Imagine yourself standing on the 29,035 foot top of the world. Would you like to take on such a feat?

Why or why not?Mrs. Danielle Summerville

April 6, 2011

My personal objective is to

get down alive!!

Objectives:The student will be able

to….Identify contradictions,

incongruities, and ironies in a text.

Determine ways to target particular audiences.

Irony Review: (pg. 349)

Situational Irony:

Dramatic Irony:

Climbers Involved in Tragedy:

Let’s take a look at page 350. It might help you visualize the people as we discuss them.

Also, let’s take a look at the camp

map on page 351.

Based off of the ending of the story, do you think Krakauer would recommend climbing Mt. Everest to others? Why or why not?

Ironies and Contradictions

“Straddling the top of the world, one foot in Tibet and the other in Nepal, I cleared the ice from my

oxygen mask, hunched a shoulder against the wind, and stared absently at the vast sweep of

earth below” (page 353).

How does Krakauer feel after achieving something he has been

fantasizing about for months?

Why is this ironic?

Ironies and Contradictions

“But I can attest that nothing I saw early on the afternoon of May 10th suggested that a murderous storm was about to bear down on us. To my oxygen depleted mind, the clouds drifting up the grand

valley of ice known as the Western CWM look innocuous,

wispy, and insubstantial?

Explain the clouds for a 3rd grader.

Why is this description of the clouds ironic?

Ironies and Contradictions

“The last climber up the rope was Fischer, whom I knew casually from Seattle, where we both lived. His strength and drive were legendary-in 1994 he’d

climbed Everest without using bottled oxygen-so I was surprised

at how slowly he was moving” (page 355).

Why is it incongruous and ominous that Fischer seems to be

lagging?

Ironies and Contradictions:

“Suddenly, Harris appeared out of the gloom and sat beside me…he was in appalling shape…He was frantic to reach camp…Harris started scooting down on his butt, facing

forward” (page 357).

Harris is an expedition guide. What about Harris’s behavior here seems contradictory to his duties as a leader of this

expedition?

Ironies and Contradictions:

“At 6:20 p.m., Hall was patched through to a second time to Arnold in Christchurch…’Hi, my love’” (page 360).

What is ironic about this situation?

Ironies and Contradictions

“Chhiri, an Everest veteran respected by Sherpas and

sahibs..urged Hutchison to leave Weathers and Namba where they

lay. Even if they survived long enough to be dragged back to

Camp Four, they would certainly die before they could be carried

down to Base Camp” (page 361).

What is incongruous about the arrival of Weathers later in the

story?

Context Clues:

“A couple of hours earlier, a light must have gone on in the

reptilian core of Weathers’ comatose

brain, and he regained

consciousness” (page 361)

Comatose is a medical term. How might the context

clues help you uncover its meaning?

Closure/Summarizing:

“Climbers, as a species, are simply not distinguished by

an excess of common sense. And that holds

especially true for Everest climbers:

When presented with a chance to reach the

planet’s highest summit, people are surprisingly quick to abandon prudence altogether” (page

326).

How would you summarize

Krakauer’s comments here?

Independent Practice:

Final copy of your persuasive essay is due today by 4:00

We will be reading “Notes in a Bottle” in

class together on Wednesday. Come prepared with your

microphone and textbook.