Upload
istas
View
74
Download
0
Tags:
Embed Size (px)
DESCRIPTION
Into Thin Air. By Jon Krakauer. Risk Takers. What do you think is the most dangerous sport: White-water rafting Skydiving Something else??? On a piece of paper, choose a sport that is extremely risky and list the dangers involved. Write at least THREE (3) ways the sport is dangerous. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
Citation preview
Into Thin AirBy Jon Krakauer
Risk TakersWhat do you think is the most dangerous sport:
White-water raftingSkydivingSomething else???
On a piece of paper, choose a sport that is extremely risky and list the dangers involved. Write at least THREE (3) ways the sport is dangerous.
As we read “Into Thin Air,” compare those risks with the risks involved in climbing Mount Everest.
Gasping for BreathWith an altitude of 29,028 feet, Mount
Everest is the highest peak on earth.Mountain climbers call the region above
26,000 feet the Death Zone because the air is too thin for humans.At that altitude, brain cells die, the blood
grows thick, the heart speeds up, and the brain can swell – leading to death.
Gasping for BreathIn spite of these risks, reaching the top of
Everest has become a status symbol.By the 1990s, even people with little
experience and poor physical conditioning were climbing Everest.
Jon KrakauerJon Krakauer was one of those climbers.
A journalist, he was hired by Outside magazine to write about the trend of unskilled climbers buying their way onto Everest.
The story opens up with Krakauer on top of the mountain and the hardest part still to come.
He had been warned that “any idiot can get up this hill. The trick is to get back down alive.”
Words to KnowVocabulary
CognizantAware.
CompulsivelyTo do something because of an irresistible
impulse.
CriticalDetermining an outcome; crucial; very
important.
EscalateTo increase in intensity.
HindsightA full knowledge of events after they have
occurred.
InitiativeThe will or power to start something.
MeanderTo follow a winding path.
ObscuringHiding from view.
ObstinacyStubbornness
SupplementalExtra; additional.
Word ChoiceInto Thin Air
Word ChoiceWriters use language to express their thoughts and
feelings. To do this well, they must choose exactly the right words.
In one passage, Jon Krakauer describes a delay that occurred as he was climbing down Everest with a low oxygen supply:“I encountered a clot of climbers chuffing up the
single strand of rope.”The word clot can also mean a lump that stops
blood flow. By choosing this word, Krakauer shows that there’s a major obstacle in the way of him getting down, and that he is feeling that he is in danger.
Determining a Writer’s MotiveInto Thin Air
A Writer’s MotivesMany different motives, or reasons, make
people want to write. Possible motives for writers of eyewitness accounts include:To record the facts for historyTo analyze mistakes in order to prevent future
problemsTo explain their own behaviorTo explain the behavior of others
A Writer’s MotivesWhen choosing which events and people to
include in their accounts, writers must pick what ideas will best serve the purpose of the story. For example, Krakauer writes about a blinded climber’s response when he offers help:“’Thanks anyway,’ Beck said. ‘I think I’ll just
wait for Mike. He’s got a rope.’”Krakauer includes that part to explain why he
left Beck alone on the mountain – which was something that left Beck’s life in danger.