Into Thin Air: The Monomyth

Into Thin Air By Jon Krakauer Into Thin Air is a non-fiction and adventure book that details the disaster that occurred in 1996 at Mount Everest, and it started as a magazine article. The book is a personal account of the author Jon Krakauer, a professional writer and mountaineering hobbyist, who was sent on the Everest expedition by Outside Magazine with the task of writing an article about his experience. In my opinion, people should read Into Thin Air because it is a story about survival, and it consists of valuable lessons about, perseverance, determination, and character.

It was 1996 when Jon Krakauer took a job from the magazine company, Outside, to report on mountain climbing expedition tours which had been raising speculation. Krakauer had a passion for climbing ever since a young age, and he especially had always wanted to climb Everest. He had climbed before, but not altitudes as intense as what he was about to take on. Upon his journey, he found the altitude to be more than challenging. His oxygen intake began decreasing substancially and he could feel himself fading away.

The Hero’s Journey is a cyclical journey commonly used in literature. Joseph Campbell was the first to realize this pattern is frequently used in stories, movies, and fairytales. The cycle contains twelve significant milestones that occur as a hero explores an unknown special world. This cycle resembles a clock in a few ways. The twelve hours represent the twelve stages.

Krakauer describes his attempts at climbing the Devil’s Thumb when he was 23 years old and compares it to McCandless. The credibility it provides is the insight and thoughts that McCandless might have had on his odyssey as a young man finishing his own greatest achievement. To Krakauer, “the Devil’s Thumb was the same as medical school, only different” (Krakauer 150). To McCandless, it is likely his adventure in Alaska was the fulfillment he needed after following his parents’ wish of finishing college. Both Krakauer and McCandless had problems with their father’s falsehood and losing the innocence that they once had.

Searching for ancient myths by:Alejandra Lora Morales 7A Teacher: Alvaro Herrera  The hero 's journey What is it? The hero 's journey is every step a hero must follow to succeed becoming a hero or defeat becoming a normal person , there are many studies about this monomyth but joseph campbell has the basic one and the one we understand more.there are some steps or stages that the hero must follow to do the hero 's journey.

The Faerie Queene (Book One) The book presents an adventurous journey of Redcrosse, one of the Knights in the poem. The hero together with his chum Una gets separated in the forest after Archimago, one of the forest’s evil residents deceive Redcrosse in a dream. The ace later lands in the house of pride where he tints his virtue and remain helpless for a while. Even so, he later recoups his lost grandeur after killing the dragon.

“A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man.” This quote comes from Joseph Campbell in his book, The Hero With a Thousand Faces, where he lays out his theory of the monomyth. One of the aspects of the monomyth is the fifth stage, crossing the first threshold. This stage involves the hero entering a world completely unlike their own. In this new world they must adapt to the new environment by learning the rules of this unknown place and adhering to them.

Joseph Campbell’s The Hero With a Thousand Faces discusses the idea that every story and person experience a hero/heroin quest and follow the 17-stages of the Monomyth. In addition, Carl Jung’s Archetypes support Campbell’s idea because every person’s fate or journey encompass the human mind and every situation people expose themselves to. Following a path with no guarantee encompasses risk and curiosity but knowing that when the end comes and destiny prevails, an apotheosis arises and the ultimate spiritual, emotional and physical rebirth takes place. George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty Four and T.S. Eliot’s The Lovesong of J. Alfred Prufrock serve as a contradiction to Campbell’s Monomyth, though rough trials present to Winston Smith and Prufrock,

Character development may also be attributed to the Monomyth by Campbell. The Monomyth is a template where it attributes a hero getting called to an adventure, overcomes a crisis and is victorious, and then returns home with a renewed mind. During this journey, the hero meets up with characters that either help or hinder the journey, the mentor and the antagonist. These representative characters are usually distinct from one another. In The Walking Dead, the character Kenny seems to embody both the mentor and antagonist.

The basic structure of the myth he extrapolates from all these myths is the following: “The hero is the child of most distinguished parents; usually the son of a king. His origin is preceded by difficulties, such as continence, or prolonged barrenness, or secret intercourse of the parent, due to external prohibition or obstacles. During the pregnancy, or antedating the same, there is a prophecy, in form of a dream or oracle, cautioning against his birth, and usually threatening danger to the father, or his representative. As a rule, he is surrendered to the water, in a box. He is then saved by animals or by lowly people (shepherds) and is suckled by a female animal or a humble woman.

Attributes of a hero have remained the same over time, which is shown through Greek heroes like Hercules demonstrating the same traits as modern heroes like Batman, Superman, or Wonder Woman. One of the traits Hercules and Batman share is their passion for becoming a hero. The audience can see this characteristic during the “I Can Go The Distance” song when Hercules proclaims, “Somehow I'll be strong, I know every mile will be worth my while, I would go most anywhere to find where I belong.” Similarly, the audience can see Batman's passion each time he drops whatever he is doing, changes into his elaborate costume, and risks his life to save the city of Gotham from villains like The Joker and Bane. Another trait that Hercules shares with a