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Tragic Loss In Into Thin Air By Jon Krakauer

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In my life, I have yet to experience a tragic loss. I have never felt the agonizing feeling one gets when they lose an essential person in their life. I have people in my life that play that crucial role of bringing happiness, but none of them have I ever lost. Before reading Into Thin Air I could only imagine the journey of losing a loved one. Now, after reading the book and being able to create a connection with the characters, through Jon Krakauer’s writing style, I was able to truly experience some feeling of loss. Into Thin Air took me through the journey of creating and having an interpersonal relationship with someone, but then completely losing that person and how factors of life can make copping with that loss, even more difficult. …show more content…

On assignment for Outside Magazine to report the growing commercialization on the mountain, Krakauer, an accomplished climber, went to the Himalayas as a client of Rob Hall, the most respected high altitude guide on the mountain. The book details the author's expedition up Mount Everest on May 10, 1996, which turned catastrophic when eight climbers were killed on one day by a rogue storm. Krakauer examines what it is about Everest that has compelled so many people, including himself, to throw caution to the wind, ignore the concerns’ of loved ones, and willingly subject themselves to such risk, hardship, and expense. Krakauer, throughout the story shows the reader what it truly means to depend on someone else and to have others depending on you. Written with emotional clarity and supported by his unimpeachable reporting, Krakauers eyewitness account of what happened on the roof of the world is a singular …show more content…

Through imagery and extent explanation of the geography of the mountain and placement of climbers, the reader feels as if they are part of the expedition as well. The description Krakauer gives of the climber’s paths and the camps they stay at, the reader is able to picture the journey in a realistic mindset. Krakauer is constantly using imagery to give the reader a picture of the actual situations through the Khumba Icefall, Hillary Step and the camps, as Krakauer writes, “The ink-black wedge of the summit pyramid stood out in the stark relief, towering over the surrounding ridges. Thrust high into the jet stream, the mountain ripped a visible gash in the 120-knot hurricane, sending forth a plume of ice crystals that trailed the east like along silk scarf”(30). Krakauer continues to use figurative language as he continues to write, “The blowing spindrift felt like a sandblaster or something” (209). Using a simile, Krakauer is able to relate what he was feeling to something more familiar so the reader would be able to understand the feeling he is having. Through this writing style, Krakauer is able to engage the reader into the book further and further as the journey goes

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Jon Krakauer is looking to fulfill a childhood ambition by finally climbing Mount Everest. After being assigned to write a brief piece about the mountain for Outside magazine, Krakauer manages to convince his bosses to fund a full-fledged expedition to the top. Bold. Krakauer is climbing with Adventure Consultants, a commercial group led by experienced climber Rob Hall. The journalist befriends several members of his group, such as Andy Harris, a guide, and Doug Hansen, a fellow client and postal worker back home.

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As the team ascends to camp one they face there first route or area known as Icefall. It’s given this name due too a large glacier that moves everyday, it also forces the climbers to use dangerous roping techniques that cause them to ascend parts of Icefall independently and not roped to other climbers for support. Once at the top of camp one, Krakauer tries to help one of the sherpa move some equipment up quickly realizes that all physical labor is a heavy and difficult burden on the body. Krakauer later summits to camp two and finds that his body is even weaker the higher up he is. At camp three the winds are very high and temperatures are below zero at night.

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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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As we read about what unfolded at Everest on May 9 and 10, 1996, there was a tragic disaster that struck every mountaineer on the Earth, a storm that killed 12 climbers and left many more wounded. Today readers seeaw the argument between Jon Krakauer, the author of Into Thin Air, and Anatoli Boukreev, a Russian climber who co-wrote The Climb where they disagreed on events that occured during the disaster. These two books by two survivors of Everest saw and experienced different viewpoints of what transpired in the storm above Camp Four. When we look at who is more persuasive in their books and we tend to observe three key points: their knowledge and expertise in climbing, their character, and their goodwill. But the most credibility of what actually happened on Everest goes to Jon Krakauer who was more convincing in his arguments over Anatoli Boukreev.

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Processing grief is a highly personal and complex experience that can take many different forms, requiring patience, compassion, and support from oneself and others to navigate it. This theme of grief is shown through the book “Clap When You Land,” by Elizabeth Acevedo. Two different teenage girls, Camino and Yahaira come from very different backgrounds but must both deal with the death of their same father in a sudden plane crash. In “Clap When You Land,” author Elizabeth Acevedo portrays the theme of grief as a transformative process that challenges the characters’ identities and relationships, highlighting the complexities of mourning and the importance of communal support in healing. Grief is dealt with in many different ways as shown

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While being interviewed by Krakauer, McCandless’ friend Walt says, “‘We had our hearts in our mouths the whole time he was gone...but there was no way to stop him’”(118). The reader begins to sympathize for the loved ones of McCandless. The author makes the reader wonder if McCandless was being selfish for letting his friends and family worry about him. Rather than feeling compassionate for McCandless, the reader relates to the people that were affected by McCandless and his adventures. Krakauer’s persuasive strategies are very influential to the reader’s opinion on the

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No Summit Out of Sight is an amazing true story about an avid mountain climber who at a young age sets his sights on climbing all of the tallest mountains in the world. In the novel Jordan Romero tells his story, he takes us through what inspired him to take on such an incredible feat and eventually goes on to describe each climb. Before the age of fifteen he had climbed Kilimanjaro, Kosciuszko, Elbrus, Aconcagua, Denali, Carstensz Pyramid, Everest, and Vinson. Throughout the book there are specific themes, scenes, and characters that are important to note. The theme of determination; the character Jordan, and the scene when Jordan reaches the top of Mount Everest is are all crucial parts of the book.

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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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Imagine this, the climbers had finally made it to the top of the world after overcoming the many obstacles that stood in their way. They and many others would have believed that hiking through snowy blizzards and icy conditions would be difficult, but most would not expect to see broken tents, oxygen tanks, and dead bodies along the way. In the 2013 article, “Maxed Out on Everest”, experienced mountain climber and National Geographic sponsor, Mark Jenkins, faced this new reality when climbing Mt. Everest for the second time. Throughout the article, he recognized the ambition of the climbers and the Nepali government that oversaw the operations, as well as the challenges created by them, saying “it’s not simply about reaching the summit but also showing respect for the mountain and

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The title “Into Thin Air” is quite suitable for Jon Krakauer’s novel about his dangerous ascent and descent of Mount Everest because it is an iconic and well written quote in the book; it reminds the reader of the idiom “disappear into thin air”, and because of Everest’s extreme altitude. The title is suitable because of it is part of an iconic quote in the book. One of the guides, Groom, says to Krakauer, “Beck was so hopelessly blind that every ten meters he’d take a step into thin air and I’d have to catch him with rope” (Krakauer 214).   This quote alone represents the immediate danger everyone was in, the trust that the climbers had to put in one another, and the effects that the cold and altitude that they had to deal with.

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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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Jonathan Safran Foer’s Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close demonstrates how the motif of loss and closure significantly impacts people. The story focuses on a boy named Oskar Schell with Asperger’s Syndrome, who ventures around New York, searching for the lock his Father’s key opens in an attempt to comprehend death. The novel illustrates the personal, social, and global impacts that events related to demise can have through Oskar’s journey in dealing with the loss of his father and searching for closure. The loss of a loved one is an inevitable, life-altering experience composed of bereavement and various types of emotional and physical effects. Loss and closure are apparent in the September 11 attacks, through Dad’s death, Oskar’s constant

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Into Thin Air forces many people to question their moral choices and make difficult decisions that could either threaten or save that person’s life. Jon Krakauer shows many times throughout the book how he disagrees with certain people’s choices. In fact, one must wonder how Hutchison felt when he learned that Beck survived and wandered back into Camp Four the day after Hutchison left him behind and “in thin

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I have chosen Into Thin Air for my project because the main theme of this novel is Danger and Morality. I feel as there’s danger and morality in my city and around the world, with the natural events occurring. Into Thin Air is a great work of literature because of Krakauer’s use of imagery and symbolism to describe the situation of the mountain. Also, the plot is exciting, and it leaves the reader in shock on each page. The writer tells it as it is.

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The idea of loss can scare most people. Whether we lose our phones, our minds, or loved ones, we can all relate to a certain idea of loss that can appear frightening for most. When loss becomes something almost normal for the world, most people find something to hold onto for those last few moments before it finally disappears. For author Alexandra Kleeman, even though her character becomes accustomed to the Earth disappearing around her, she still chooses to hold onto the idea of her lover for as long as she can before they both vanish with the rest of the world. In the short story, “You.

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