Throughout the book of Touching the Void we respond to Joe in many different ways.
The first way we respond to Joe is that we sympathise for him. We sympathise for him because he has broken his leg and there is a probability that he might not make it back to base. This is shown through the language used by Simon in the quotation “You’re fucked matey.” The use of the word “fucked” shows that Simon feels there is nothing he can do for Joe and he might have to leave him there. This creates a strong possibility of Joe dying. Therefore because Joe is in a situation where there is a possibility of death we start to sympathise for him and hope he is OK.
React!