Devan Wilson
Espirit
March 13th, 2014
As I was reading, a character that caught my eye was a fellow named Doug Hansen. He is introduced early in the book, and he is shown as a weakling at first. I personally did not think he would even make it to Base Camp. But the reader is fooled because Doug turns out to be a trooper and a fighter. When he was experiencing major chest pains and sickness, he was going to give up. "Not long after that, Doug stepped aside as well. 'He was a little ahead of me at the time,' recalls Lou. 'All of a sudden he stepped out of line and just stood there. When I moved up beside him, he told me he was cold and feeling bad and was heading down.' Then Rob, who was bringing up the rear, caught up to Doug, and a brief conversation enusued...Doug got back in line and continued his ascent" (p.174).
This section of text couldn't more specifically define Doug as a character. He will never give up, and the rest of the team is rooting for him to reach the top. He tried the expedition before, although turned around before reaching victory. Coming back with such fire and drive is inspiring. He also is not the youngest on the team, and has a life and family back at home, but he wants to complete his dream of defeating the big beast.
Having someone who is so determined and confident can really help in a group setting. Later in the book he could be the deciding factor on if the group will reach the top or not. When the group gets down, he is never thinking of giving up, but instead talking to others and making them feel comfortable. If I were on an expedition, I would want someone like Doug Hansen with me.
As shown as his grave stone,"Never give up on your dreams." He didn't just inspire the group of climbers in the book, he inspired me as a person as well.
I agree that Doug Hansen is a very strong and experienced trekker and I would definitely take him with me if I was going to climb Mt.Everest. He is introduced at the beginning of the book and is portrayed as though he is a weak person, but throughout the book it shows how strong a person and climber he is. He couldn't of been where he is now as a climber, if he had never failed before. In order to become a good climber you need to have strength and the ability to come back onto the mountain and try again. "Hall had talked Hansen into coming back to Everest, it would have been especially hard for him to deny Hansen the summit a second time" (237). In order to succeed in anything, not just climbing, you have to mess up a few times to then be able to do things right. Everyone started out as a beginner, no matter who you are.
ReplyDelete