Touch The Top Of The World Analysis

Everest is an excerpt from the story “Touch the Top of the World” by Erik Weihenmayer, while “To Climb the Devil’s Thumb” is a story by Jon Krakauer. Both of them relate to mountain-climbing and internal conflict. They are similar in their general subjects, however when looking deeper you can find that they have two vastly different tones.
Everest, from “Touch the Top of the World,” is about a group of mountain climbers who set out to climb Mt. Everest. One of the main characters, “Big E,” is a blind man who formed the Association of The Blind and encourages people to do what they dream. Him and his team of climbers set out to climb Mt. Everest in 2001. Throughout the excerpt, the team goes through many problems. For example, Big E’s comrades face problems with their masks, struggling to see where they are going and taking in oxygen. Another example of a conflict in the story is when Jeff begins to backtrack down the mountain, claiming he is “wasted” and too exhausted to make it to the
Everest has a purpose to encourage the audience to do things that they aren’t confident in. This is supported by one of the main characters, Big E. Even though nobody believes that he actually climbed Mt. Everest due to his blindness, Big E. doesn’t care to prove to anyone that he completed the journey. Jon in “To Climb the Devil’s Thumb,” however, is almost the opposite. The main thing that convinces Jon to continue his adventure up the Devil’s Thumb is his extreme need to fulfill a purpose for other people to know about. He wants to feel like he belongs somewhere other than his average job. Although this is true, when nobody believes that he actually climbed the mountain, he doesn’t fight to prove himself. Jon and Big E. have different outlooks on life, yet they both eventually have no desire to prove themselves to those around