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The story emphasizes that we need to live in the moment 

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The story emphasizes that we need to live in the moment 

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The tale depicts a town where people feel that they are always too busy to do things that will provide lasting joy. Instead, they choose to do activities that make them instantly happy, such as watching TV or eating frozen food like in the story. Like said in the symbols section, when the narrator remembers the time they had gone up the hill with their husband, a snowflake melts away quickly on their husband's face. People living a modern lifestyle in a busy city or town need to have moments where they forget about their busy schedules and worries and relax. As shown with the time on the microwave (also talked about in symbols), there is no going back in time in life. Thus, life should not be all about business but also enjoying it.

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The narrator not going up the mountain may represent suppressed goals people have.

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The narrator not going up the mountain may represent suppressed goals people have.

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The narrator pushes the idea of climbing the mountain away constantly, but the thoughts never leave because they think about what they would experience while at the peak of the hill. We do this with our goals by thinking about the joy we may feel after accomplishing an objective. It is usual for humans to think about things they want to achieve, but from personal experience, someone may often only think about them despite how joyful it would be.

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Like many others in real life living in a city or town, the narrator prefers to be like everyone else without anything that would make them contrast to their society.

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Like many others in real life living in a city or town, the narrator prefers to be like everyone else without anything that would make them contrast to their society.

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It was similar to how the main character would shake their heads and shrug when asked if they had recently climbed the mountain. Ultimately, the narrator states that everyone in that town does that.

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The whole story represents how modern life has an effect on a person within a society.

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The snowflake at the end of the story represents how one should live in the moment. At the end of the tale, the narrator begins to think, "The snowflake melted fast, and then it was gone." This quote demonstrates how life will have one-of-a-kind moments that one should savour. Sometimes events are best experienced while one forgets about all of the worries in their lives.

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The part with the microwave clock emphasizes how the narrator cannot go backwards when fixing it after making a mistake. "You can't go backwards, not with this clock." may have a double meaning: humans cannot go back in time to make up for missed events. When the time has passed, then there is no going back.

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The Frozen Food, Television, and Cheesecake

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The Frozen Food, Television, and Cheesecake

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As a whole, these three things represent happiness. However, this is the type of happiness that does not last for a long time. Joy comes with effort. Doing something fast, such as watching a TV show, will not do the same because it causes instant happiness.

"'Do you love me or what?" says the cheesecake slice on your sister's plate." This shows the personification of the cheesecake the sister eats. It may also demonstrate how these forms of happiness feel more appealing to a person. It is as if they are calling to one, while goals seem like they "don't care".

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This symbol represents unreached goals. A mountain requires lots of effort and energy to climb. It is similar to trying to fulfil dreams. Due to all of the action that needs to be done for them, they are very time-consuming. Most people put them to the side because of that. The mountain's personification of "not caring" about people supports others not feeling motivated to attain goals. The effort and work towards accomplishment are what makes them unappealing sometimes.

"The point of the mountain is not to rush the mountain." is a quote that further demonstrates how the mountain may symbolize goals. To accomplish them efficiently, they should not be rushed.

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There are a lot of symbols in this tale. However, some are more obvious than others.

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These secondary characters are changing the narrator’s thoughts with their own. They are a factor causing the main character to want to fit in with society and not be too different and outstanding from others. Those may be the reasons why the narrator is more of a follower. Many people who live lives similar to the main character may be going through the same influencing process.

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The story implies that the narrator and their sister have a good relationship by going out together to try cheesecake at a new cheesecake place. Siblings who are not on good terms would probably not do that. While out for cheesecake, they talk about going up the mountain. The sister states that the mountain does not care for whoever climbs it. Later on, the narrator says the same while talking to their husband. '"But that's the thing. The mountain doesn't care if we come to it or not."' is what the main character says, further showing how they are following their sister's opinion.

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The narrator and their husband seem to be very close—proof of their relationship is how they watch television together and cuddle in bed. However, the husband is another character who influences the desire of the main character. After reminding the reader of all of the activities that need finishing on Saturday, he says, "The mountain will wait.", demonstrating him expressing his negative opinion on going up the mountain. The narrator, as a result, begins to feel the same, despite being the one to ask if they could do it in the first place.

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Although not being very close to the next-door neighbour, the narrator seems to copy her. This shows as they both grin and shrug while saying they have not gone up the mountain that day. After the encounter, the main character ponders to themselves: "But the mountain is always there. It is never not there. So, in terms of priorities, it always gets bumped. Anyway, maybe today's not the day."

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The readers see that the narrator interacts with the neighbour, husband, and sister. They have children, but the relationship between them and the main character does not show. At the very least, we see that the narrator cares for them by doing parental tasks (dropping the children off at school, scanning them). However, the tale shows how the secondary characters the narrator interacts with affect them.

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The narrator is a dreamer but overthinks and does not seem to follow their own goals. Instead, they choose to do what everyone around them is doing. The storyteller is supposed to resemble an average person who is part of everyday society. In a real-life scenario, many people prefer not to stand out within a crowd when living in a town but instead try to live like everyone else – busy. It always feels like there is something to do. When surrounded by many people, it is easy to get influenced by others. Being and acting like everyone else can make one lose their individuality, like how the narrator is not climbing the mountain like they want to.

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It seems that the narrator has trouble making choices. This trait is most prominent when they have an hour until they must leave for work. During this moment, they overthink two things: fixing the microwave's clock and how much time it would take for them to climb the mountain.

While fixing the clock, they make it seem like a massive deal by thinking, "If you set it too early, everyone in the kitchen will fall out of sync." As a result, the narrator sets the time three minutes earlier than usual, like before. Thus, they did not achieve their goal of fixing the clock.

After the occurrence with the microwave, the main character begins to think about how much time it would take to go up the mountain. The narrator calculates that there would be enough time to go before work, but they do not put their thoughts into action because they continue to use the time to contemplate.

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One could say that the narrator would not stand out from a crowd of people. This is because they are easily influenced by what other people say around them, and copies actions that other people in their society do.

For example, while encountering their neighbour, the narrator thinks: “Spicy Thai. Does that make her more interesting than you? More Zesty?”

This quotation shows the thought process of the narrator comparing themselves to the neighbour. Copying the neighbour by buying spicy Thai when they do not like spice themselves (as stated by the husband) demonstrates that the main character does not have individuality. It is almost as if they think that they will both be equally interesting if they buy similar food.

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The narrator desires to go up the mountain that is in the middle of the town. The constant repetition of the word "mountain" throughout the story demonstrates that. It portrays how something someone wants may always be lingering in their heads.

"That's what you had been thinking about when you looked out the window and saw the mountain. But you don't tell him about the mountain." This quote demonstrates the narrator's constant thoughts on the mountain. The main character tells their husband that they have been thinking about his reaction to their favourite show while driving home.  In reality, they have been thinking about going up the mountain.

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The main character is the narrator, the reader being in the story. They have a husband with kids, a sister, a job, and a neighbour. While reading, one can see that the narrator is somewhat of a dreamer, an ordinary person living in a city, and an over-thinker.

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The narrative point-of-view being in the second person is significant because the readers are to insert themselves into the story. Reading the events makes it feel like they are part of what is going on, allowing them to better understand and relate to what is happening. The fact that there are no specified pronouns for the main character further makes connecting to any gender. One more thing one may consider is that the intended audience of readers may be people who live in busy towns and cities. Those types may quickly determine the conveying message due to reading it from a reader-inserted perspective.

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“You pull out. You glance up at the mountain.”

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“You sigh and sip your rooibos.”

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“Maybe when you feel less blah, you’ll go up the mountain.”

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“You pass by the mountain on your way to work, on your way to the store, on your way to drop the kids off at school.”

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The narrative point-of-view of the story is second person.

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The main character, the reader, seems to be constantly thinking about climbing the mountain that is in the middle of their town. You engage in the tasks that you had planned before the beginning of the story. As you fulfil your schedule, the mountain constantly seems to be on your mind. While interacting with others, your neighbour, husband, and sister, they tell you about not having the time to climb the mountain or not being interested in it at all. For example, your sister sees no point or fulfilment in climbing it. Despite their thoughts, you still think about wanting to go up the peak. However, instead of going, you continue living the busy life you have in town, only continually thinking about climbing the mountain but then deciding that it is best to do it another time. While leaving for work after the weekend events, you remember that joyful time you and your husband had gone up the mountain.