Archetypal Perspective on Into Thin Air

When looking at the novel Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer in an archetypal theory perspective, one can observe recurring characters, symbols and themes. Jon begins telling the story of past mountaineers on Mt. Everest, some with inspiring outcomes and some with devastating results. He has previously climbed mountain ranges with the same caliber as Mt. Everest, but many of his teammates have not. Jon exhibits a true desire for climbing and also physical strength and technique. His experience and ability towers over the majority of other climbers on Hall’s team. The plot is to reach the summit and the conflict grows with the weather and personal health. As the team is climbing into higher altitudes they begin to notice: “Sleep became elusive, a common symptom of minor altitude illness. Most nights I’d wake up three or four times gasping for breath, feeling like I was suffocating” (Krakauer 107). I recognized that oxygen canisters represents safety and relief. When an individual climbs higher they rely more on these because they are considered a life support. Jon says “Rob urged us to breathe gas through the night. “Every minute you remain at this altitude and above,” he cautioned, “your minds and bodies are deteriorating.” Brain cells were dying. Our blood was growing dangerously thick and sludge like. Capillaries in our retinas were spontaneously hemorrhaging. Even at rest, our hearts beat at a furious rate” (Krakauer 159). Being without bottled oxygen can create enormous difficulties both physically and mentally.

I believe that “The Monster” refers to the numerous deaths that have occurred over the past two months on the mountain. When the massive storm reaches the mountain most of the guides are lost or died. This means that the clients that were less experienced we left to fend for themselves and navigate themselves to safety. It would consider that the “Old Wise Man” is the expedition leader, like either Hall or Fischer. They both show enormous amounts of skill and experience on the mountain and are there to guide and protect the clients. There are many inexperienced people on the mountain that have the ability to slow down and endanger the rest of the pack. They may be in excellent physical shape but their ignorance towards climbing skills enable them to be considered “The Child”. Sandy Pittman would be considered a cross between “The Child” and a “Manipulator”, since she “plays with people and situations to get what she wants” (Williamson). Beck was Sandy’s teammate during the 1993 ascent of Vinson Massif, he states “she brought this humongous duffel bag full of gourmet food that took about four people to even lift. She also brought a portable television and video player so she could watch movies in her tent” (Krakauer 168). Jon Krakauer is characterized as the “Great Mother” since throughout the novel he is continually looking out for the other members on his team. Jon must encounter and overcome countless obstacles in order to reach his main objective: the summit. By the time the storm hits he is battling the weather and time since he ran out of oxygen and is racing to get to lower altitudes. As he is hurrying down the mountain he fails to provide help to his other teammates that are struggling. This later will become a lifelong burden for Jon, since many of them die. Lastly, “The Hero” is somewhat unclear at times in Krakauer’s perspective but it is Anatoli Boukreev (Kenanddot). Some further research explains that Boukreev went above and beyond what a typical guide did. He reached the Summit and spent an hour and a half waiting for clients. Without supplementary oxygen he put himself at risk of High Altitude Cerebral Edema (HACE) and High Altitude Pulmonary Edema (HAPE). Then Boukreev climbed down to South Col in order to retrieve more oxygen canisters for not only his team but also Rob Hall’s team. It was Boukreev that saved Krakauer’s life by helping him down the icy incline and took him to shelter. Boukreev risked his life further when he went out into the storm by himself to find missing climbers. He was selfless when others choose to be selfish, like the Sherpas, guides and other healthy clients that choose to stay in their tents.

Scott Fischer

Rob Hall

Krakauer’s style of narration allows individuals that have not read the book the chance to interpret characters and themes easily. The need for oxygen is a symbol that continually reappears as Jon and his team climb into higher altitudes. I noticed how Krakauer outlines non-fictional individuals as common archetypal characters. These symbols and characters are distinct when looking at Into Thin Air from an archetypal theory perspective.

My Reflection on Serial Podcast

The Alibi was the first episode of the crime podcast series on “Serial”. In 1999, Hae Min Lee went missing one day after school. Investigators were scrambling for answers until one month after her disappearance, she was found strangled to death in a forest close to the school. The community and law enforcement were quick to blame Hae’s ex-boyfriend Adnan Syed for the murder. They had recently broken up and they assumed that Adnan was still upset and that he intended to hurt Hae. Law enforcement was almost certain that he was guilty when Adnan’s friend, Jay, became a witness confessing that he helped bury her body. However, Adnan continued to claim that he did not commit this crime. Narrated by Sarah Koenig who was a news reporter years before, she was intrigued by this case from the start. Sarah determined that nothing was adding up; the police interrogations with alleged witnesses, Adnan’s defense lawyer and the alibis. The podcast “Serial” is intended to uncover the truth about this problematic murder case.


Before this assignment I barely knew what a podcast was, but soon after listening to The Alibi realized that I enjoy this type of multimedia. According to the webpage Life Wire, “a podcast is an audio program, like a radio show, that is made by someone and then posted to the Internet for you to download and listen too” (Costello). They are basically magazines to your ears and television without the visuals and commercials at every break. You are able to scour the internet and find continuously updated episodes in a variety of themes: crime, fantasy, biography, education, etc. I personally appreciated this type of multimedia due to the fact that there is minimal reading since the speaker is reading it for you and all you have to do is visualize it.

I prefer listening to a podcast rather than reading a book because I am able to hear the author’s expression and tone. For this podcast it was on a murder, but the narrator uses a serious but sarcastic tone and she enlightens the mood by making jokes at some points. Podcasts can be downloaded to a mobile device and this allows people to listen virtually anywhere. One can listen while doing things such as working out, driving and during any of their free time. Alternative forms of media such as a blog or television can be a distraction. When I was answering the serial questions I was able to work at my own pace, pausing, starting, and replaying as many times as I pleased so I did not miss a thing. I also read that podcasts allow individuals that have dyslexia the chance to comprehend information without the difficulty of reading (Petersell). Although there are many benefits there is also some limitations. Listeners are limited to nonverbal communication as they cannot see gestures and body language. Podcasts tend to be anywhere from five to sixty minutes long, but any longer will become ineffective for short topics.

I consider my memory to be very poor. I usually forgot short term things like when I am taking a note in class and I look at the board and when I look back down at my page I forgot what to write. I am very forgetful when it comes to new names and special dates like anniversaries, birthdays, etc. If I was asked the same question as Adnan, I would have a difficult time recalling events in a normal given day. This raises concerns because Adnan truly did not know what he did that day and this increases considerable suspicion to law enforcement.

To conclude, podcasts are very beneficial to share information with listeners on the go and that wish to review certain concepts and stories. These podcast can be viewed by anyone, which means there can be privacy issues for the individuals that are victims in the situation. For Hae’s family they must feel exposed because their personal tragedy can be viewed by the public. For podcasts there should be limitations to what people can share since the information can hurt innocent people. 

Reader Response on Into Thin Air: A Journey to the Top

When examining Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer from a reader response perspective, I noticed the recurring theme of consequences versus reward. Into Thin Air follows the story of an extraordinary journey up Mount Everest from the perspective of a passionate mountaineer and the narrator of this novel. The book commences by describing how Jon has always desired to climb and travel since he was a young boy. Jon’s ambition drives him to fulfill his goal one step at a time through climbing smaller mountains. Now a journalist for Outside Magazine, he is offered the opportunity of a lifetime, the chance to participate in a grueling two-month expedition to the top of Mt. Everest. While there he meets a diverse amount of people from all parts the globe, that all have different personalities and skill levels. I now understand that everyone of them has invested their personal life, money and safety to reach the common goal: the Summit. Jon has a continuous somber emotion while retelling the events in this novel, this makes me think is something devastating coming around the corner?

While reading Into Thin Air, Jon describes how his dream to reach the top is constantly in jeopardy. Krakauer sheds some light on how such a breathtaking place can be so deadly. At this point in the book everything seems too good to be true, there are minimal issues; sickness, migraines because of altitude and one Sherpa is injured. I predict that at some point there is going to be something catastrophic that happens to the group. Since the weather is unpredictable when it comes to Mt. Everest, avalanches, frigid temperatures, snow storms can happen at anytime. These alarming possibilities keep me wondering why it is so appealing to mountain guides to make a living by guiding inexperienced individuals up Everest? When Krakauer digs deeper into his and his teammates lives it becomes apparent that relationships get tested with their loved ones at home. When travelling to such vigorous and isolated mountains around the world it can be quite time consuming, one could be away for months at a time. I personally do not have the issue of a loved one leaving for long periods, but in the television show One Tree Hill, Peyton is continually suffering from it. She is still trying to cope with her mother’s death and her father is travelling for work for many months at a time. Peyton is very much affected by the amount of time her dad is away, she has to support herself and tends to show emotional issues. There can also be a financial strain on a relationship, many expedition teams charge upwards of $65,000 per a person. Our love ones remain behind and live with the fear of if something goes wrong and the person becomes severely injured or even dies. I also predict as I get further into the novel that the novel the isolation will take a toll on some characters’ mental state. It seems to me that there is an issue between carrying out a dream as big as climbing Mt. Everest and how it affects people around that one person. I was constantly questioning myself, why do people put their lives on the line when it affects other people? If I knew that it was going to hurt my family emotionally and financially, I would be second guessing myself. Krakauer explains this further when mentioning his own relationship with his wife: “Linda would never have considered asking me to abandon the sport, but the announcement that I intended to quit had reinforced her decision to marry me […] Within a year I sneaked my rope out of storage and was back on the rock. By 1984, when I went to Switzerland to climb a notoriously dangerous alpine wall called Eiger Nordwand, Linda and I had advanced to within millimeters of splitting up, and my climbing lay at the core of our troubles” (Krakauer 126).

I realized that a very important factor when climbing is trust among teammates. They can determine whether you are celebrating a victory at the top of the mountain or mourning defeat. Krakauer says "In climbing, having confidence in your partners is no small concern. One climber's actions can affect the welfare of the entire team" (47). During the expedition, Jon and many others are concerned about the lack of skill the other groups have that are climbing the same route. He states how irresponsible it is to come without the proper training because it puts themselves and other individuals around them in danger. Jon says “there was a very real fear that the Taiwanese would suffer calamity that would compel other expeditions to come to their aid, risking further lives, to say nothing of jeopardizing the opportunity for other climbers to reach the summit” (Krakauer 138). The most vivid mental image that I formed was at Base Camp. Everyone was in the same spot on Everest and it was where interactions with other expeditions occurred. It showed togetherness and the diversity of mountaineers. It was mentioned that there were people there that are as young as twenty to people in their mid sixties, some were from the United States where others were from Australia and Africa. Even though the characters are very different from each other they all have a love for climbing and that is what has brought them to Mt. Everest. I can connect this to when I play soccer with my teammates. The game requires skill and physical strength but the most important of all is trusting what your other teammates are going to do with the ball. I find that trust is what carries a team forward.

I believe that thrill seekers are the intended audience of Into Thin Air. I also think that this book is Krakauer’s way to educate others about the consequences that they may face instead of the reward they are looking for. I think he is trying to incorporate fear to the novel to make climbers reassess their journey to Mt. Everest. Krakauer is telling the whole truth solely to reduce the numbers of fatalities of individuals attempting the mountain. My views are that one needs to be prepared for anything if they should even consider this treacherous climb; changing temperature, altitude, and unreliable teammates. In many cases people that attempt to climb to the Summit can have many different motifs, either for a passion of climbing or slightly more driven by fame and future. I believe that this can make it tempting to put oneself in danger in order to seek wanted publicity and financial reward. Throughout the novel I was constantly thinking is the commercialization of Everest a positive thing or a negative thing? Tourism helps out surrounding villages, but it disturbs the beauty and increases the fatalities.

All in all, Jon Krakauer was able to keep the reader intrigued with filling in the gaps from past expeditions. He presents rich history about mountaineers from then and now. I think he does this to give back and make people remember those who have died on Everest. I think I have learned a bit about being my own person while reading this novel. Krakauer shows that it requires a certain type of independence, feeling, and determination to reach a certain goal. Based on true events I decided to read Into Thin Air. I am not much of a reader because I tend to get bored quickly. When I read on occasion I tend to choose romance novels that are usually the same as the next one. The reason is I find it hard to visualize what the author is saying, so I tend to watch television or movies instead for a visual aid. I am glad I chose this novel since Krakauer has a descriptive and eventful writing style, which made it easy to envision the location and characters. My question is: is it really worth it to take such a dangerous journey to fulfill a lifetime ambition?

Archetypal Perspective on Snow White

When examining "Snow White" from an archetypal perspective, it becomes clear that there are many recurring characters, motifs, and symbols that shape the overall message in this fairytale. Snow White and many other fairy tales all seem to carry a deeper meaning within the simplicity of the writing. The authors, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, wrote the story using the many aspects of life, this therefore allows the reader to connect on a personal level. According to Literarydevices.net, “by using common archetype, the writers attempt to impart realism to their works, as the situations and characters are drawn from the experiences of the world.” From an archetypal perspective one can determine that the major theme presented is that good conquers evil. This theme is shown by the clash of forces, Snow White portrays the goodness with those that portray the evil, which is the Evil Queen. Now that Snow White is considered the “fairest of them all” there is evil surrounding her in every direction and she is somewhat unaware. She is fouled many times by the queen, who uses witchcraft in attempt to murder Snow White but repeatedly fails in doing so. Snow White is the protagonist, this makes the Evil Queen the antagonist since she is trying to prevent Snow White from living a happy life.

In terms of repetition, the passage “as white as snow and as red as blood, and as black-haired as ebony wood” occurs several times throughout the story. “The colour white is said to symbolize perfection in it’s most pure state. The psychological meaning of white is purity, innocence, wholeness and completion” (Empowered By Color). Snow White is considered to be archetype, since she is a princess that has both inner and outer beauty. The colour white is an underlying form of symbolism as Snow White embodies an innocent and pure character who becomes confronted with the darkness of the Evil Queen. It is important to recognize that when Snow White’s mother says “as red as blood” she is referring to feelings of anger, danger, energy, and strength. While the colour black is significant to the theme since it “relates to the hidden, the secretive and the unknown, and as a result it creates an air of mystery. It keeps things bottled up inside, hidden from the world” (Empowered By Color). The reoccurrence of specific colours have deep meanings that connect back to the theme of Good vs. Evil.

Each character possesses a certain motif, whether it be positive or negative, that will eventually affect Snow White’s “Coming of Age” process. Primarily, the Huntsman’s motif was to kill Snow White because he was obeying the directions given by the Evil Queen. Once the huntsman saw the beauty and innocence of Snow White, he decided to let her live. This event demonstrates how the power of goodness conquers the power of evil. The Huntsman realized that it was morally right to let her live despite the consequences that he may face such as the wrath of the queen. The minor characters such as the seven dwarfs and animals help guide Snow White to safety away from the Evil Queen. They provide her with a home, food, security and protection. These characters have a positive motif that saves her life and helps her connect with the prince. In this fairy tale and in many others the prince is usually the archetypal hero that saves the female character in distress. In this case the prince does not necessarily save her, but he speeds up the process of her coming back to life. Snow White wakes up when the prince takes her coffin and it slips and the poisonous apple gets dislodged from her throat. The Evil Queen has very negative motifs that puts Snow White in danger. The queen goes to the Dwarfs’ house multiple times to murder Snow White. First with poisoned bodice laces, then with a poisoned comb and lastly with a poisoned apple that does kill Snow White. These examples indicate that the Evil Queen is insecure about herself and her actions towards Snow White stem from the Queen’s jealousy. When the mirror tells the queen that Snow White is still alive the queen says "Snow-White shall die,"......"if it costs me my life!" (Grimm, 5). This shows the startling lengths she will go to be to “fairest of them all”, even if she has to murder her deceased husband’s daughter.

Lastly, there are many symbols found in this fairytale that imply messages and lessons to be learnt from. According to Children's Books, Ebooks and free audiobooks, the poisoned apple that the queen gave to Snow White represents evil and often referred to as the works of the devil. Even though the apple looked crisp and harmless on the outside, it was very dangerous on the inside. This concept is also presented when the queen uses witchcraft to make herself into an unrecognizable old women. This is where an archetypal perspective ties in, the term persona is “the image we present to the world” ...... “sometimes characters will wear different persona or masks” (Google Slides). These illusions represent how looks are deceiving and one should not judge something or someone by its outward appearance. Another significant symbol is the number seven. There are in total seven dwarfs, this number is very important in the Bible. “The number seven is a number of completeness, divine perfection or something that is finished” (Christian Crier). This means that the dwarfs are a symbol of perfection and balance in religion. They are looked upon as saviours in the plot since they provide guidance and comfort to Snow White, when her life is endangered.

To conclude, it becomes apparent that there are deeper connotations when one takes on an archetypal viewpoint. There are characters, motifs, and symbols that reappear many times in the fairytale, Snow White, to intensify morals and messages. This fairytale demonstrates how the power of good evidently conquers the power of evil. This theme is evident, since Snow White lived happily ever after with the prince and the Evil Queen dies an excruciating death.