An Analysis Of The Summit Of Everest, By Jon Krakauer

People have had a penchant for seeking thrills for a long time. Whether it is skiing fast, base jumping, or racing, people have been chasing the rush of adrenaline and the feeling of accomplishment from participating in such activities. Mountain climbing has been one of these thrills that people have participated in for years. The arduous task of scaling a mountain has mesmerized people and inspired them to climb it seeking fame and accolades. But is also inspires them to challenge themselves and prove to themselves that they can do anything.

Jon starts out in the beginning of the book describing how he wants to climb Mount Everest. Many people have climbed simply,” Because it is there” (Mallory, 15). George Leigh Mallory made that comment after being asked by a newspaper reporter, why he wanted to climb. Jon describes climbing as a culture characterized by intense competition.

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.

In this novel, he explains the struggles he had faced and stories of his fellow climbers. The reviewer states that Krakauer had held himself accountable for this tragedy, but he also says that it should make any climber pause before

Chapters 14 & 15 explained Krakauer’s personal expedition to Devil’s Thumb. I learned a lot about Krakauer’s personal life and the factors contributing to his journey. After reading his personal experience, I understood his compassion for Chris McCandless 's life and journey and why he wrote Into The Wild. Krakauer explains how he had such devotion to climb Devil’s Thumb, but I interpreted this as him being type of guy who sets his mind to a task and then is extremely driven to accomplish it.

Just as fish cannot survive out of water, humans cannot survive out of oxygen. In parallel, just as fish do not belong on land, humans do not belong on Everest. Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer is a firsthand account of the climbers’ fatal attempt to make their way to the top of No Man’s Land, 29,000 feet in the sky. The climbers risked everything--their marriages, their careers, their savings accounts, their lives, just to prove that they could survive as fish out of water--however, they forgot what happens after fish flop around on the shore: they stop. The constant battle for survival on Everest illustrates Krakauer

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.

In the short story “Top Man” by James Ramsey Ullman a group of climbers were ascending up the tallest mountain; Kalpurtha. No one had ever reached the top. The protagonist, Osborn was not a cautious person; he just wanted to make it to the top. He did not care about others; he did what was best for him and not for the group. He was selfish.

In the first chapter of Into Thin Air, Krakauer opens with himself at the summit of Mount Everest and his childhood dream finally achieved, however, Krakauer states “As I began my descent I was extremely anxious but my concern had little to do with the weather: a check of the gauge on my oxygen tank had revealed that it was almost empty. I needed to get down fast” (9). When Krakauer began his descent he had spent less than five minutes at the world’s highest point. The reader is left wondering if he is able to get down the mountain alive and that suspense continues throughout the book. Jon Krakauer wrote Into Thin Air after the events occurred and he strategically places ironic quotes that builds the reader’s interest throughout.

Moreover, he could have done this to engage the reader a bit more to induce shock in them too. In example, when Krakauer first encounters the corpse, he says he was “shocked and disturbed” (14), whereas later on, following his discovery of a second corpse, he says that the “shock of encountering the second wore off almost immediately” (30-31). This shows that by the time he encountered the second corpse, he fully understood and accepted the dangers associated with the climb, and had recognized that he would have to move on anyway. This quality can be extended to all those who successfully climb Everest. They are very likely to see a few dead bodies on the way to the summit, and the first one would undoubtedly rattle them, but after that, they would feel the need to put their fears and values aside to push on and reach the summit.

Many things could go wrong climbing the highest mountain in the world with an elevation of 29,029 ft. 12 people died climbing Mount Everest. No is responsible for those death. The climbers had chosen to climb the mountain. In the novel it states, “Hall was charging $65,000 a head to guide clients to the top of the world” (Krakauer 35). This shows that a person is willing to pay to go through so much pain, risk and sickness to summit the top of the world.

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

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.

But the mountain still attracts many climbers or mountaineers to this day. The people who love climbing mountains are called mountaineers. They can be professional or amateurs but as long as they love climbing mountains, they will make Everest their goal. Most people hire professional guides to climb Mt. Everest. It is a very expensive mountain climbing trip.

The first attempt and success to climb Mt. Everest occured in 1953. Since then, almost 4,000 people have been able to scale the mountain, but over 230 people have not been able to climb it successfully. There is a chance of accident or death when climbing this mountain or any dangerous activity. All people should should have the right to rescue services even if they knowingly put themselves at risk because there is always a chance of an accident happening, rangers are there to save people in danger, and there are rescue vehicles being produced to be used in case of an emergency.