” is when it comes to survival you should never stop trying. This is first seen when the author used character actions to show part of it. In the story “Up the Slide” the main character; Clay, needs to gather wood. In order to get wood he needs to climb up a snowy steep cliffed mountain to get a great pine tree. Clays constant acts of saving himself from falling clearly show how he is trying his best to survive. Next, the theme was when the author used plot events. The plot events in the story constantly show how climbing up a mountain can be similar to struggles/obstacles in life. The part in the story when Clay kept clinging and maneuvering different ways to climb higher shows how the multiple plot events in the story show the theme clearly of not giving up when it comes to survival. Finally the author used figurative language to describe the struggles Clay faced and how he kept comparing his actions to things that were similar. Using figurative language can clearly show the theme on how he doesnt stop trying and as a result it is evident that the theme of “Up the Slide” is when it comes to survival you should never stop trying.
I like how clear the explanations were
DeleteI like how when you're explaining your evidence it is very specific and has a lot of reasoning to it.
Delete“Up the Slide” is a short story by Jack London that takes place in Yukon Territory and it is a really cold day. Clay has to go get firewood because it's a cold day and they need fire to stay alive. He gets to this dead tree and slips and falls down the mountain. This short story focuses on Clay trying to survive climbing up the mountain and never giving up and keep pushing himself to get up the mountain so he could survive. Clay doesn’t give up and eventually makes it out of the mountain. He finds a bunch of trees that he could sell for $40 a tree because people need trees to burn so they can stay warm and survive. The author teaches us that if you don’t give up, things can happen.
ReplyDeleteThe plot events in “Up the Slide” shows that you can survive if you don’t give up. First of all, when Clay slipped face first down the mountain and he became the nucleus of an avalanche. He didn’t give up because he tried finding ways to stay warm and survive climbing the steep mountain. The first way he keeps on falling but never gives up so he can survive. Even though it was difficult to climb the steep mountain he needed to find a way to climb the mountain the first time due to all of the snow and ice. Finally, Clay tries to go up zig-zag and keeps slipping and falling down again and he gets back up and decides to take a different route by going straight up because he saw a rosurvive. Clay didn’t want to die so he kept trying to find ways up the mountain. He had to find a way out of the cold and freezing temperature so he could live. Finally, He never gave up and kept climbing the steep mountain so he had a chance at survival and He falls again but he didn't give up. He eventually makes it up and finds the trees and survives the fall. He gets to go back to camp with Swanson.
The character actions in “Up the Slide” shows that you can survive if you don’t give up. First Clay went out to get firewood because it's -30 degrees. Even though it was -30 Clay and his partner needed fire to keep warm. Clay went to get firewood because he and his traveling partner. Swanson needed a fire so they could stay warm. This could be interpreted as creating the theme of he never gave up and something really good happened; however, it clearly created a theme of never giving up because since he didn’t give up he found a lot of trees that he can sell for good money. Secondly, he took off his mukluks so he could have better traction because the mountain was very slippery due to all of the snow and ice. Clay was trying to climb up the mountain by going zig-zag and kept falling. So, he didn’t give up and went straight up the mountain because he saw some rocks that he could reach so he could make it up alive.
The Figurative Language in “Up the Slide” shows that you can survive if you don’t give up. First off, the tree shatters and Clay could have given up and died in the mountains because he was upset about the tree he came to get for firewood. The first way he survived because he never gave up and kept trying to find ways out of the mountain. Secondly, repetition of falling and getting up again when Clay slips down the ck he could reach so he could get out and survive.
Clearly, the theme of the story is ¨if you never give up good things will happen¨. This is first seen when Clay takes his first slip all the way down the mountain and he got up and kept trying ways to stay warm and climb his way up. He never gave up when he fell because he could have just laid there and froze to death. Next, the theme was shown when Clay was going zig-zag up the mountain and kept slipping. Then he decided to get up and go straight because he saw a rock he could reach so he could climb out. After he slipped he didn't just sit there, he got up and kept figuring out how to survive. As a result, the theme of this short story is about never giving up and good things will happen.
the Figurtive language if really good because i could see the theme in it.
Delete“Up The slide” is a short story by Jack London that takes place in the yukon territory in the 1900s. The main character Clay Dillingham and he has to go out and get firewood for him and his friend to survive because its the winter and they didn’t have enough fire wood for the whole winter.it shows not to give up because Clay has a very scary hike up the mountain and everytime something happens he always just kept going and never gave up. Plot events The first event that represents the theme is when he is going up the mountain and he has to make his own path “ So instead of taking the zigzag which led downward, he made a new one leading upward and crossing the slide at an angle of thirty Degrees.” that supports the theme because he never gave up and when he came across this problem he didnt give up and just made a new way instead of going back. Another time we see him never give up is when he falls down many times “ when both surfaces came together his feet shot out, and he fell on his face, sliding downward and convulsively clutching for something to stay himself.” and Then he turned about for the trip back. Going down, he knew, was even more dangerous than coming up, but how dangerous he did not realize till he had slipped half a dozen times, and each time saved himself by what appeared to him a miracle.” those also support because he has fallen lots of times but he still kept going and pushed himself to the limits.
ReplyDeleteCharacters actions
The first time we see his actions support the theme is when He took off his shoes to get better traction but it made his feet bitterly cold ‘He would have taken off his muclucs and gone at it in his socks, only the cold was thirty below zero, and at such temperature his feet would quickly freeze. So he went on, and after ten minutes of risky work made the safe and solid rock where stood the pine.’ that also supports because he had to do things that could cause bodily harm to him but he still chose to do it. Because he needed to survive and his friend was counting on him for wood.
A second way he supports the theme with his actions is He had to choose his own way to get up the rest of the mountain. “ he reasoned that the gully in which lay the slide must give inward more and more as it approached the top. From what little he could see, the gully displayed this tendency; and he noticed, als, that the slide extended for many hundreds of feet upward, andthat where it ended the rock was well broken up and favorable forclimbin So instead of taking the zigzag which led downward, he made a new one leading upward and crossing the slide at an angle of thirty degrees.
Figurative language
he just kept going and surviving this could be interpreted as creating a theme of giving up; however, it clearly created a theme of never give up because even though the tree broke he still continued and went to oget more wood. There is also reptititon because he keeps falling down lots of times but he keeps getting up and he dosn’t stop till he makes it and survives the trip.clearly, the theme of “Up the slide“ is you can survive if you never give up . This is first seen when the author used _The characters actions because he had to choose his own path and he took his shoes off and gloves off in -30 degree weather all to get over the mountain. Write a sentence here summarizing that subtopic. Next, the theme was created when the author used _plot events because he had to climb a mountain to get to firewood because they need fire wood to survive. Finally, the author used figurative language to create the theme. Readers saw this when he used repetition by having CLay repeatedly fall down and he still got back up and by using a tree that shatters as a symbol. As a result, it is evident that the theme of “Up the slide“ is You can survive if you never give up.
Good capitulation and good length
Delete“Up the Slide” is a short story by Jack London that takes place in the past in the Yukon where the main character, Clay, climbs the side of a mountain in the middle of winter. He is on a mission to chop down a tree on a cliff. As he climbs he almost dies multiple times from falling. He is trying to get up to the top of the mountain so he can make a safe descent. Clay has to battle the cold while it’s getting dark and he is starting to get hungry. Despite all of this he still doesn’t give up. The author uses the theme of if you never give up you can survive and is trying to teach readers to not give up, just like Clay.
ReplyDeleteFirstly, some plot events that help support the claim of if you never give up you can survive are, “when he looked up to where he must climb again, that he had lost his nerve. He was shaking as if with a palsy, and sick and faint from a frightful nausea.” This was after his big fall. When he thought about having to climb back up and he saw how much higher it looked scared him. He was shaken up from almost dying, again. He then became way less confident than when he started. A full 10 minutes passed where he was sitting and trying to get enough courage to keep climbing. Although he didn’t want to keep climbing, he still got up and did it.
Another part of the story is after he fell and hit the outhang, “His legs hurt him and he was limping, and he was conscious of a sore place in his back, where he had fallen on the ax.” When he fell he hurt his legs and his back. He had started climbing with hurt legs and back. Those are the parts of the body that seem like they are pretty helpful when you are trying to climb something. Even with the difficulty he climbed.
One last plot event that helps support my claim is, “and was contemplating the slide, which so suddenly steepened.” The slide seemingly steepening was a lot of his imagination because when something is scary it can seem bigger or worse than it actually is. He kept slipping a little bit and had come to a conclusion that he couldn’t climb with just his hands and feet but then he remembered he had an ax. He cut holes in the side of the cliff for foot holes which made it a lot easier to climb up the side. He thought of a way to get around an obstacle and kept going.
The next pieces of evidence that supports the theme of if you never give up you can survive is character actions. A quote from the story states, “When Clay Dilham left the tent to get a sled-load of firewood, he expected to be back in half an hour.” When he leaves, he expects the job to be kind of easy. To get to the mountain, climb it, chop down the tree, climb back down, and make it back to camp in 30 minutes is crazy. That’s a lot of work to get done in 30 minutes. Because of this mindset, he goes and chops it down, making good time, but then he starts running into obstacles like the surface of the slide being slippery. He thinks of ways that can help him keep going.
I like how many quotes you have and you have a lot of figurative language and good words
DeleteAt this moment, it certainly could be said the author created a theme of hard work pays off. While this is a good point, it fails to account for whenever he fell it did require hard work to climb up, but he had to keep going to have to work hard. As a result, the theme is clearly that if you never give up you can survive.
ReplyDeleteBefore Clay leaves camp the author wrote, “Swanson had laughed when Clay said he would be back in half an hour”. This is further motivation for him to get there and back in 30 minutes to prove Swanson wrong. He, again, thinks it will be easy but has to keep climbing. Has Swanson done something similar to what Clay had done? Maybe that’s why he laughed when Clay was being full of himself because he could have been in his shoes.
Lastly, the author used figurative language. It says when he was climbing, “he clawed up the broken rock, hand and foot, like a cat”. He had gotten there in 10 minutes so he was confident that he was going to make it back in 30 minutes. When he had cut the tree down he had to figure out how to get himself down. He pushed his hands through the snow and grabbed the grass but with his mittens. He couldn’t be sure he had a good grip so he took them off. It was 30 below so his hands got really cold but he kept pushing them into the snow and grabbing the grass.
At one point, he looked down the slide and thought, “in case he slipped, that he would be flying with the speed of an express train”. Now is where he is feeling a little less confident. After he cut down the tree, he had to go up and since the slide was slippery he kept losing his footing. He had already slipped once and was becoming aware of the risks. It wasn’t only falling. The day was coming to an end and the temperature was starting to drop. Even still, he kept climbing. There was one time he was climbing up and slipped and slid down a long way. When he got back to climbing it said that he was like, “a tiny speck of toiling life poised like a fly on the face of Moosehide Mountain”. He was slowly but surely making progress.
A symbol in the story is the slide itself. When he was climbing the cliffside kept getting steeper and harder to get up. It symbolizes struggles in life. The higher he went the harder it got to keep going but he kept climbing. Just like when you are struggling in life, the more time that passes the harder it got to keep pushing through. When he fell, it was like he took a step backwards and wasn’t making progress but when he got up and got to the top it was like he conquered the obstacle in life like he did with the slide.
Clearly, the theme of “Up the Slide“ is if you never give up you can survive. This is first seen when the author used character actions. Clay is so confident and cocky and thinks it’ll be easy in the beginning, but when he actually is doing it he finds it’s a lot harder but he still doesn’t give up. Next, the theme was created when the author used plot events. Whenever Clay fell he got back up; even if he was scared. It was also cold and dark and he was getting hungry, but he still climbed. Finally, the author used figurative language to create the theme. The symbolism in this story really helps because as he is overcoming the slide it’s like he’s overcoming an obstacle of life. The steeper the slide gets the harder it is to keep going. Just like in life; the harder it is to overcome things the harder it is to keep pushing through. As a result, it is evident that the theme of “Up the Slide” is if you never give up you can survive.
I liked the way you organized it. I also liked all the quotes you had and how it made sense with the point you made.
ReplyDeletePt. 1
ReplyDeleteUp the Slide” is a short story by Jack London that takes place in Yukon in Northwestern Canada. What makes this story unique is that the story takes place in the winter in Canada. Clay, the main character, needs to get firewood for himself and his traveling partner, Swanson, for money and to survive. The short story focuses on Clay climbing up the mountain, his struggles, and his falling and getting back up. Because Clay is 17 years old he is confident in his skills of getting up the mountain. The author uses this to show that never giving up is beneficial.
Clay thought that climbing would be easy and would take a half an hour to climb up, get the tree, and go back down and make it for dinner. Clay faced many challenges while climbing. He got caught in the nucleus of a young avalanche. he was exhausted while climbing up and kept slipping and grew careless, causing him to slip and start going down the mountain, making him get caught in the beginning of a young avalanche. He kept clawing at the snow trying to stop speeding down the mountain after all the struggling, he finally stopped getting snow in his sleeves and down his neck. He had been lying there trying to recover when he remembered he had an ax to help him up the mountain.
“A slip at that point meant a plunge over the edge and a twenty-foot fall to the ice. A hundred feet farther along, and a slip would mean a fifty-foot fall.” Clay realized if he fell it would be fatal to him, and not being prepared with his shoes and not using his ax helping him up. Clay started off thinking it would take him 10 minutes to get up the mountain went down the drain when he found out how hard and dangerous it would be. Clay had to be extra careful during this part of the climb, as falling at the height of 20 feet, he could die, or he would be hurt, and be in the cold, and he would be all alone. If he kept going a hundred feet along the ice, it would be a 50-foot fall
At the end of his climbing to get the tree there was a gully which opened out to a miniature basin having pine trees that were all dead and dry. The moon had come up when he was going back down, with an estimated guess of 50 cords of wood he could see Swanson’s fire waiting for him to come back. “But the descent was precipitated and dangerous in the uncertain moonlight, and he elected to go down the mountain by its gentler northern flank.” Clay realized his mistake of taking a bad route up the mountain.
In the story, the author, Jack London, used figurative language to describe what Clay is doing or what is happening around him. While Clay was climbing up, the author talked about his feet being like a second pair of hands if he had a certain pair of shoes. “The grasses gave him much trouble, and made him long for soft tanned moosehide moccasins, which could make his feet cling like a second pair of hands.” Clay’s shoes had been worn down by the ice making it so he couldn't climb properly and couldn't depend on them for clinging onto the ice.
Jack London also described how he was climbing using a simile to describe how he was climbing, “Fasting his ax across his shoulders so that it would not interfere with his movements, he clawed up the broken rock, hand and foot, like a cat.” Using the simile to describe Clay climbing up like a cat gives the reader an idea of his actions. Clay was struggling to climb up with his worn down shoes and didn't use his ax to help him climb u,p making it hard for him to climb without slipping and falling 20 feet down.
Pt. 2
ReplyDeleteOne of the figurative language Jack London uses is “While beating his hands against his sides he turned and looked down the long slippery slope, and figured, in case he slipped, that he would be flying with the speed of an express train.” While at each step of the way, he described that the depth was yearning for him to fall. Clay was high up and having the feeling that the mountain wanted him to fall, he described that if he would fall, he would be falling at the speed of an express train falling right into the icy bed or at the Yukon.
In the story the pine tree is a symbol for Clay and him climbing the mountain. The single pine tree symbolizes Clay’s triumph of wanting to go by himself and getting the pine tree. This could be interpreted with the symbol of climbing the mountain; however, it clearly is the symbol of the pine trees, because the pine tree shattered like how his confidence shattered when trying to get to the pine tree, Clay finding the patch of pine trees was like how he had changed throughout the story and had grown. The patch of pine trees represents how Clay has grown throughout the story. At first he was confident in his climbing skills, but at the end he was still confident, but he had changed. He had become desperate to get up the mountain, clawing at anything to get himself back up. The pine tree shattering represents of Clay was struggling he kepting going but everything was backfiring on him he kept almost dying but kept getting up and going forward up the mountain, in the end him keeping on going and not giving up benefited him with a grove of trees that were made into 50 cords of wood that sell at $40 a cord. Clay getting the 50 cords of wood builds the theme of never giving up is beneficial. Clay climbed up the mountain, fell thousands of times, and lay there but kept getting up in the end and got what he had wanted and more. This could be interpreted as creating the theme of friendship but clay only every thought of Swanson once because he missed his dinner with Swanson nothing else; however, it created the theme of never giving up is beneficial because Clay never gave up he could have went back down or just kept laying in the snow but he got back up and kept going up.
Pt.3
ReplyDeleteClay is the outgoing and confident character who is young and wants an adventure. Clay had just turned 17, the author describes him as young and having sharp eyes. having these sharp eyes, he spotted a single tree on top of the mountain. “For, coming up from the Siwash village the previous day, he had noticed a small dead pine in an out-of-the-way place, which had defied discovery by eyes less sharp than his.” Clay had known that no one else could have spotted that tree but him, making him very confident. It’s important to realize Clay is the youngest who has gone through the mountains and spotted a tree that was standing alone that no one else could have spotted.
Swanson is a character that is less outgoing when it comes to adventure. Another key point is he never mentions Swanson’s age but his actions tell that he is a little bit older than Clay, “So he told Swanson, who was cooking the dinner.” Swanson cooking gives the reader an idea that he is older and has seen things about the mountain. “Swanson said, that good, dry firewood could not be found so close to Dawson; that whatever firewood there was originally had long since been gathered in; that firewood would not be selling at forty dollars a cord if any man could go out and get a sled-load and be back in the time Clay expected to make it.” Another key point is Swanson is Clay's traveling partner but seems like a mother figure to Clay, waiting for him and cooking.
The theme of “Up the Slide” is you should never stop trying when it comes to survival. This is first seen when the author used Clay slipping while going up the mountain. Clay was going up the mountain for hours, he had grown careless and kept slipping, causing him to be in the nucleus of a new avalanche. Next, the theme was created when the author used Clay climbing up higher and higher. The slide was slippery and increased as he kept climbing, seeming like it was yearning for him to fall. Finally, the author used figurative language to create the theme. Readers saw this when Clay was climbing up, when he was getting frantic and started to claw at the mountain while going up using a cat to describe him. As a result, it is evident that the theme of “Up the Slide“ is never giving up is beneficial.