John Krakauer's Into Thin Air
In chapter 12 of John Krakauer’s book Into Thin Air, precise words were used to help the reader visualize with the text. John and his team are heading to their final camp on Mt. Everest and are going to make a summit attempt. One example of precise words is when John spots hoards of people ascending on ropes. He doesn’t want to be below them and get hit by something. John wants to avoid “stones whizzing down the face from above”. This helps me visualize how fast and how close to you rocks could be falling on a mountain. He could have used a word like falling but that wouldn’t make the reading experience as fascinating. Another example is when John stops to take a picture of other climbers. “Squinting through my camera’s telephoto lens”
is what John describes when he is taking the pictures. He decided not to use a less descriptive word like looked but I can imagine squinting in real life. Additionally, when John trudged into Camp 4 he sees the tents. John says “the tents of Camp Four squatted on a path of barren ground”. This makes me think of an uncomfortable place that isn't very welcoming. The word gave me a greater understanding of the book than if John used a word like sat. In this chapter, the author’s use of precise language helped the reader visualize by using words that people can imagine easily and have heard so they can understand the book better.
is what John describes when he is taking the pictures. He decided not to use a less descriptive word like looked but I can imagine squinting in real life. Additionally, when John trudged into Camp 4 he sees the tents. John says “the tents of Camp Four squatted on a path of barren ground”. This makes me think of an uncomfortable place that isn't very welcoming. The word gave me a greater understanding of the book than if John used a word like sat. In this chapter, the author’s use of precise language helped the reader visualize by using words that people can imagine easily and have heard so they can understand the book better.