Overview: Into Thin Air By Jon Krakauer

The top of Mount Everest. Seen by many as an outstanding achievement of human perseverance, courage, and strength. However, the reality of reaching the 29,032 foot summit is a much harsher and less rewarding experience in the grand scheme of a person's lifetime. Nowhere is this made clearer than in the novel “Into Thin Air” written by journalist Jon Krakauer. He argues that his story and others should be told in the most thorough and accurate manner as to showcase the very real and dehumanizing reality that climbing this gargantuan mountain entails. He does this by giving a grounded recounting of the disastrous expedition that occurred in 1996 that he was a part of in all of its explicit detail. One aspect of his writing that is very poignant

One of the most impactful quotes used in the novel is taken from John Menlove Edwards from “Letter from a Man”. It is used at the very beginning of chapter three and it refers to the ambition of men exploring Neptune and states, “You wouldn’t believe it, I said, life or death, use or no use, these people had got the habit, and they now spent their spare time and all their energies in chasing the clouds of their own glory up and down all the steepest faces in the district” (Krakauer pg.33). In this case, Neptune is a clear allegory for Mount Everest as it pulls the ambitious to its perilous climb. No matter the danger or loss of life, these people would use all of their effort and energy on reaching this goal, leading us to question alongside the author if the climb was truly worth it as we are given this insight as soon as he starts the process of the climb. This as well as the many other quotes from other climbers given throughout the entirety of Krakauer’s recounting of his expedition are used as an excellent point of contention to the status quo of glorifying the mountain and instead allow us to view it from a critical

Throughout the book, Krakauer frequently uses this to convey complex topics about mountain climbing to the reader in a quick fashion in order to keep their understanding of the events that may not seem obvious at first. However, he flips the intentional use of this syntax on its head in order to convey the long lasting effect that his expedition has had on him since returning home. He writes, “Not even in sleep is the respite: imagery from the climb and its aftermath continues to permeate my dreams” (pg.296). In this instance, he isn’t using the colon to introduce a complex topic or explain a term used by the mountain climbers that have previously reached the clouds. Instead, he uses it to convey the mental toll that his previous pain has taken on his own well-being as he’s left to dwell on the traumatic events that have left a permanent scar on his mind. This allows the reader to dwell too on the events they have just experienced through his writing to question if the accomplishment of reaching the clouds was truly worth