Into thin air essay

Into thin air essay

Into Thin Air Essay. Although Krakauer’s Into Thin Air was a riveting tale of dangerous and perilous adventure, Anatoli Boukreev’s version of the deadly climbing season on Mount Everest told in his ghost written book, The Climb, co-written by G. Weston Dewalt, was far more believable, in large part due to the highly conflicting details Into Thin Air. How inevitable is disaster in an expedition like the one Krakauer joined in ? What steps could be taken to make such expeditions safer? Why are the surviving members of the expedition met with so much criticism and negative press? In what ways to predominantly good characteristics become deadly during the course of the Mar 18,  · The novel, Into Thin Air, by Krakauer, shows perseverance through the experiences of climbers Beck Weathers, Rob Hall, and Anatoli Boukreev on Everest throughout the book. One example of perseverance in the novel is Beck Weathers’ survival against all odds in the nightmarish conditions of Mt. Everest. Weathers is a doctor from East Texas with

Into Thin Air essays

In a brief side story late in the book, a team of Japanese climbers refuses to help some stranded Ladahki climbers near the summit, saying that they can't "afford morality" in such dangerous conditions. Why do you think Krakauer into thin air essay this side story in Into Thin Air? Do you agree or disagree with the Japanese climbers? The side story of the Japanese climbers, into thin air essay, although not directly related to any of the main characters in Into Thin Airserves as a powerful contrast to the story of Krakauer's team. Many of the climbers in Krakauer's account display acts of courage, compassion, and heroism in the face of increasingly desperate conditions.

For climbers such as Harris and Hall, these acts are partially responsible for their deaths; even survivors such as Beidleman and the IMAX team put their lives and missions at significant risk in order to help other climbers. The Japanese climbers, faced with the same moral decision, choose to ignore the stranded Ladahkis and continue to the summit, unwilling to put their own lives in danger. While most would consider this a selfish decision, Krakauer uses it to show that into thin air essay Mt. Everest, normal calculations of what is right and what is wrong don't necessarily apply. The Japanese climbers ultimately reached the summit and--most importantly--survived, while some of the heroes from Krakauer's team lost their own lives in often failed attempts to rescue others.

By comparing these two stories, we see how the moral choice can lead to even more death than the selfish choice. Knowing that, the story invites the question: which is really the "right" choice? Krakauer's relationship with death changes significantly from the beginning to the end of Into Thin Air. Trace this evolution, according to your own interpretation, and use specific examples that illustrate how this relationship is transformed. Death is never absent from the narrative of Into Thin Airbut it goes from being a distant concept to being an increasingly real and personal presence for Krakauer.

We see death start out as primarily a historical detail of mountaineering, as he discusses the many into thin air essay and amateur mountaineers before him who perished on the slopes of Mt. On a personal level, he describes death as merely one of the motivating factors of his passion for climbing, saying it's "titillating to brush up against the enigma of mortality, to steal a glimpse across its forbidden frontier" pg. Although he is aware of the risk of death, this excites him rather than scaring him. This begins to change on the ascent when minor into thin air essay accidents bring death much closer to him, into thin air essay.

The most powerful symbol of this shift is when he comes across two frozen bodies on the side of the trail and is shaken by the sight. By the end of the book, the deaths of his fellow climbers--along with his own near-death experience--have completely changed his perspective. He is terrified by death, unable to move on from the tragedy, and disturbed by idea that Hansen, Hall, Harris, and others for whom he cared died while he survived. Death has gone from being a mountaineering trivia fact and source of adrenaline into an intimate, emotional horror that disrupts his everyday life and distorts his love for climbing. Throughout Into Thin Air there is a constant tension between forces of reason and human ambition. How does Krakauer show this tension through the actions and decisions of the climbers?

Despite the different backgrounds and abilities of all of the climbers in Into Thin Airthey all share the common trait of ambition. While this leads to admirable feats of courage and determination, it also contributes to questionable decision-making and a dangerous overestimation of personal strength. The Into thin air essay Consultants clients, including Krakauer himself, exemplify this tension between reason and ambition. None of the clients is particularly well prepared, physically or mentally, to climb Mt. Krakauer's emotions are dominated by a sense of anxiety and self-doubt, Pittman can't let go of her creature comforts, and several others haven't even broken in their climbing equipment prior to the ascent.

Despite all of these clear signs of unpreparedness, they all paid extraordinary amounts of money for the chance to chase the dream of reaching the world's highest point, into thin air essay. The professional guides make similar mistakes. Hall ignores his pm turnaround time on summit day in order to make sure Hansen reaches the summit; Bourkeev climbs without oxygen despite the added stress and responsibilities of being a guide; and Fischer hides his illness in an unspoken competition with Hall to successfully guide the most clients to the summit. In each case, logic and reason would suggest a different course of action, but ambition drives characters towards dangerous or fatal choices. Into Thin Air can be read as being highly critical of guided commercial mountaineering.

Using evidence from the story, describe three ways that you would change the commercial mountaineering business to prevent future tragedies from occurring. The tragedy of Into Thin Airon top of the general danger of climbing Mt. Everest, brings into thin air essay question the wisdom of allowing wealthy amateurs to join commercial expeditions. Without completely eliminating the industry, there are some lessons from the story that may be able to help improve safety, into thin air essay. Physical strength and fitness is critical for undertaking such as strenuous task, yet Weathers' eye condition left him stranded near the summit and Namba was repeatedly described as too weak to continue.

Stricter physical fitness requirements and a thorough medical examination could help avoid these situations. Krakauer often details the extreme impact of climbing above 20, feet on the human body, particularly above the "death zone" at 26, feet. Making prior experience at these altitudes a prerequisite for climbing Mt. Everest would ensure that climbers know exactly how their bodies will react to very low-oxygen conditions. Finally, overcrowding led to major delays during Krakauer's summit attempt and forced some of the guides and Sherpas into thin air essay work extra hard to accommodate climbers from various teams. An easy way to lessen these risks would be to limit the number of climbers that can be above Camp 4, where conditions are riskiest, on any given day. There are many factors that contributed to the tragedy of Into Thin Airincluding but not limited to lapses in leadership, poor judgment, unpredictable nature, inexperience, into thin air essay, and into thin air essay luck.

Which do you think was the most important factor and why? Although many factors contributed to the tragedy of Krakauer's expedition, none is more important than lapses in leadership, into thin air essay. Luck, nature, inexperience, and questionable judgement are arguably present in any attempt to climb Mt. Everest, especially with a commercial expedition. There is only a certain extent to which these factors can be controlled. Leadership, however, can directly mediate these negative factors if wielded effectively. There are many instances in Into Thin Into thin air essay where this, unfortunately, was not the case.

Hall's failure to honor his own pm turnaround time is directly linked to the deaths of Harris, Hansen, and Hall himself--if he had stuck to his carefully conceived plan, lives would have been saved. Boukreev's disdain for the more mundane aspects of guiding also contributed to tragedy, leaving him far from his clients when they most needed his help. Bickering between Hall and Fischer's Sherpas over who was doing their fair share of work led to dangerous delays on summit day and forced climbers such as Krakauer to take over tiring rope-setting responsibilities. The leaders of other teams deserve blame as well, into thin air essay, particularly Makalu Gau for ignoring his promise to not summit on May 10 and Ian Woodall for refusing to provide any form of assistance.

In each case, failures of leadership made already risky situations significantly and unnecessarily worse. Rob Hall is introduced as a great leader in the beginning of Into Thin Air. Do the events of the story reinforce that description or undermine it? Use specific examples to support your claim. Rob Hall is a complicated figure in the story, who often demonstrates admirable leadership skills but also fails as a leader at critical moments. On one hand, he is highly experienced, universally liked and respected, a into thin air essay planner, and extremely loyal to his clients. This is seen through his de facto role as Base Camp leader, meticulously planned acclimatization routine, and unwillingness to abandon Hansen at the summit when his own life was also on the line.

However, on the other hand, these qualities do not always translate into action or good decision-making. He is into thin air essay to enforce order among his Sherpas on summit day or prevent Makalu Gau from going back on the agreed-upon plan to stagger summit attempts between the various teams. Most importantly, into thin air essay, his loyalty to Hansen and other clients prevents him from taking decisive action when it becomes clear that they won't reach the summit at a reasonable time. Hall deserves high praise for being a loyal, caring, and well-liked leader, but these qualities ultimately undermine his ability to impose his will and disappoint his clients when the moment calls for it.

The Question and Answer section for Into Thin Air is into thin air essay great resource to ask questions, find answers, into thin air essay, and discuss the novel. How did Krakauer's attitude about encountering dead climbers rapidly change? Krakauer became desensitized to them over time because he started seeing so many of them. The first body shocked him for several hours; the next one he affected him for less time: finally he was no longer shocked. Most of the other climbers simply What did the Nepalese government do as a result of the changes? While grappling with the issue, Nepalese ministers came up with a solution that seemed to hold the dual promise of limiting the crowds while increasing the flow of hard currency into the impoverished national coffers: raise the fee Why did Hall shift from his personal expeditions to founding an expedition company?

Hall knew that he couldn't make a living with sponsored climbs, so he and his partner, Gary Ball, founded Adventure Consultants. Into Thin Air study guide contains a biography of author Jon Krakauer, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, into thin air essay, characters, and a full summary and analysis. Into Thin Air essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer. Remember me. Forgot your password? Buy Study Guide, into thin air essay. From the text: While grappling with the issue, Nepalese ministers came up with a solution that seemed to hold the dual promise of limiting the crowds while increasing the flow of hard currency into the impoverished national coffers: raise the fee Study Guide for Into Thin Air Into Thin Air study guide contains a biography of author Jon Krakauer, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

About Into Thin Air Into Thin Air Summary Character List Glossary Themes Read the Study Guide for Into Thin Air…. Essays for Into Thin Air Into Thin Air essays are academic essays for citation. An In Depth Rhetorical Analysis of Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer Loyalty and Its Consequences in 'Into Thin Air'. Lesson Plan for Into Thin Air About the Author Study Objectives Common Core Standards Introduction to Into Thin Air Relationship to Other Books Bringing in Technology Notes to the Teacher Related Links Into Thin Air Bibliography View the lesson plan for Into Thin Air…. Wikipedia Entries for Into Thin Air Introduction Summary Controversy Adaptation References View Wikipedia Entries for Into Thin Air….

Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer: A Summary

, time: 8:18

| Into Thin AirAccurate Essays

Into Thin Air Essay. Although Krakauer’s Into Thin Air was a riveting tale of dangerous and perilous adventure, Anatoli Boukreev’s version of the deadly climbing season on Mount Everest told in his ghost written book, The Climb, co-written by G. Weston Dewalt, was far more believable, in large part due to the highly conflicting details Into Thin Air. How inevitable is disaster in an expedition like the one Krakauer joined in ? What steps could be taken to make such expeditions safer? Why are the surviving members of the expedition met with so much criticism and negative press? In what ways to predominantly good characteristics become deadly during the course of the Apr 19,  · Into Thin Air. This paper discusses the book titled, Into Thin Air, and illustrates the theme of selfishness and self-preservation evident on the mountain. There will also be a discussion on the presence of heroes. Selfishness and Self-Preservation on the Mountain In this book, Krakauer writes about his experience in an Everest mountain