Book Club Assignment- Creative Component

Wordle #1
http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/6826362/INTO_THIN_AIR_%231

Five Important Words:

1. Oxygen- necessity for human life.

This word is important to the text because a lack of oxygen was a huge component to the novel "Into Thin Air." There is little to no oxygen as you go higher up Mount Everest, so all climbers had to wear working oxygen masks to survive. This passage is an incident that happened to Jon Krakauer and how he lost all of his oxygen and had to battle some obstacles before getting oxygen again. With out oxygen support, every climber would have died of suffocation.

2. Valve- something that opens something else, generally have to turn to open it.

This word is important to the text because the valve is what lead to Jon Krakauer running out of oxygen. Harris, his friend climbing up the mountain with him, had mistakenly opened the valve to release full flow of oxygen. Jon had asked him to tighten it so he could conserve whatever oxygen he did have left, and Harris did the opposite putting him in grave danger. He was in a "hypoxically impaired state" therefore it had just been an accident.

3. Head - large body part on a human that lays above the shoulders and his supported by the neck.

This word is important to the text because Jon is constantly commenting on how his head felt at different parts of the mountain. This certain passage is explaining an accident causing him to quickly lose beneficial oxygen, and this had really messed up his head. As he drained of oxygen, so did his brain. He started feeling extremely light headed, dizzy and nauseous as he tried to recover another tank of oxygen 250 feet below him.

4. Tank- an object that carries or holds something within it.

This word is important to the text because it is the object that carried all of Jon and everyone else's oxygen. With out the tank, no one would have been able to survive. They would carry the tanks full of oxygen on their back, which would be a burden sometimes. Jon made few complaints through out the novel. They would place new tanks at checkpoints up the mountain, because the tanks could only last so long until they ran out of oxygen.

5. Minutes- a matter of time, 60 seconds.

This word is important to the text because it's emphasizing the little amount of time there was to do nearly impossible tasks through out the novel. When Jon ran out of oxygen, he literally had a few minutes to descend 250 feet below him and get another tank of oxygen. It was a miracle that he made it, and time was crucial when on the mountain.


Wordle #2
 http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/6835956/Into_Thin_Air_%232

Five Important Words:

1.Snow: frozen precipitation.

This word is important to the text because it is a serious element on Mount Everest that adds many challenges to climbing it. It adds to how cold it is, makes it hard to tredge and climb on, can turn more icy to make it even more dangerous and get your clothes wet. Also, if an avalanche were to occur, it could completely bury climbers. There were many challenges through out the novel "Into Thin Air" based around snow. Climbers commonly got frost bite if they weren't dressed in the appropriate attire, and even though snow appears harmless, it's not.

2. Nervous: a feeling or emotion; feeling scared, worried.

This word is important to the text because there was a lot of things to worry about while climbing the mountain, and climbers constantly felt very nervous. Climbers are constantly facing near death experiences, and they constantly worry and are nervous on when the next one will be. Many people question why people even climb up Mount Everest due to all the risks, but even though climbers are extremely nervous the whole time, they still love it.

3. Dead- when a living thing is no longer living.

This word is important to the text because there was a lot of death in the novel "Into Thin Air." The sad truth is that many people die on Mount Everest, and it's the serious risk for every climber that go up it. There are many deaths in this novel, and it's quite tragic. It's extremely easy to die on the mountain, and one little mistake can be extremely fatal.

4. Abandoning- to leave someone emotionally or physically.

This word is important to the text because abandonment is a re-occurring theme through out the novel "Into Thin Air." People would rarely need to make the huge decision of leaving someone behind, but it does happen. Generally if a person is too injured or sick to continue up the Mountain, they will call a helicopter to come pick them up, but that wouldn't always work. This applies to the deaths that occur on the mountain. Someone can also abandon some one emotionally on the mountain, with them once being someone's rock then leaving them and treating them like dirt. The mountain "changes people" says Jon Krakauer.

5. Frozen- when something or someone is past the point of cold; surrounded by ice.

This word is important to the text because the climbers while climbing up the mountain literally felt frozen. Even with the warmest jacket and outfit, they were still freezing climbing through the coldest peaks of Everest. People would get serious frostbite, and in some serious cases actually die from being so cold. There's not much climbers could do except for dress as warmly as possible and keep moving.

Persuasive Paragraph- Commercialism On The Mountain

The most interesting theme that came up in the novel “Into Thin Air” was commercialism surrounding Mount Everest and how much people bought into that. This was the most interesting theme because it was crazy to read about how much commercialism could blindside people, how much money the mountain can draw in from the simplest things and how much it has increased over the years. First of all, the mountain’s commercialism constantly blindsided climbers with all of the extra hidden costs and fees. A determined climber would go in expecting to pay around two thousand dollars in total, and end up spending over five thousand. It was insane how the climbers were temporarily blind too what they were spending because of their determination to just climb the mountain.  To continue, another reason commercialism was the most interesting theme in the novel was how the mountain could draw in money for the simplest things. There was a lot of competition between different companies offering services up the mountain, so prices and new deals would constantly pop up. People would be offered deals that made it seem like they were saving money when in reality they were spending more money than they needed to. The deals offered random clichés such as strange keepsakes and little things the climbers didn’t essentially need; therefore wasting their money and making an outrageous profit.  In conclusion, commercialism was the most interesting theme in the novel “Into Thin Air” because of how much it increased over the years. When they first made a business out of climbers going up the mountain, there were next to no costs, but as the mountain increased in popularity, so did the amount of climbers. They started charging way more money each year because they simply could, and as more businesses opened up surrounding the mountain, so did the income of what started off as a small business. Experienced climbers who used to spend next to nothing were very displeased with the amount of money they had to start paying, and it was extremely unfair for them. This is why commercialism was the most interesting theme that came up in the novel "Into Thin Air."

Sources: Image- https://www.google.ca

 -All information in the text was taken straight from the novel "Into Thin Air"