Into Thin Air Post 3

As the incredible book Into Thin Air sadly comes to a close, there is a definite tone change. It changes from a tone of horror and helplessness, to one of grief and guilt, and this has a huge impact on our narrator. Jon Krakauer was a very ambitious climber and journalist, who bursted with joy at the chance to climb Everest. This is clearly evident by his writing in the first half of the book. On multiple occasions, he speaks well of the other climbers when he tells their backstories, laughs with them, congratulates them while climbing. He even feels good enough to stomach being friends with Sandy Pittman! But then in the second half of the novel, disaster really strikes, and the tone changes to one of grief and loneliness. Jon is shock from witnessing the deaths of twelve climbers he had gotten to know so well over the course of the expedition, and it takes a dreadful toll on him. "The thing I knew I was sitting on the ice with my face in my hands and tears streaking down my cheeks, weeping like I hadn't wept since I was a small boy. Safe now, the crushing strain of the preceding days lifted from my shoulders, I cried for my lost companions, I cried because I was grateful to be alive, I cried because I felt terrible for having survived while others had died"(Page 279). Jon clearly has survivor's guilt, and it is ripping him apart. His emotions are finally catching up with him. He didn't allow himself to feel anything while the disaster was occurring, and now it's all flooding back in. It's clear that the trip to Everest has completely changed Jon. When he returns home, the guilt and the waves of bad press just proved to be too much. He can't hold down a job, his marriage becomes incredibly unstable, and he can't even go five minutes without thinking about what happened up there. On top of that, he feels trapped, and above all else, lonely. "I felt a gurgling, swelling bubble of hurt and shame roll up my spine from somewhere deep inside. Erupting out of my nose and mouth in a flood of snot, the first sob was followed by another, then another and another"(Page 282). Reading this kind of tore me up inside. I couldn't believe how Jon was being treated by himself and the press, after he helped prevent so many more deaths on the mountain. This man is a hero, and he deserves to think of himself that way, and have others think of him that way. But while Jon and his survivor's guilt are the main focus of the last part of the book, it is clear that many of the other members feel just as bad as him or worse. One of these people is Lopsang Jangbu, a devoted sherpa in Scott Fischer's team. Jon caught up with him when the Sherpa paused halfway down the descent to cry his eyes out. "I am very bad luck, very bad luck. Scott is dead; it is my fault. I am very bad luck. It is my fault. I am very bad luck"(Page 272). Not one of the expedition members came away from this climb without being changed, and this is especially true for Lopsang. He thought that he was responsible for many of the deaths, and he couldn't be told otherwise. I think that this is the main reason that he died while climbing again soon after the expedition.
To be perfectly honest, I was really bored when I started this book. I thought that it was just going to be some dumb nonfiction book that went on for too many pages. But the story had me hooked just after fifty pages. I laughed when the climbers laughed, and I was devastated when yet another character that I felt I knew really well, thanks to Krakauer's narration, died. But my favorite part was when the storm blew in, trapping the climbers on the summit, and causing a snowball effect of bad things to happen. I know that this section of the book is covering the disaster, and all the bad things that came with it, but it pulled me deeper into the book. I was amazed at how something as a few bad coincidences like low oxygen and a bad storm could cause a situation to go so haywire. I was astounded by how many mistakes every climber made due to an oxygen depleted mind. To be honest, I'm surprised that more people didn't die. When you run out of oxygen at 8,000 meters, all bets are off.