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Into Thin Air Analysis

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Into Thin Air, written by Jon Krakauer, details the author’s expedition to Mt. Everest along with his teammates and many fellow climbers, in 1996. Through straightforward and in-depth details described by Krakauer, readers are able to imagine what it’s like being on Mt. Everest, which is further enhanced by Krakauer through his selection of details. Krakauer also uses diction and syntax to emphasize the major theme of the book, which is teamwork. As for Krakauer, he also lets out parts of himself that reveal who he is and what kind of person he is like in real life, a kind and hardworking person. In mountaineering, more than once, one needs to be able to entrust their teammates or guides, which means it is crucial that he is a team player. …show more content…

The text states: “By the time I was in my early twenties climbing had become the focus of my existence to the exclusion of almost everything else” (Pg. 23). From this, it is clear that climbing has always been a part of Krakauer’s life, which is an obvious driving factor for Krakauer’s expedition to the highest mountain on Earth. Besides being brave and determined, Krakauer is also compassionate, as proven when he says: “I wanted him to reach the summit almost as badly as I wanted to reach it myself” (Pg. 130). At this time, Doug is retreating back to his tent as he has frozen his larynx after inhaling snow-filled air, and Krakauer feels bad for him since they have bonded. Near the end of the book, after the disaster, Krakauer suffers through survivor’s guilt, even though he isn’t at fault. He blames himself for not being able to help his friends more, especially with Andy Harris’ death, made evident by the quote: “My actions-or failure to act-played a direct role in the death of Andy Harris” (Pg. 283). The disaster has forever changed Krakauer, as stated by Krakauer more than once with the quotes “But such moments were tempered by the long penumbra cast by Everest, which seemed to recede little with the passage of time” (Pg. 282) and “The stain this has left on my psyche is not the sort of thing that washes of after a few months of grief and guilt-ridden self-reproach” (Pg.

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