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BrianaBoyd
APLanguage
Ms.Miller
3December2014
KrakauerComparisonEssay
JonKrakauerusesdifferent,butalsosimilar,stylesofwritingin
IntoThinAir
and
Where
MenWinGlory
tograspthereadersattention.Inordertoappealtohisreaders,Krakaueruses
syntax,footnotes,andfigurativelanguagein
IntoThinAir
and
WhereMenWinGlory
toconvey
hisdifferent,butyetsimilarstylesofwriting.
IntoThinAir
isanovelaboutKrakauerseverlastingjourneyclimbingMountEverest.
Hetalksabouthischildhoodandalwayswantingtoconquerthetallestmountain.Byusing
footnotes,heisabletogivethereaderexactfacts,certainlocations,andevidencethattookplace
duringthetrip.Thisaddsadditionalinformationaboutacertaintermorconceptthatthereader
maynotunderstandwell.*Threefootlongaluminumstakescalledpicketswereusedtoanchor
ropesandladderstosnowslopeswhentheterrainwashardglacialice,icescrewswere
employed:hollow,threadedtubesabouttenincheslongthatweretwistedintothefrozenglacier
(Krakauer,
IntoThinAir
,83).Thisfootnoteisusedtoelaboratemoreonwhatananchoris.It
givesplentyofinformationtomakesurethereaderunderstandsitbetterandcanrelateittothe
contextinwhichthewordisbeingusedin.Krakaueralsousesfigurativelanguagetoconnecthis
readerstothebook.Hemostlyusesimagerywhendescribingthesceneryonthemountainwith
sheerrockbuttressesseamedwithicepressedinfrombothedgesoftheglacier,risinglikethe
shouldersofamalevolentgod(IntoThinAir77).Allowingthereadertoenvisionapictureof

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themountainwillkeepthereadersinterestedandwantingtocontinuereadingaboutKrakauers
journey.
Krakauerusesmoresyntaxtoportrayhiswritingstylesin
WhereMenWinGlory.
The
wayheusessentencestructureandsimilesdifferfromhowheusestheminhisothernovel.He
usesseverallong,andcomplex,sentencesseparatedbycolonstoexpresshismeaning,which
willallowhimtoensurethatanythoughtsorideasnotexplainedwellaremadeclearforthe
readertounderstand.Forexample,hedescribesTheSovietcausewasnthelpedbyapolicyof
designatedasLimitedContingent:MoscowdecidedtocapthenumberofFortiethArmytroops
inAfghanistanat115,000,despitethefactthatbeforetheinvasionSovietgeneralshadwarned
thatasmanyas650,000soldierswouldbeneededtosecurethecountry"(WhereMenWinGlory
9).Krakaueralsoexpressessimilesbydescribingpeopleandinnerstrength.Thewayhetalked
abouthowbinLadenhadsurvivedanattemptagainsthislife"likeasupervillaininaMarvel
comicbook,heseemedtobeendowedwiththeabilitytoabsorbthemightiestblowshisenemy
coulddeliver,drawenergyfromthem,andbecomemorepowerfulasaconsequence"(Where
MenWinGlory).
Bothbooks,overall,containsimilaritiesanddifferencesonKrakauersstyleofwriting.
Themethodsusedin
IntoThinAir
aremoreusedtoexpressasenseofrealityandtruth,whilein
WhereMenWinGlory,
theyaremoreusedtoprovokeemotionfromthereader,butalsofact
basedaswell.Hissyntaxconsistsofcomplexsentences.Whenheuseslong,descriptive
sentences,followedwithacolon,bothbooksareusedtoexpressdifferentconcepts,butthe
purposeforwhyheusesthemaresimilar.Heusesthemtoaddmoreinformationaboutacertain
concepttomakesurethereaderunderstands.Krakauerusedfigurativelanguagesuchassimiles

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in
WhereMenWinGlory
toresolvetodepicttheirinnerstrengthincontrast,heusedsimilesin
IntoThinAir
toexpresstheextremeconditionshewentthroughtoallowthereaderfeelwhathe
wentgoingthrough.Footnotesaremorecommonin
IntoThinAir
howeverwhenhedoesuse
themin
WhereMenWinGlory
,hetendstowritealistofpeoplewhopassedawayduring
firefights,ortoexplainwarterms.Thisshowshowthewomenandmenwerededicatedinthe
militaryandfortheircountry.
Krakauerusesmanydifferentdevicestodescribetwodifferentstories,eachwitha
differentpurpose.Heusessyntaxtovaryhissentencesandconnectthereadertowhatheis
saying,figurativelanguagetograspthereadertovisualizeandimaginewhatKrakauersees,and
footnotestogivethereadermoreinformationsotheycanunderstandcertainview.Withthese
devicesanduniquewritingskills,Krakauersuccessfullyallowsthereadertoconnectwiththe
book.

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WorksCited
Krakauer,Jon.
IntoThinAir:APersonalAccountoftheMountEverestDisaster
.New
York:Villard,1997.Print.
Krakauer,Jon.
WhereMenWinGlory
.NewYork:Doubleday,2009.Print.