Week 4 Storytelling: Everest

Personal Journal of  Christopher McCandless

March 17th, 1754. Base of Mount Everest.

As I prepare for this tremendous journey in my life, I am left with one thought in my mind. What will my view be like from the top? Will it be too cloudy to see, or will it be clear skies as far my eyes can see. I am left pondering this moment and cannot shake it until I see for sure. 

April 12th, 1754. Camp II. Elevation: 14,514 ft. 

The journey has just began for me I unfortunately must say. The weather is bad. It has not stopped since we have set foot on this damn mountain. I wish only for warmth and protection from this treacherous weather. I wish only to make it home alive. 

May 3rd, 1754. Return to Base. LAST ENTRY. 

This is the day my life was taken by cruel mother nature. The weather has only worsted. An avalanche has taken the rest of the crew; I am the lone survivor. As I sit in this snow slowly dying, I have one and only thought left in my mind. Why did I ever decide to take such a journey...

(Moments before Christopher's last breath, A rescue helicopter had taken him off the cruel unforgiving mountain and restored his health. Three years have now passed since this journey and Chris is returning to conquer Mount Everest once and for all.)

Personal Journal of  Christopher McCandless (Continued)

March 12th, 1757. Round II: Base. 

I sit here once again not thinking about the past, but focusing on the future. I am unsure for what it holds. I am not 100% sure why I have returned, maybe call me foolish. I must defeat this harsh beast after cheating death from it once before. Has my luck ran out, or am I still on a winning streak. The future can only say for sure. 

May 9th, 1757. Goal Achieved. 

I sit here on the top of Everest, kissing her unforgiving fists. I remembered her all too well on the journey up. Words cannot express the view, if only my words could capture this moment forever. I must not waist this moment writing. I must take in what I have accomplished. 

(That was Christoper's last and final journal entry. He died in his journey down from the mountain. An avalanche had taken him and his entire crews lives. Chris paid his life determined to do what he did not finish the first time. Some may call his actions foolish and that he asked for death, regardless he died a happy man having accomplished his main goal in life.) 

(Mount Everest: Source)

Author's Note

Okay, so this is a pretty long stretch from the original story. I tried to keep the same moral of the story, but use a completely different style of writing. The original story this is adapted from included two brothers. One of the brothers goes on a journey trying to awake his "luck" so he can live a better life. He ends up helping everyone else besides himself. In the end, he loses his life because he makes foolish decision and does not take advantage of any of the opportunities given to him. I tried to incorporate this into my story as well. Christopher returned to conquer Mount Everest, but it proved to be too much and he had also made a foolish decision that cost him his life. 

Bibliography

The Man Who Went to Wake His Luck which was translated by D.L.R. Lorimer and E.O. Lorimer.

Week 4 Reading Diary: Persian Takes Continued

This is one of the most creative stories I have read so far. I could almost predict what was going to happen in the end; the final clue given was that the poor brother never asked Luck what his future holds. The poor brother was too concerned helping others and giving them their answers than finding an answer for himself. I think this story is implying that only so much should be done for others and that time should always be set aside for yourself, no matter the circumstances. I also noticed how both this story and my last reading diary from Persian Tales both contained a wolf in the story. I also caught a little bit of gender discrimination in this story, maybe because it is so old and the Persian tradition is much different than the American traditions. There was a woman king in the story whose people would not listen to her solely because she was a woman. The Poor brother passed up marrying this woman "king" and  also splitting all the gardeners gold coins that were buried. I think this story is also implying that everyone should take advantage of the opportunities given to them. In this case, the poor brother failed to take advantage of any of the opportunities presented to him and also did not care to find out his very own luck, resulting in the final death of him. I found it interesting how the brother's "luck" was a physical person who was sleeping in a cave; it was also interesting how luck stated that he was supposed to be asleep for many more years. Why was this mans luck supposed to be sleeping for this long? Was everyone's luck sleeping in caves for years and years?

(The Poor Brother Awakening His Luck: Source)

These thoughts were recorded after reading The Man Who Went to Wake His Luck which was translated by D.L.R. Lorimer and E.O. Lorimer. 

Week 4 Reading Diary: Persian Tales

I think this story is very interesting because it is told from the perspective of animals; more specifically goats and a wolf. This story incorporates a very important life lesson not to take any shortcuts in life; by taking shortcuts the wolf ends up getting all of his teeth pulled out. It is funny how the wolf not only took shortcuts that led to his downfall, but also gorged himself on too much water and could not jump over the stream resulting in him falling in and ultimately being defeated by the goat. Just as I expected, this Persian tale displays some very important morals in life that can apply to anyone. It shows how taking the easier way and being lazy ends up in downfall. If you want to succeed in life, you must take the more difficult path and constantly push yourself for success. The wolf thought he was smart in the beginning by painting his foot red to fool the younger goats, but in the end he was defeated by their mother because he was lazy and took shortcuts. In college especially, I have learned that success does not come easy. Perseverance and determination are needed in order to achieve any final goals. By not taking any shortcuts or being lazy, the mother goat ended up saving all her babies and returning home after defeating the foolish wolf who thought he could outsmart the goats.

(Mother Goat: Source)

These thoughts were accumulated during reading The Wolf and the Goat, translated by D.L.R. Lorimer and E.O. Lorimer.