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If one would read books from the best authors of all time, they would notice certain similarities in how they write. The majority of these are described and listed in Stephin King's memoir On Writing. In On Writing King describes tips and moments in his life that greatly influenced himself as a writer. In Krakauer's retelling of his disastrous climb on Mount Everest, he also describes a moment that influenced himself not only as a writer but also as a person. This along with two pieces of advice that were given by King in his memoir are shown when Krakauer opens his story with, "Straddling the top of the world, one foot in China and the other in Nepal, I cleared the ice from my oxygen mask, hunched a shoulder against the wind..." (8). These opening lines are perfect examples of two of King's tips: have a hook that is action-filled, and use a good amount of description to bring the reader into the story/setting. As will be described in the upcoming paragraphs, Krakauer using a plethora of descriptive words and phrases to describe what he was going through while on the mountain. Krakauer's purpose in writing Into Thin Air is to show how dire the overcrowding on Everest had become. He was able to make such a convincing claim due to his use of descriptive words, and without them, his story would have been forgotten.

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A writer's craft is what makes a book turn into an exceptional story. Throughout the novel, Krakauer used his craft skills in order to elevate the story and spread awareness about Everest overcrowding. Using a flashback, Krakauer describes, the mysterious and obscure Peak XV was deemed the tallest mountain in the world and christened Everest, there was an infatuation in climbing the mountain. This flashback ends when Krakauer tells the reader, "...it would require the lives of twenty-four men, the efforts of fifteen expeditions, and... 101 years before the summit..." (17). This piece of information shows that even before the majority of the world even thought about Everest, people were dying and expeditions were spending loads of money and time trying to reach the summit first. This also shows that Everest is a treacherous mountain because it took 101 years from its designation as the tallest mountain to the first successful summit. If Everest was just a couple hundred feet shorter it like many other mountains would be living in relative obscurity with only a small number of climbers each year.

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During his journey to the summit of Mt. Everest Jon Krakauer created numerous relationships that ended up changing the way he thought about the world. These relationships started to bloom early on during his trek from Lukla Airport (the nearest airstrip to Base camp). This includes his fellow climbers as well as locals he met along the way. One example of this occurs when he and Chhongba (one of the many Sherpas that went along with the climbers) visit the lama spiritual leader of Nepal named The Rimpoche. While visiting his holiness he looks at a book that Jon was given by The Rimpoche of him in America, Jon describes The Rimpoche's demeanor as, "Grinning broadly, he excitedly pointed out his two favorite photos..." (50). This description of The Rimpoche illustrates one of the first moments when Jon and the others (specifically Texan Beck Weathers) learn that the native Nepalese/Sherpas are welcome and warm towards outside tourists. The description also shows that people will be nice to themselves if they are polite back. Given the risks and dangers of climbing Everest, people acting kindly towards others will be a matter of life and death.

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Authors use imagery and beautiful words in order to immerse the reader into the story. By the nature of Everest, the majority of the population can not go to Everest and witness what Krakauer saw. This is true even for Base Camp where the amount of Oxygen is safe for most people and as far up a large number of climbers go when visiting Everest. Base Camp is a relatively enormous tent city filled with climbers, Sherpas, guides, and many other supplementary workers allowing climbers to make it to the top of the world. Unfortunately for Krakauer and the other climbers, heavy snow caused the trek to Base Camp to grind to a halt at the village of Lobuje. Krakauer goes on to describe the beautiful views of the mountain, then describes Lobuje's sanitary system as "...three or four stone toilets in the village were literally overflowing with excrement" (54). This description and the antithesis it forms illustrates that despite Everest being a major tourist attraction (even in 1996), it is still in a third-world country that still is not fully adjusted to the surge in tourism. They also illustrate the expectation of seeing the beautiful untouched landscape, with the reality of overflowing toilets and overcrowding. This along with other examples of expectations vs reality antithesis illustrates how over-commercialization can ruin the landscape around/on Mount Everest, which in turn could cause the unique Mount Everest to become a trash-filled amusement park.

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The over-commercialization of nature and its beauties are causing the death and destruction of not only nature itself, but also the death and destruction of numerous human lives. These included new inexperienced climbers, but also seemingly experienced climbers. A member of the latter group was Doug Hansen with whom Krakauer had a positive relationship. While in the sick-filled Base Camp, Krakauer forms a strong bond with Doug describing him as, "...fully capable of looking after himself on the heights...Doug confided to me that he'd been involved with a succession of woman..." (73). These quotes about Doug show that Krakauer respected him due to his experience (he almost made it to the summit with Rob Hall the year before). Meanwhile, Doug trusts Krakauer to tell him about his nefarious love life back in the US. Sadly, Doug died mysteriously on the mountain and his body was never found along with fellow climber Andy Harris. Doug's death caused Krakauer much pain and grief illustrating how close they became during their journeys. Doug's death also shows that climbers who seem to have a high chance of submitting successfully can become victims of the mountain.

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Climbing Everest is one of the most body-straining actions one can do. Any small obstacle can cause countless deaths. This was the case during Krakauer's expedition to the summit when one obstacle snowballed into the main conflict of his story. This major obstacle is perfectly illustrated in a quote from Rob Hall (the leader of Krakauer's expedition) when he tells Krakauer, "With so many incompetent people on the mountain... it's pretty unlikely that we'll get through this season without something bad happening up high" (104). This piece of dialog by Hall shows the reader that even before the climb began, certain people already knew a disaster was imminent. The inexperienced climbers referenced by Hall were not only spread out through groups with super experienced climbers (like Sandy Pittman), but the entire South African, Norwegian (which was one climber doing a "solo" summit with 18 Sherpas helping him), and Twainese expeditions were made up almost completely of super inexperienced climbers. Today, Everest is overcrowded with hundreds of inexperienced climbers endangering themselves and others. This cautionary tale was trying to spread this lesson to potential climbers over two decades ago.

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Throughout the novel, Krakauer incorporates craft through the use of certain rhetorical strategies in order to elevate the story. One certain rhetorical strategy that is utilized heavily by Krakauer is foreshadowing. Krakauer's foreshadowing is illustrated when he talks heavily about potentially deadly illnesses that occur when someone is unable to get enough oxygen that are possible when summiting Everest; these have been named HAPE and HACE. Krakauer heavily talks about HAPE and HACE including how they could affect one's ability to climb up Everest safely. He describes the effects of HACE as, "...motor and metal skills deteriorate with alarming speed...without the victim even noticing the change" (144). This description of HACE along with a story about how HACE almost killed American Dale Kruse (who suffered from HACE at Camp Three) lean towards the fact that they will be important in the near future. These prophesied illnesses strike close to Krakauer during his deadly descent from the summit only a few weeks later. The emphasis on HAPE and HACE don't solely represent an example of foreshadowing, but also a warning to the dangers of climbing Everest when inexperienced.

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Submitting Mount Everest involves putting one's trust in hundreds of others from the Sherpas who have submitted Everest multiple times, to your fellow climbers who are on their first-ever submit. Expedition leaders (like Rob Hall who lead Krakauer's expedition and Gau who lead a Taiwanese expedition) also have to put trust in the other guide leaders. One example of this going wrong occurred, after Hall and the other guide leaders met up and assigned each group a window of time to submit in order to prevent overcrowding near the submit. After the dates were set, the first group tried their luck at the top, and the second group (which was supposed to include Krakauer's group and Scott Fischer's group)  were on their way to the top of the world, Krakauer noticed, "...the Taiwanese leader apparently changed his mind...now [Gau] intended to go for the top the same day we did" (162). This decision by Gau and the rest of the Taiwanese expedition was another nail in the coffin for the fate of the May 10th submitting. Instead of an easily manageable amount of climbers and expeditions, the leaders had to account for an entire other expedition. This also greatly increased the risk of overcrowding and a backup in the death zone (an area where a climber could run out of oxygen and die if something goes wrong). If nobody trusts anyone while on Everest, those who were eventually rescued by Krakauer and others would have died a painful lonely death.

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The Himalayan Mountains are some of the most beautiful yet dangerous landscapes in the world. During Krakauer's submitting of Everest he used his excellent writing skills in order to emulate the unparalleled beauty yet danger of the mountain. The majority of climbers on the mountain (including Krakauer) used supplemental oxygen in order to compensate for the thin atmosphere at the higher elevations on the mountain. Despite having possibly lethal issues with his supplemental oxygen, (and describing how he felt like he was drowning) Krakauer eventually made it to the summit and described what he saw as, "...Buddhist prayer flags snapped furiously in the wind...the dry Tibetan plateau stretched to the horizon as a boundless expanse of dun-colored earth" (189). This beautiful language along with his description of how he felt when his oxygen started to run low form an antithesis via the contrast of the feeling of pain and suffering and the beauty of the landscape surrounding him. Also through this language, Krakauer illustrates how the illusion of beautiful vistas that attracts inexperienced climbers is possible only if you can survive at the ultra-high altitude for an extended amount of time with a minimal amount of supplies. The dangers of climbers who ignore these risks are what Krakauer is trying to warn the reader about.

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After leaving the relative safety of Camp Four, climbers enter the "Death Zone". This is an area where all but a small few elite climbers and Sherpas need to utilize supplemental oxygen in order to stay alive. Due to the high number of inexperienced climbers, the guides and Sherpas needed to acquire and ascend with a significant amount of Oxygen for the expeditions. After the athletically fit Krakauer and Mike Groom made it to the summit, ran out/low on Oxygen, and made it to the South Summit (where a surplus of unused Oxygen Canisters) he runs into Andy Harris who explains that all of the canisters are empty. Krakauer and Groom then test the canisters they realize are empty, but "[Andy Harris] kept ensuring that they were all empty, and nothing Mike or I said could convince him otherwise" (195). This quote shows a major obstacle in the expedition's descent by perfectly illustrating how a lack of Oxygen can affect the way people think. Harris, despite being an experienced guide, had his intelligence and problem-solving skills greatly decreased due to the lack of Oxygen. Due to still thinking the canisters are empty even after Krakauer and Groom prove they are full, could cause climbers to die of HAPE and HACE. If the experienced guide Andy Harris can face deadly side effects due to a lack of Oxygen, way more dangerous side effects have the potential to strike the less experienced climbers who became trapped in the Death Zone.

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When on the highest altitudes of Everest, the thin atmosphere only has a fraction of what non-Sherpas are used to. This causes one's brain to deteriorate causing potentially dangerous consequences. Krakauer faced this multiple times while on his descent down from the summit amid a blizzard. One example occurred when he thought he ran into his close friend Andy Harris at a cliff near the safety of Camp Four and could swear he saw him get down the face and go towards Camp Four; until a conversation with fellow climber Martin Adams two months after the climb. During this conversation, Krakauer has the realization that he did not run into Andy Harris, but instead, he ran into Adams. During this revelation he describes how he felt as "My error has greatly… compounded the pain of [his wife]... Andy's parents... his brother... and his many friends" (231). This realization and the effects it had on Krakauer is one of the most emotional moments in the entire story. It caused Krakauuer to feel even more guilty about the events that occurred on the mountain during those fateful days on Mount Everest. Because of this completely accidental and out-of-his-control mistake along with the other emotionally scarring events, caused Krakauer (along with many of his fellow survivors) to face major trauma and survivor's guilt that could still be affecting them to this day.

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The best books have a theme that is intertwined to the story appearing enough times for the reader to notice and change the way they think, but not too prevalent that it is completely spoon-fed to the reader. Into Thin Air is a perfect example of this, with its themes and lessons that are all connected during Krakauer's journey. As will be stated again later, one of the most important themes of the book is, "a stranger's life is more important than substance". Guide Anatoli Boukreev illustrates this theme when after safely climbing to the summit and back to Camp Four, Krakauer describes what Anatoli Boukreev did next as, "At 1:45 the next morning... frantically searching the South Col for Sandy Pitman, Charlotte Fox, and Tim Madsen" (252). Anatoli Boukreev's actions here illustrate this theme by showing that he was willing to risk his life and his equipment to rescue the stranded climbers during the storm. Although Boukreev was a guide for Fischer's expedition, he could have stayed in the relative safety of Camp Four like the other climbers/guides. If Anatoli Boukreev, the IMAX expedition, and others did not believe in this theme, the number of lives lost and families ruined would have been greatly increased.

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The greatest books of all time have one thing in common, they all have multiple themes that change the way the reader thinks about the world. Into Thin Air has a multitude of themes varying from the easy to notice, "tourism and commercialism can have lethal consequences" to the vitally important, yet the fairly hidden theme of, "a stranger's life is more important than substance". This theme appears multiple times throughout Krakauer's journey; one example occurs when Krakauer is describing how he and others helped rescue stranded climbers. After nearly running after bottled oxygen, (who were at Camp Two waiting for their designated submitting window) saved the day by, "...offer[ing] his expedition's supply of oxygen-fifty canisters... this threatened to put his $5.5 million film project in jeopardy..." (263). This saving grace by the IMAX expedition shows that they were willing to bring their oxygen up thousands of feet and risk losing millions of dollars to save the life of strangers. Their good karma followed the IMAX expedition when at 11:00 am on May 22nd in perfect weather they successfully made it to the submit. If the IMAX expedition did not believe in this theme, the stranded climbers would have died a painful lonely death on top of Everest.

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During the life-changing events of Into Thin Air, the journalist Krakauer uses rhetorical strategies to elevate his story. One strategy Krakauer utilizes often is imagery. This detailed and frequently occurring imagery pulls the reader into significant moments during his journey. One example of this occurs after certain climbers were successfully rescued from the death zone alive, Boukreev tries to rescue Fischer from 27,000ft (over 1,000ft above Camp Four). Anatoli successfully ascends to Fischer and describes his status as, "...[oxygen] bottle is empty. He is not wearing mittens...suit is unzipped pulled off his shoulder, one arm is outside clothing" (265). Krakauer included this quote by Boukreev in order to illustrate to the reader the dire situation Fischer was in when he was found by Boukreev. This imagery also causes the reader to think deeply about if Fischer should be saved or left on the cold mountain. Boukreev's description of Fischer along with other similar descriptions of dead and dying human bodies illustrate the depressing truth about Everest and what could happen if the over-commercialism of the area continues. Krakauer was ringing alarm bells about Everest 25 years ago; 25 years later, hoards of inexperienced climbers flock to the base of Everest risking their lives and a small fortune to try to reach the top of the world.

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Climbing Everest can give its climbers some of the strongest emotions known to man. From the strong sense of fulfillment when reaching the top of the world to the sadness and guilt when your compatriots die while on their journey. The latter of which plagued Krakauer and the rest of his expedition. After all of the death and despair he witnessed, Krakauer faced emotional trauma which peaked after leaving the mountain. After finally arriving back home in Seattle he describes how these feelings affected him by telling the reader, "The stain this has left on my psyche is not the sort of thing that washes off after a few months of grief and guilt-ridden self-reproach" (283). This quote illustrates how despite the fact that he was not to blame for anyone's deaths and tried his best to save as many people as possible, he still feels guilt for Andy Harris's and Yasuko Namba's deaths. This case of severe survival guilt is the negative ending to Krakauer's emotional journey during his quest to reach the top of Everest. The only way to prevent a situation like this from occurring again is to listen to Krakauer and others and de-commercialize Mount Everest.