Throughout life, both children and adults must face their own roadblocks in order to grow both mentally and physically stronger. In the book, Into Thin Air, Jon Krakauer, tells of his experiences and struggles on Mount Everest during his first ever climb of the world’s tallest mountain. When he finally begins his climb in 1996, disaster strikes and eight climbers were confirmed dead, including the famous Rob Hall and Scott Fischer. Several other climbers were never found due to the storm. Throughout this experience, Krakauer argues that in the face of adversity, accepting the situation and conquering it, while strengthening the mind and body, may also have terrible consequences.
The author establishes an ominous tone throughout Into Thin Air …show more content…
As Krakauer carries on, he watches person after person suffer from wounds and injuries and in one occasion, he recalls a moment when a sherpa from a cleanup expedition was pelted with a volley of “grapefruit sized stones”. The sherpa was struck in the back of his head and many other climbers around him stated that “it sounded like he’d been hit with a baseball bat” (Krakauer 262). This simile was used to compare the sound of a rock hitting the sherpa to a bone-crushing hit from a baseball bat. This creates the image of a man getting pulverized by a massive boulder and Krakauer describes how the force of the blow “chipped a divot as large as a silver dollar” (Krakauer 262) from the sherpa’s skull. As he watches climbers all around him fall from unexpected natural disasters, he realizes that this could happen to him at any moment. While he was able to accept the situation and keep on climbing, there were many losses, such as this sherpa. However, he was able to conquer his fears and summit Mount Everest. Krakauer also describes his clash with nature through many hyperboles. He exaggerates the extreme temperature of Mount Everest and the “bone-cracking cold” (Krakauer 174) he had to endure through. Krakauer uses this hyperbole to exaggerate the suffering he had to persevere through. He used an exaggeration to emphasize how the temperature was so cold, he felt as if it could have easily cracked his bones. As Krakauer is forced to wait in the cold for the slowest members of his crew, he painfully recollects how he had to sit for more than forty five minutes, all the time while shivering and pounding their hands and feet to prevent frostbite and hypothermia. However, he is able to fight on and continues to lead the pack with the
The author establishes an ominous tone throughout Into Thin Air …show more content…
As Krakauer carries on, he watches person after person suffer from wounds and injuries and in one occasion, he recalls a moment when a sherpa from a cleanup expedition was pelted with a volley of “grapefruit sized stones”. The sherpa was struck in the back of his head and many other climbers around him stated that “it sounded like he’d been hit with a baseball bat” (Krakauer 262). This simile was used to compare the sound of a rock hitting the sherpa to a bone-crushing hit from a baseball bat. This creates the image of a man getting pulverized by a massive boulder and Krakauer describes how the force of the blow “chipped a divot as large as a silver dollar” (Krakauer 262) from the sherpa’s skull. As he watches climbers all around him fall from unexpected natural disasters, he realizes that this could happen to him at any moment. While he was able to accept the situation and keep on climbing, there were many losses, such as this sherpa. However, he was able to conquer his fears and summit Mount Everest. Krakauer also describes his clash with nature through many hyperboles. He exaggerates the extreme temperature of Mount Everest and the “bone-cracking cold” (Krakauer 174) he had to endure through. Krakauer uses this hyperbole to exaggerate the suffering he had to persevere through. He used an exaggeration to emphasize how the temperature was so cold, he felt as if it could have easily cracked his bones. As Krakauer is forced to wait in the cold for the slowest members of his crew, he painfully recollects how he had to sit for more than forty five minutes, all the time while shivering and pounding their hands and feet to prevent frostbite and hypothermia. However, he is able to fight on and continues to lead the pack with the