Ambition In Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air

Many individuals find themselves developing ambitions or goals. Some of those individuals will have the determination to try to achieve these goals, which will lead to some failing, and others succeeding. In fact, this may impact other individual’s lives. In the non-fiction novel Into Thin Air, author Jon Krakauer examines both the advantages and disadvantages of ambition, implying that ambition can either be a blessing or become a tragic flaw. Krakauer develops his ideas by utilizing character motivation to explore the negative and positive aspects of ambition on self and others.

Krakauer uses character motivation to express the characters ambition to successfully summit Everest. Scott Fisher, the Mountain Madness head guide, “has this burning ambition to be a great climber, to be one of the best in the world.” His ambition is useful for his climbing career, but when he “pushes himself beyond any physical limitation,” he ends up dying in the end. Lopsang Jangbu Sherpa, Fisher’s climbing Sirdar, beats himself up for his death. Krakauer said, “Unfortunately, the sort of individual who is programmed to ignore personal

After being left for dead Beck miraculously became conscious again. Realizing that he was, “in deep shit and the cavalry wasn’t coming” he picked himself up and walked towards camp. After spending the night in a collapsed shelter Beck managed to stay alive. Later that day, Beck after being, “given up for dead yet again” was determined to get down Everest alive. Later on after safely making it off the mountain People magazine wrote an article about Beck Weathers, which talks about how his near death experience saved his marriage. Though his ambition to get to the top of Everest when, “his vision [got] worse” the higher he climbed up; which might have been the reason he almost lost his life, but that doesn’t compare to the amount of determination it took him to save his