Suggestions
Use up and down arrows to review and enter to select.Please wait while we process your payment
If you don't see it, please check your spam folder. Sometimes it can end up there.
If you don't see it, please check your spam folder. Sometimes it can end up there.
Please wait while we process your payment
By signing up you agree to our terms and privacy policy.
Don’t have an account? Subscribe now
Create Your Account
Sign up for your FREE 7-day trial
Already have an account? Log in
Your Email
Choose Your Plan
Save over 50% with a SparkNotes PLUS Annual Plan!
Purchasing SparkNotes PLUS for a group?
Get Annual Plans at a discount when you buy 2 or more!
Price
$24.99 $18.74 /subscription + tax
Subtotal $37.48 + tax
Save 25% on 2-49 accounts
Save 30% on 50-99 accounts
Want 100 or more? Contact us for a customized plan.
Your Plan
Payment Details
Payment Summary
SparkNotes Plus
You'll be billed after your free trial ends.
7-Day Free Trial
Not Applicable
Renews April 5, 2023 March 29, 2023
Discounts (applied to next billing)
DUE NOW
US $0.00
SNPLUSROCKS20 | 20% Discount
This is not a valid promo code.
Discount Code (one code per order)
SparkNotes Plus subscription is $4.99/month or $24.99/year as selected above. The free trial period is the first 7 days of your subscription. TO CANCEL YOUR SUBSCRIPTION AND AVOID BEING CHARGED, YOU MUST CANCEL BEFORE THE END OF THE FREE TRIAL PERIOD. You may cancel your subscription on your Subscription and Billing page or contact Customer Support at custserv@bn.com. Your subscription will continue automatically once the free trial period is over. Free trial is available to new customers only.
Choose Your Plan
For the next 7 days, you'll have access to awesome PLUS stuff like AP English test prep, No Fear Shakespeare translations and audio, a note-taking tool, personalized dashboard, & much more!
You’ve successfully purchased a group discount. Your group members can use the joining link below to redeem their group membership. You'll also receive an email with the link.
Members will be prompted to log in or create an account to redeem their group membership.
Thanks for creating a SparkNotes account! Continue to start your free trial.
Please wait while we process your payment
Your PLUS subscription has expired
Please wait while we process your payment
Please wait while we process your payment
full title Into Thin Air
author Jon Krakauer
type of work Novel
genre Nonfiction, adventure
language English
time and place written Excerpts written in 1996 on Mount Everest, the rest written in Seattle Washington, 1996.
date of first publication 1997
publisher Doubleday
narrator Jon Krakauer, who is also the author of the novel
point of view Krakauer narrates mostly in the first person, except when describing events that he did not personally witness, in which case he narrates in the third person omniscient. He inserts his own opinions and insights throughout the book, even regarding events he did not personally observe.
tone Krakauer narrates as objectively as possible, while inserting his own doubts and concerns. His tone is predominantly respectful toward the guides and climbers, except the South African and Taiwanese expeditions. Toward the end of the novel, he describes events with a sense of guilt and horror.
tense Past tense
setting (time) Late April through mid-May, 1996.
setting (place) Mount Everest
protagonist Jon Krakauer
major conflict The entire climb is full of conflicts, but the primarily conflict occurs during the descent from the summit.
rising action Climbing from Camp Four to the summit
climax Descending from the summit amid a rising, wicked storm.
falling action Descending from the lower camps down to Base Camp, where all of surviving climbers are out of danger
themes Commercialism, modernization changing the ancient, trust, loyalty, questions that cannot be answered, the luxury and punishment of hindsight
motifs Solitude, self-reliance, arrogance, belief that nature can be conquered or captured, drive and overdrive
symbols Camp (Base Camp, Camp One, Camp Two, Camp Three, and Camp Four), oxygen canisters, ropes
foreshadowing Rob Hall's comment about the inevitability of disaster on Everest, the Sherpas' belief that Sagarmatha, goddess of the sky, was angry, Krakauer's observation that drive and will is both necessary and deadly
Please wait while we process your payment