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.
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| Scott Fischer |
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| 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.
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