Into Thin Air Summer Reading Assignments Into Thin Air mainly takes place on Mount Everest during the spring of 1996. In the first few chapters, Krakauer describes the scenery as lush and beautiful. However, as the plot progresses, the landscape changes to the barren and freezing mountain. This change in setting is reflective of how the overall mood of the book evolves into a scary and tense drama. Morals are a constant force that do not change. If so called morals vary, they aren’t really morals. While it may be more understandable in a certain situation why someone doesn’t follow their morals, it doesn’t make it right. For example, if a friend asks for an opinion on their outfit, and someone lies to them to spare their opinion, it’s still lying, and therefore it’s immoral. The circumstances shouldn’t change people’s morals, and if they do, it’s a testament to the weakness of the beliefs held by the person themselves, not the situation. Humans have an undeniable arrogance that causes many to believe that they can conquer and tame nature. Driven by this sense of superiority, people become overconfident and make bad decisions. In and of itself, the idea of climbing mountains is a dangerous one. Just ask the hundreds of people who have died on Everest. It’s the human ego that pushes people to risk their lives to climb mountains. …show more content…
In the hours before and after summiting, a series of seemingly random events decided each climber’s fate. Some of these incidents seem to be close to miracles: some climbers turning back earlier than the rest because of a “gut feeling,” Weathers’ shocking survival. For as many lifesaving coincidences happened, there were just as many dooming events. From people ignoring the turnback time to the unpredicted storm, a combination of human and natural errors were the deciding factors in ending some climbers’ lives. As with many tragedies, it's impossible to identify just one
Here, it is highly recommended to to use supplemental oxygen at this altitude, because the less oxygen you have, the more your brain cells die off. This means that you do not think as well and you cannot perform your best, which could mean life or death in this situation. The climax of the novel is when the team reaches their goal of making their way to the summit on May 10, 1996. The guide, Rob Hall, told the team before the climb that they had to be at the summit no later than two o’clock, and if you are not there by then, they must turn back. Around two o’clock, a massive storm begins to close in. The team must make it down to the lower camos soon or else it will be almost impossible for any of them to get back alive. Some of the climbers have not made it to to summit yet and go against Rob Hall’s judgement, and go the rest of the way themselves. Unfortunately, Jon Krakauer , Rob Hall, and all the other climbers get caught up in the storm. Jon Krakauer by a miracle gets down to the lower level camps and he has been out of supplemental oxygen for a while now. He stumbles upon one of the climbers of his team. His name is Beck Weathers. Beck eventually gets to a camp and they finally get him to the doctors at the Base Camp. When he gets to the doctors, the doctors say that he has the worst frostbite that they have ever seen.
“A trans-like state settles over your efforts, the climb becomes a clear eyed dream.” Stated Krakauer in The Devils Thumb. Mountain climbing has become a popular interest for thrill-seekers in modern times. It is an immensely challenging activity, involving strength, determination, and the proper mindset. There are many accounts of mountain climbers heroically reaching the summit of mountains, but none more striking than that of Everest and The Devils Thumb. These are gut wrenching, first hand accounts of some of the greatest feats performed in mountain climbing history, although they are each different in their own way. Krakauer was climbing to find himself amongst the frozen rocks and chest deep snow, and Weihnmayer climbed to push his limits, and to accomplish what many thought to be the impossible.
Mount Everest is 29,092 feet tall. Imagine climbing this mountain with little to no experience. Would you survive? In the nonfiction novel Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer, Krakauer and his recruited crews try climbing this mountain. With many deaths along the way to the top, readers are quick to blame characters in the book. However, character stands out from the rest: Krakauer. In the book Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer, Krakauer is the most responsible for the other character’s deaths because he recruited and dragged along inexperienced mountain climbers, pushed them harder than they should’ve been pushed, and watched them suffer.
Written by Jon Krakauer, “Into Thin Air” tells the story of a Mt. Everest expedition. Doug Hansen, Yasuko Namba, Rob Hall, Mike Groom, and Beck Weathers were on a mission to reach the summit of Mount Everest; the highest point on Earth. Doug Hansen and Rob Hall passed away early in the journey, when Rob valiantly attempts to save his partner, Hansen. When the group split up, Groom got word that Weathers and Namba were in need of help. Groom left Beck and Yasuko for dead. Weathers and Namba stuck together, but only Weathers survived.
Into Thin Air tells the story of the tragedy where in 1996, several climbers died on the slopes of Mt. Everest. This was all witnessed by Jon Krakauer, a journalist and one of the climbers who reached the summit that year. Krakauer and the team he climbs with becomes separated through a series of accidents and a change in weather resulting in five teammates dead. Scott Fischer leads an expedition as well, and in that expedition he also loses climbers on the storm, including himself. Krakauer narrates the affairs of the expeditions and attempts to explain how the climbers could have been caught on the mountain when they could have turned and remained safe. He also communicates how he played a role in the events.
In order to continue climbing Everest, many aspects of climbing need to be improved before more people endanger their lives to try and reach the roof of the world. The guides have some areas that need the most reform. During the ascension of Everest the guides made a plethora mistakes that seemed insignificant but only aided in disaster. The guides first mistake is allowing “any bloody idiot [with enough determination] up” Everest (Krakauer 153). By allowing “any bloody idiot” with no climbing experience to try and climb the most challenging mountain in the world, the guides are almost inviting trouble. Having inexperienced climbers decreases the trust a climbing team has in one another, causing an individual approach to climbing the mountain and more reliance on the guides. While this approach appears fine, this fault is seen in addition to another in Scott Fischer’s expedition Mountain Madness. Due to the carefree manner in which the expedition was run, “clients [moved] up and down the mountain independently during the acclimation period, [Fischer] had to make a number of hurried, unplanned excursions between Base Camp and the upper camps when several clients experienced problems and needed to be escorted down,” (154). Two problems present in the Mountain Madness expedition were seen before the summit push: the allowance of inexperienced climbers and an unplanned climbing regime. A third problem that aided disaster was the difference in opinion in regards to the responsibilities of a guide on Everest. One guide “went down alone many hours ahead of the clients” and went “without supplemental oxygen” (318). These three major issues: allowing anyone up the mountain, not having a plan to climb Everest and differences in opinion. All contributed to the disaster on Everest in
In the book “Into thin air” by Jon Krakauer, Krakauer sought to report and write about his climb up mount everest. He knew it wouldn't be easy, but he did not and could not have predicted the barriers and conflicts that were inflicted upon him, by the mountain and it’s atmosphere. Due to these barriers and conflicts, it would be naive to say that the main conflict wasn’t man vs nature. Nevertheless, Krakauer had the worst experience of his life, climbing and fighting against the physical and mental effects of Mount Everest.
Many people think that nature can be tamed. For example, most people think a mountain is a force to conquer. Reaching the top is like a victory over the mountain. No one can consider every element of nature. But Nature shows its dominance in the face of human error and arrogance. In the Book Into thin air many of the characters display pride and arrogance in their abilities to tame nature and climb Mt. Everest.
What if you die because help was not able to get you in time or reach you. “There have been over 230 deaths on the mountain… and about 200 bodies are still probably here.” (Moreau 2-3). Any sensible person would shout for help or try to get help right? So if help was requested chances are that many of the 230 deaths on everest was a rescue mission gone wrong. People can be the most experienced or most strong, intelligent people, but when they need help, they can jeopardize themselves in their desperation and make choices that can lead to their death. What if they slip into a crevasse and just as help is about to pluck them out of danger, the ice breaks, sending them to their icy demise. Sometimes even the slightest things can make someone
Vulnerability impacts any individual throughout each new and interactive experience. To become vulnerable is to open up to the consequences of frantic outcomes. Individuals will lead to vulnerability to cope with a trauma that has created a solemn change to a lifestyle. Jon Krakauer explains how the trauma of Mt. Everest changed his outlooks on reality, through different coping mechanisms. Krakauer uses his writing in his book, Into Thin Air, to cope with the guilt of surviving the terror that occurred upon Mt. Everest, as well as to understand what actions caused each outcome. Within an excerpt from Into Thin Air, Jon Krakauer is reflective towards his audience of how vulnerability shaped the experiences upon Mt. Everest to cope with the
Jon Krakauer’s Into Thin Air is an autobiographical book that does more than tell a story; it voices out the true definition of pain, strife, and hopelessness, exemplifying the all known rule of survival of the fittest.
Resilience is another crucial and pivotal trait that a mountain climber must have to become successful. In “What is Mountain Climbing?” by Stewart Green, a professional mountain climber tells that, “Risk life and limb to thin air, frostbite, bone-chilling cold, hypothermia, avalanche and high wind to reach the summit”(Green 4). This shows that without resilience you can never or hardly reach the summit. If the mountain climber gets fearful and turns back just because of some of these symptoms then you will not see success so easily and comfortably. Thus, resilience can be hard to face and fight but is vital and imperative to be successful from the dangers that are loitering in the mountains.
Hi Mrs. Millican I just wanted to inquire you about my grade for the Into Thin Air essay. I apologize if i seemed really confused and didn't clearly comprehend when you explained why i received the amount of points I did. I just felt I put a lot of hard work into my paper and missed out on point for things I included in it. For example, on language I received 2 points, but I made sure to include varying transition words and phrases and use grade level vocabulary. Although I do understand that the subjective tone and lack of formality (failure to use last names) would have cost me a point, but i feel that a 2 is a bit lower than i should have scored. I also feel i scored really low for focus and comprehension. You said that the information
Into Thin Air is a spectacular novel written by the well-celebrated author Jon Krakauer from his true experience. This account on the 1996 Everest tragedy is described through Krakauer’s perspective as events leading up to the tragedy unravels around him. Due to his hysteric state on everest, Krakauer later took much time and effort into interviewing
Helicopter rescues on Mountain Everest is increasing rapidly. People are trying to climb Everest because not only is Everest the biggest mountain in the world, only a few people has completed the climb. Now they are not only putting their selves in danger, but they are also putting the people that are trying to rescue them in danger and the people really do not need help. There are many, many more mountains in the world besides Everest. You may not put yourself in danger if you climb a less risky mountain.