TOW #4 - IRB

Into Thin Air, a personal account of disaster on Mt. Everest, was written by Jon Krakauer. It is a true story based off of his climb to the summit of the tallest mountain in the world. However, the expedition turns out to be less than pleasant during the descent when trouble sets in. During the first few chapters, Krakauer recounts the beginning stages of the expedition: arrival at the base of the mountain, the climb to Base Camp, acclimatization--the process that is undertaken to adjust to the change in the environment, which in this case is the altitude. Krakauer recalls his efforts to get used to the altitude through several fits of wheezing and coughing. He narrates his expedition with a young adult audience in mind because his purpose is to inform and encourage that goals should be pursued in life, even though risks must be taken, as long as it is important to you. Krakauer enforces his purpose through the use of narration. Almost the entire book is based off of his narration of his climb of Mt. Everest. His use of narration establishes his ethos. Not only is he proving his summit of the highest mountain in the world, Mt. Everest, but he also proves his own pursuing of his goals. He risks his life by going on such a dangerous climb and putting his trust in inexperienced strangers. However, he does so because of he strives to conquer the top of the world by his own will. Krakauer also achieves his purpose of encourage the pursuit of one's goals by writing with a first-person point-of-view. Even though it is his personal account of his climb, the first-person point-of-view helps the audience to be in the moment and know the thrill of taking risks to pursue a goal. I believe Krakauer was successful in achieving his purpose because he was able to prove his own account of pursuing a goal and through that, it encourages others to do so as well.