Unquestionably everyone has their own dream. Whether the dream is being rich, famous, or good-looking, everyone has one. Although the dream may seem impossible, it can still become a reality. John Krakauer, author of the memoir “The Devil’s Thumb”, and Erik Weihenmayer, author of the memoir “Everest”, made their dreams a reality when they climbed two of the most known mountains today. Making a similar journey, the two authors told of their variety of experiences and hardships while climbing the mountains. Ever since John Krakauer was little, he was always interested in climbing or hiking. His parents had passed the love of these activities down to him when he was young. They even gave him a book about climbing. This book contained a photograph …show more content…
He was born blind. This was a huge disadvantage for him when climbing the mountain because he did not know the surroundings, altitude, or weather. Despite his disability, Erik was determined to make it up the mountain. Since Erik was blind he needed a team to help him up the mountain. He assembled a team of climbers that would help him accomplish his goal. Even though some of them turned back, they eventually drove Erik up the mountain. In spite of his incredible achievement, critics still found a way to make a positive situation negative. Some made comments such as, “Now that a blind guy climbed it, everyone is going to want to climb it. They're going to think it’s easy. Someone will probably get hurt.” Erik paid no attention to these comments. Just like his disability, Erik did not let those comments get him …show more content…
He tells the reader that he quits his job, gets on the interstate, and heads for Alaska. John also tells about the people who helped him get to the mountain. While John is writing about his journey up the mountain, he also uses some flashbacks in his story. He includes these flashbacks to let the reader know how he became interested in climbing as well as The Devil’s Thumb. John also includes the multiple times he comes close to turning back down the mountain. Unlike John Krakauer, Erik Weihenmayer begins to tell his story when he is already at the base of the mountain. He also tells the reader the exact time, date, and weather when he started his ascent. Erik includes the way he was able to get up the mountain which was by someone smacking their axe against the stone so he could know where to follow. Although Erik and John were not climbing the same mountain, they both describe how difficult it was making it to the summit. Struggling to keep going, they both eventually reached the peek of their
Chapter 7: In chapter 7 Krakauer talks about how Everest has changed from a professionals trek to anyone's trek. He explains that many inexperienced people have climbed Mount Everest with the help of sherpas and guides. He also mentions about the determination of Everest and how in some instances in history people who weren't allowed into Tibet or Nepal but they snuck in and managed to climb and summit Everest
In the memoir Within Reach: My Everest Story by Mark Pfetzer and Jack Galvin, the author Mark Pfetzer is faced with an extremely amazing yet scary challenge of climbing Mount Everest. Each event is the story has something to do with the nature that is around them at that moment but Pfetzer shows the readers that nature can be a way of life.
The novel “Into the Wild” by Jon Krakauer goes into great detail to describe the main character, Chris McCandless, who died traveling alone into the Alaskan wilderness. McCandless, whom in the novel renamed himself Alex, left his home and family to travel to Alaska in 1992. In Alaska McCandless planned to live an isolated life in the desolate wilderness, but unfortunately he did not survive. This non-fiction novel portrays his life leading up to his departure and it captures the true essence of what it means to be “in the wild”.
At the end of “Into the Wild” by John Krakauer epilogue, my view towards McCandless’s journey and death is emotionally similar to McCandless’s parents as they accept Chris’s death. Chris’s parents weren’t really involved in his life so they never really knew why he cut everyone off. My initial guess is that Chris got tired of his parents controlling his life and just wanted to get away. Throughout “Into The Wild” Chris’s parents seemed like they didn’t support or care about Chris, or they didn’t know how to show it, however my opinion about Chris’s parents did change because the author shined light on his parents and how they came to senses with their son’s death and that they actually really did care about their son Chris McCandless.
The tone is set in this chapter as Krakauer uses words to create an atmosphere of worry, fear, and happiness in McCandless’s mind. “The bush is an unforgiving place, however, that cares nothing for hope or longing”(4). McCandless is on the path of death, which creates worry and fear for the young boy. “He was determined. Real gung ho. The word that comes to mind is excited,” (6). Alex is very excited and care free, which Krakauer used to his advantage in making the tone of Alex’s mind happy. The author creates tones to make the reader feel the moment as if the readers were sitting there themselves. Krakauer uses dialogue and setting to create the mixed tones of this chapter. As one can see from the quotes and scenery the author uses tones that are blunt and are to the point to make the reader feel as though the emotions are their own. Krakauer uses plenty of figurative language in this chapter. He uses figurative language to support his ideas,to express the surroundings, and tone around the character. To start the chapter he uses a simile describing the landscape of the area, “…sprawls across the flats like a rumpled blanket on an unmade bed,” (9). This statement is used to make reader sense the area and set the mood for the chapter. The use of figurative language in this chapter is to make a visual representation in the readers mind. “It’s satellites surrender to the low Kantishna plain” (9).
. On March 1996, Outside magazine hired journalist and seasoned climber Jon Krakauer to write an about the commercialism on Mount Everest. Krakauer decides he would climb the mountain and get a firsthand experience, he set out on an expedition led by celebrated Everest guide Rob Hall. Despite the expertise of Hall and the other leaders, by the end of summit day eight people were dead. This proves that this is not an easy expedition, it is one that people risk their lives to do. With a lot of hard work and dedication Jon Krakauer successfully finished the climb and decided he wanted to write more than the article that he was assigned to. This is where Into Thin Air became. It is a book telling the story of the ill-fated adventure and a breakdown of the factors leading up to its tragic end. Written within months of the various events that occurred. As the journey up the mountain progresses, Krakauer puts it in context by recalling the triumphs and perils of other Everest trips throughout history. The author's own anguish over what happened on the mountain is intense and also points out how extremely sorry he was for the ones that los...
While Peak and his group are climbing a steep icewall, one of the climber’s ice axe broke. Peak decides to climb down and help the fellow climber. This act could have killed Peak, yet he would risk his own life for a friend. “Got him! I shouted down to Zopa”(202). This quote reveals that Peak saved his fellow climbers life. Also, when Peak is less than 10 feet away from the summit of Everest he lets Sun-Jo reach the top. Even though Sun-Jo was having issues up the whole mountain and Peak saved his life. Peak and Sun-Jo are both 14. They both would be the youngest to make it to the Summit of Everest. Sun-Jo is poor and all Sun-Jo wants to do is go to school. Peak lets Sun-Jo reach the summit and get all the money and fame. “I don’t have a reason for being here. I’m heading back down the north side”(230). This quote shows Peak is letting Sun-Jo to the summit, and Peak just climbs down the mountain, not even reaching the summit after Sun-Jo. Too often in life, criminals do not change to kind people but, Peak’s actions show readers that 1 little thing can fix up someone's
Classic literature juxtaposes two ways of life that illustrate the poles of true happiness: a life of adventure, exemplified by Odysseus (The Odyssey), and the life at home, which poets and farmers represent. In The Iliad, Achilleus chooses to live a short, glorious life, even though he could have chosen to live a long life in anonymity. Arguments have been put forth that the life of adventure is a living hell, as Achilleus testifies from Hades after his death - in hindsight, he would have settled for the life of a slave and given up his glory, if only he could have lived longer. Alternately, the life of the (metaphorical) farmer has been despised as simple and ordinary, when true immortality is only attained with great accomplishments, such as sacking Troy or surviving heroic adventures which are then recorded. In a modern day autobiography of the 1996 ascent of Mt. Everest (Sagarmatha to the Nepalis, or “goddess of the sky”), Jon Krakauer reveals the human motivation behind adventure and tells the story of the men and women who lived and died on the expeditions to the summit during that spring (Into Thin Air). With epic literature and a recent epic, I will illuminate the values of a reflective life as well as the life of adventure, and delve into the necessary components of the ‘good life.’
The novel "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer, he writes about an experience that changes his life when Outside magazine asks him to write an article about the commercialism of Mount Everest, he knew from that moment that he needed to climb the mountain. But of course his expedition does not go as expected. On May 10th Krakauer reaches the summit after a extremely stressful and treacherous trek up, but only to have to scale down the mountain with his team in one of the most dangerous seasons in the history of Everest. Many things went wrong when they came down the mountain and throughout this book, Jon attempts to evaluate what exactly happened and how things went wrong. He researches and figures out every person actions on that mountain. He has speculations about the failures of the expedition, and blames the catastrophe due to a series of little
While describing his climb, Krakauer exhibits his ambivalent feelings towards his voyage through the descriptions of a fearsome yet marvelous landscape, fragility versus confidence, and uncertainty about personal relationships.
This book Into The Wild is about how a young man wants to get away from the world. He does escape from society, but ends up dying in the process. The author, Jon Krakauer, does a great job of describing Chris McCandless and his faults. Chris is an intelligent college graduate. He went on a two-year road trip and ended up in Alaska. He didn't have any contact with his parents in all of that time. Krakauer does a great job of interviewing everyone who had anything to do with McCandless from his parents, when he grew up, to the people who found his body in Alaska.
Into the Wild, written by Jon Krakauer, is the story of a young man named Christopher Johnson McCandless who ventured off to Alaska and tried to survive in the wild. McCandless grew up in Annandale, Virginia where he attended school and made very good grades, rarely bringing home anything below an A. His father, Walt worked for NASA for a little while, before starting his own business with Chris’s mother, Billie, out of their own home. They worked hard and for long hours to get the business up and running and it finally paid off. The McCandless family was wealthy, but had many emotional problems. After graduating from Emory University in 1990, Chris McCandless donated twenty-four thousand dollars from his savings account to charity, changed his name to Alexander Supertramp, and then disappeared. This book tells the story of his life and travels. Some critics say that Chris McCandless was a very admirable person. He was a brave man that followed his dreams. However, given all of his flaws, attitudes, and actions, he is un-admirable. McCandless walked into the wild very unprepared and stubborn. He also treated his family poorly as well as anyone who got emotionally close to him. Chris was additionally too impressionable in a way that he admired authors along with the books they wrote, and tried to imitate them. He was very rebellious in his actions as well, and did not try to change the world or help others.
Everest is an unbelievable mountain that has taken the lives of a number of the greatest climbers in history. It was my job to ensure that clients make it up that treacherous mountain safely. My name is Rob Hall. I was the main guide and cofounder of a climbing company called Adventure Consultants. My friend, Gary Ball, and I used to be professional climbers. Together we succeeded in climbing to the highest summit on each of the seven continents in seven months. This was our greatest achievement. After this, we decided to start our own company guiding clients up large mountains. In May 1992, we successfully led six clients to the summit of Everest. Unfortunately, Gary died of cerebral edema in October 1993 during an attempt on the world’s sixth-tallest mountain. He died in my arms and the next day I buried him in a crevasse. Despite the pain that his death had caused me, I continued guiding for our company and eventually led thirty-nine climbers to the summit of Everest.
"When a trout rising to a fly gets hooked on a line and finds himself unable to swim about freely, he begins with a fight which results in struggles and splashes and sometimes an escape. Often, of course, the situation is too tough for him."
An Eye for an Eye was written by Stephen Nathanson. Mr. Nathanson, like many, is against the death penalty. Mr. Nathanson believes that the death penalty sends the wrong messages. He says that by enforcing the death penalty we “reinforce the conviction that only defensive violence is justifiable.” He also states that we must, “express our respect for the dignity of all human beings, even those guilty of murder.”