Sunday, September 11, 2016

Into Thin Air Memoir Blog #1

In my memoir Into Thin Air a man named Jon Krakauer tells his story of climbing Mt. Everest.
   The story begins with an excerpt from another book called 'Upon That Mountain' and then the author gives a quick glimpse of his brief experience on the top of the world with the quote:
 "But now I was finally here, actually standing on the summit of Mount Everest, I just couldn't summon the energy to care."
 He tells of how sleep deprivation, lack of food, and lack of proper oxygen caused the moment he had been anticipating and preparing for his whole climbing career to last less than 5 minutes, his experience on the top of the world that he worked so hard for in and out in less than 5 minutes.
 He goes on to reflect on his time up there and seeing the storm that killed all of the people on the mountain, he describes seeing signs in the clouds that should have been a warning and lives could have been saved by the guides who should have heeded them as a warning call.
     The next chapter is a flashback to 1852 and the discovery of Mount Everest, it gives a little bit of history on the Mountain and of the first people to climb Mount Everest. Later in the chapter towards the end he tells the reader about how he came to the expedition.
     Chapters 3 and the beginning of 4 talk about Jon meeting the other climbers on the trip up Everest and his first impressions of the other climbers, his beginning anticipations and expectations for the trip and group, he also describes how this will be much different then other mountain climbs not only because of the mountain but how group climbing is new.
      The second half of chapter 4 tells about the beginning of the trip up the mountain to Base camp and then from there on to the end of chapter 5 about the problems the group runs into from the time they start through April 12.
I think if I were writing this memoir I would have a hard time because he is obviously re-living painful moments in his life that nobody would ever want to deal with once but to write about it and it be published and become a well known story is another thing, I think it is most definitely a way to honor those who were lost, by telling their story so everyone understands and there is no misunderstanding in the way blurring the truth. I also think the way the author put connections to his "normal" life was very well done because it lets the reader find connections to their own life.
     So far I have very much enjoyed this book I feel as though it gives great insight on many things and mostly how important it is to always keep pushing no matter what and to fight for what you believe in and for those you love, its good to keep going and even if sometimes it may be hard but you have to keep pushing. The book is well written and I am excited to read the rest of the book. I think this will positively influence the way I write my own memoir, And I now realize looking at others experiences helps you realize so much for and about yourself.

No comments:

Post a Comment