Into Thin Air Journal • Intro and Chapter One o Into Thin Air starts off with one of the main elements it uses throughout the whole of the book, foreshadowing. Jon Krakauer begins with just telling you what is going to happen to every character in the book, and for me makes it even more interesting of a read. For me, in the first chapter I could almost feel the lack of oxygen Krakauer was feeling, and see the vast expansion of mountains in front of me. Already though, just from reading the intro and first chapter, I know I’m to not like the book for the surplus of names and insignificant characters being mentioned. Can’t wait to see how Krakauer reaches the top.
Inner journeys however focus more on self exploration and on reflecting on our past experiences beyond normal everyday life. The results of these journeys often change us as people. In Shakespeare’s Othello, Shakespeare portrays to us both the physical and inner journey of the protagonist, Othello. Othello undertakes a physical journey from Venice to Cyprus. This journey from Venice to Cyprus, also exemplifies the journey from civilisation to barbarism.
Dynamic characters are character that are permanently changed in his/her personality or outlook on life as a result of an event or conflict that may have happened. This change could be positive or negative to him/her. In the book, Inside Stories 1 , there are 3 short stories that include these dynamic characters. “A Mountain Journey” by Howard O’Hagan, where a man makes terrible decisions leading up to his death, “The Sea Devil” by Arthur Gordon, In which due to his greed is faced with a near death experience, and “The Father” by Hugh Garner, where a father’s relationship with his son is completely destroyed by his foolish acts. In, “A Mountain Journey, Dave Conroy, the protagonist, learns to make the right decisions the hard way.
This promise encouraged anyone that could afford the price to enlist in Hall’s tour. However, this created a problem with the experience of the climbers. Unproven men and women were climbing the world’s largest mountain with no formal training. This inexperience led to rookie mistakes, such as empty oxygen tanks, altitude sickness, and more, that cost people their lives. Therefore, Hall’s arrogance that he could lead everybody to the summit of Mt.
It is not a question of if a given person will experience a reshaping of identity; rather, it is a mere question of when and how it will occur. There is an immense amount of reasons for identity to suddenly become such an issue in a person’s life that he or she feels compelled to change and reshape their identity in order to fit an ever-changing lifestyle. From a student’s standpoint, such as the circumstances in Paulo Freire’s “The ‘Banking’ Concept of Education”, it is easier to listen and memorize facts than to listen to those facts, apply them to the real world, and in turn gain personal knowledge, in order to move along in life. However, until such a student can come to the realization that knowledge provoked by the human thought will prevail over the “banking method”, as Freire defines, the student will continue to live under his/her former, un-matured, identity. In this case, the student’s reshaped identity, whenever it occurs, would most likely change him/her into a more “humanized” student, as Freire postulates.
Is it considered evil to leave your friend and partner to die in the cold or is it considered the right thing to do so the suffering stops? These are the sort of life changing situations Hutchison and Farah Ahmedi faced in their journeys through tough problems. When a difficulty arises and one must do the immoral way for the sake of others there is a sympathy felt for the protagonists. Hutchison, a teammate in “Into Thin Air” by Jon Krakauer, is considered very daring for climbing the treacherous journey of Mt. Everest.
Kevin MacDonald’s documentary ‘Touching the Void’ also explores the physical and psychological impacts of overcoming adversity. Touching the Void is about a mountain climber who is shattered with danger when he falls into a crevasse while climbing a mountain in Peru. One moment which reveals the psychological struggle of the main character Joe is the image of him frozen still with his head bowed down submissively in the crevasse. The mid-shot accompanied by nothing but the ambient sounds of ice emphasises his loneliness and creates an image of defeat and acceptance of
When we embark on emotional, mental and physical journeys, we initially possess basic attitudes, beliefs and values. Whilst the journey progresses, individuals and groups experience physical and mental barriers which influence new attitudes and aspirations. Individuals learn from others’ experiences and adopt and develop new ideas and perceptions of our surroundings and self identity. Our beliefs and aspirations influence our journeys as they are the foundation and basis from which our inner and physical passage emerges. In the poems ‘I, Too, Sing America’ by Langston Hughes and ‘Then and Now’ by Kath Walker, and the film ‘The King’s Speech’ (2010) directed by Tom Hooper, it is possible to see how individuals embark on individual and combined journeys to satisfy personal desires or to achieve a common goal.
Penaia (Ben) Moa The Rite of passage The Rite of Passage is a ceremony or a completion of a task that changes a person’s status in society. Many societies have different rites of passages, and the purpose of these rites of passage is to show that young women and young boy is finally becoming a warrior. Most of the rite of passages could be very brutal towards the kids but to show that they are adults, and want to become a warrior they have to endure the pain inflicted to them. The rite of passage I decide to research on is the Matis Trail in Brazil’s Amazon jungle. Men here are to undergo 4 trails.
A Journey across Metaphors In a TED Talk the speaker James Geary has claimed that “metaphorical thinking is essential to how we understand ourselves and others, how we communicate, learn, discover and invent.” It can be argued that whenever we deal with ideas, emotions, feelings and thoughts, we inevitably resort to metaphor as a resource to conceptualise those abstract or complex ideas through association with simpler, tangible objects. Lakoff states in Metaphors We Live By that “metaphorical expressions in our language are tied to metaphorical concepts in a systematic way.” In other words, that metaphors form semantic networks which are deemed to constitute a coherent whole, so when analysed collectively, they suggest the existence of an underlying system. This can be exemplified by a set of metaphors connected to travel experiences, especially sailing and flying, which make reference to success, failure, uncertainty or mental states and have been selected to prove how Lakoff’s point can be applied to Argentinian culture. Firstly, metaphors related to flying can connote mental and emotional states. Throughout the 20th century, planes became a frequent means of transport within our society, and as a consequence, they were integrated in our everyday language.