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Personal Experiences And Obstacles In Into Thin Air By Jon Krakauer

598 Words3 Pages

There are many challenges and obstacles that we face, both mentally and physically in life. After reading, “Into Thin Air,” written by Jon Krakauer, he shares his, along with others experiences of climbing Mount Everest. During this journey, climbers had to mentally and physically prepare themselves for any obstacles that headed their way. Krakauer, in particular, had prior climbing experience, but wasn’t as experience in higher altitudes such as Everest. Unfortunately, some climbers didn’t make it out alive. Meanwhile, many were left stranded and injured. After reading the book, I believe natural causes were apart the main source and the reason why many died, so I wouldn’t necessarily say there was a particular person that was held responsible, …show more content…

Some were in their control, meanwhile others were not, the weather for instance being an example of that. When planning to hike Mount Everest, many had prepared themselves ahead of time, meanwhile others not so much. In chapter 7, Krakauer explains the importance of having climbing experience in order to take on a mountain, such as Everest. During the hike, the climbers faced unexpected storms, that even some died from. He also mentions how climbing Everest was a dream to many, however some climbers let that in the way of the reality and didn’t realize the amount of difficulties they would face early on. He explains this saying, “Unfortunately, the sort of individual who is programmed to ignore personal distress and keep pushing for the top is frequently programmed to disregard signs of grave and imminent danger as well.This forms the nub of a dilemma that every Everest climber eventually comes up against: in order to succeed you must be exceedingly driven, but if you're too driven you're likely to die," (krakauer 177). In this quote, it reveals the dilemma many climbers as well as Krakauer faced. Whether to follow your heart or your head can end with you either succeeding or failing. Unfortunately, this was reason why many had died. They were too focused on it being a dream of theirs that they allowed it to have control over them, rather than having control of

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Into Thin Air Novelist, Jon Krakauer, author of Into Thin Air, recounts the catastrophe that happened on Mount Everest, at the top of the world. There are many factors that led to the final conclusion of the tragedy on May 10, 1996. It’s impossible to know how different courses of action could have changed the outcome of those desperate hours, but there were things done that made the rescue more problematic. Rob Hall’s actions directly affected the success of the climbing expedition. Rob Hall was the head guide of Adventure Consultants, the climbing group that Jon Krakauer was assigned to.

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In the long run, Krakauer concludes that complete arrogance is in part to blame for the tragedy that takes place on Everest. Hall "bragged on more than one occasion that he could get almost any reasonably fit person to the summit. " Their arrogance also caused their clients to lower their guard and not fully appreciate the risks of the expedition. Overall, Krakauer taught many different themes within the novel that everyone should

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, it is important to note that the characters portrayed in this book are real people. The unique conditions and the weather of the setting forced the climbers to make choices that they could not have made in a different situation. The tough choices made by the climbers and the setting influenced the result of the story. Krakauer’s tone for the most part is respectful toward the guides and climbers, and he narrates as objectively as possible, while including his own concerns and doubts. His tone in the beginning expresses excitement and nervousness, but later turns into

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Mountain climbing is a very tough activity that includes years of training before someone is ready to complete an exhilarating climb. Looking around the world, there are many amazing places to climb. Although two of the most difficult and intense climbs include the Devil’s Thumb in Alaska and Mount Everest, the tallest mountain on earth. “Everest,” by Erik Weihenmayer and “The Devils Thumb,” by Jon Krakauer have some similarities and some differences in terms of the author’s perspective, organization structure, and tone and word choice. As the two authors wrote, they showed their struggles and feats of every situation through words.

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From Krakauer’s letter to the reader, we have a basic understanding of his immense personal grief as the result of a tragedy on Mount Everest and the reason for writing the book. Then instead of jumping right into the narrative from the very beginning, Krakauer starts in the middle– the time and day when he reached the peak of Mount Everest and returned, and how eight others couldn’t do the same. This interlude first shocked me but also prepared me for what was to come. Most are unaware of what occurs at Mount Everest but this book awakens those who are oblivious, including myself. The book was incredibly informative, starting right from the beginning when the author gives the complete history of those attempting to reach the top of the world.

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[his] sights” (152). In his crestfallen tone of “lower”, the narrator illuminates a churning sea of internal conflict: the pull between realism and his dreams for the expedition. That same pull forced Krakauer to face his failure and concede his loss to not disappoint himself further. Similarly, the narrator crafts a feeling of situational irony for his audience, since they know he always expected the best from himself but did not succeed at meeting his expectations. In creating unattainable goals, he

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For centuries humankind has been drawn to nature. Ancient civilizations saw nature as divine, the Greek and Roman gods all reflect some aspect of the natural world. Even today, people leave civilization to live in nature. Chris McCandless’s journey, leaving civilization behind, contained within the book Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer, reflects this. There are countless television shows, books, songs, poems and art that reflect Earth’s natural appeal.

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In 1996, 29,029 feet above sea level, a expedition to climb Earth's largest mountain went horribly wrong. In the autobiography, Into Thin Air, eight climbers lost their lives trying to descend from the top of the world making this the second worse fatality rate ever to occur on Mount Everest. To be able to successively climb Mount Everest, clients must be intellectually competent, which is one of the pillars of the Grad at Grad. Being Intellectually Competent means that students go above and beyond the expectation both academically and in every day experiences, while taking the knowledge students learn in class and present it into the community. Jon Krakauer, the author, shows in his expedition multiple cases of him growing to be Intellectually

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While learning of the conditions of the climbers, the reader is given a better picture of what the reality was of climbing Everest. As the climbers scale the mountain, it demands more and more physical endurance. The climbers feel themselves deteriorating, even breathing is difficult. “[At Camp Three] Brain cells were dying. Our blood was growing dangerously thick and sludgelike.

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Krakauer explains how following the discovery of Everest as the highest mountain in the world, the journey to the top would take the lives of 24 men, the efforts of 15 expeditions and the passage of 101 years before someone would finally reach the summit. This demonstrates how all though the expedition to the top was not easy, and would require the lives of many men, people would not stop trying because that is human nature. Not all people climb Mt. Everest in their lifetime, but most people, if not all, work hard to achieve something or be successful. Whether that success may be in their professional life, their personal life, or anything else, Mt. Everest can symbolize all of it. It symbolizes a journey to success and relates to the theme of humans natural drive and passion to pursue what they want.

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For as long as anyone can remember, people have dreamed of reaching the summit of Mt. Everest. During May of 1996, an expedition set out to Nepal to attempt a climb up Mt. Everest. By the end of this expedition to the top of Everest, many climbers lost their lives due to the brutal weather. In Jon Krakauer’s novel Into Thin Air, he takes readers through the story of the expedition, and he talks about the climbers who died. Among the list of the dead was a man named Doug Hansen.

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Every choice made determines your future. Just like in the story “Into Thin Air”, Krakauer states, “but now that I was finally here, standing on the summit of Mount Everest, I just couldn’t summon the energy to care” (Krakauer 218). Krakauer made his choice to climb Mount Everest and he did. He went through several struggles climbing that mountain to reach the top for the very first time in his life. Clearly, everybody including me has struggled to become an active and successful member of society.

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Into Thin Air Essay The book Into Thin Air, written by Jon Krakauer, explores the struggle of man versus man and man versus nature. The very different personalities proved costly to everyone involved on the expedition. The team of climbers that were hiking toward the summit of Mt. Everest on May 10, 1996, was oblivious to what lay ahead of them. No matter how advanced the hikers were, Everest on this day would test the will and endurance of everyone attempting to reach the summit. The one element that no one person could elude was pain.

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And in subjecting ourselves to week after week of toil, tedium, and suffering, it struck me that most of us were probably seeking, above all else, something like a state of grace." ( Krakauer 136) This quote shows that reaching the top of Mount Everest is a goal or achievement for many of the climbers despite the fact that this experience is also painful and dreadful. Not only is the experience not enjoyable, but also the outcome of achieving the mountain isn’t clear. In this instance, it was seen as “state of grace”, or maybe free of

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Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world. Knowing that any person in the world can climb Mount Everest is amazing. In the novel Into Thin Air written by Jon Krakauer, climbers climb to the highest point of the world. Some everyday people like Jon Krakauer, who is an author hired to write an article about Mount Everest for an adventure magazine and Doug Hansen who is a postal worker climbing Mount Everest for the second time.

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