The Epilogue Of Into Thin Air By Jon Krakauer

The famous novel Into Thin Air narrates the true story of the Mount Everest disaster in 1996. Jon Krakauer, the author of Into Thin Air and a member of the expedition, describes his experience during the climb. Eight people died on the climb, including the expedition guides. Throughout the chapters, readers visual the harsh reality of what the climbers had to live through. Krakauer seals his novel with a powerful epilogue, written six months since, describing the aftermath of the expedition. Krakauer’s purpose in writing the epilogue was to express how traumatic the expedition was, the criticism he received, and so readers can learn from his mistakes. It is very evident in his epilogue that Krakauer wants everyone to learn from his experience to choose their risks wisely and know the consequences.

Six months since the tragedy, most climbers have moved past the grieving. On the contrary, Krakauer states, “Perhaps after more time has passed I, too, will be able to recognize some greater good that’s resulted from so much suffering, but right now I can’t” (296). Although Krakauer was considered one of the “lucky ones” as he did not suffer severe injuries, he still felt survivor’s guilt. Witnessing so many hardships tampered his mind. In addition, he states, “...no more than two or three hours have gone by in which Everest hasn’t monopolized my thought” (296). Krakauer replays the events in his mind and dwells on “what ifs.” Although he was not physically affected, he is very much so mentally. The descriptions of his mental state after the Everest tragedy illustrate to readers how traumatic the expedition was. Also to explain to readers how this one event negatively affected the rest of his