Comparing Everest And The Devil's Thumb By Jon Krakauer

Comparison and Contrast Essay of “Everest” and “The Devil’s Thumb” Mount Everest, the tallest mountain in the world, has had approximately four-thousand people go through freezing temperatures, breathe thin oxygen, and risk a painful death in an attempt to ascend to its uppermost point at 29,029 feet. Erik Weihenmayer was one of the six-hundred sixty people who has successfully done so and was the first blind person to do so. John Krakauer is another one of the six hundred sixty. Krakauer also pioneered a new route for a notorious mountain in Southeast Alaska called The Devil’s Thumb. These men have both written descriptive, intense, and genuine memoirs about their experiences. “The Devil’s Thumb” by John Krakauer and “Everest”

Erik Weihenmayer has been blind since his teenage years, but he doesn’t let that stop him from climbing Mount Everest. Being the first blind man to climb the massive mountain, he has become sort of a luminary. He wants people to learn that one can overcome any obstacle to fulfill their dream, to always have a positive outlook, and accomplishing a dream can require help. He also didn’t want to set the precedent that climbing Mount Everest is easy. His outlook or perspective on climbing the tallest mountain in the world was pretty positive for someone who couldn’t see what he was doing. He always looked on the bright side. For example, “…brief moments when the eyes are exposed to the elements, corneas will freeze, and the intense rays of the sun… not once did I worry about these complications.” Wenenmayer focuses a lot on his other team members and what they do to help accomplish the goal of getting to the

The tone of “The Devil’s Thumb” is also less than positive. At the exposition of the story, Krakauer is hopeful that he will be able to climb the mountain and the experience will change his life. The mood at the beginning is full of determination and he is focused on getting to the top of the mountain. However, as he continues to scale the mountain, the tone turns to anxiousness and frustrations as he faces many hardships. After he reaches the top, Krakauer says “the climb is over. The only place to go is down.” There is no feeling of triumph, happiness, or excitement. The story takes on a feeling of disappointment. When he reaches the bottom of the mountain he just defeated, the tone turns melancholy and has a tinge of regretfulness. Krakauer “embarked on an orgy of self-pity.” He realizes at the end that he went through a difficult hardships and it didn't change his life. He wants the readers to leave with message to limit dreams because of the fact that they aren't always what they seem to