The memoir of Greg Mortenson's actions in Pakistan and Afghanistan opens with his failure to summit K2 and his reaction to this failure. A strong man and very experienced climber, Mortenson is surprised by his failure and amazed since this was one of the first times he has really failed at a big goal in his life. His tells of his childhood through recollection and shows the reader that his past has been full of charitable acts and that his parents were public servants wanting the best for the world. Before reading this memoir I read a summary and know that it specifically focuses on his building of schools. He spent some of his childhood in Tanzania while his parents built schools for people living there, which developed in him a sense of responsibility. His care for other people is demonstrated by his kind actions towards his sister who suffered from epileptic seizures, and help set him up as a character that always cares for others. He is unhappy at his failure to summit the mountain not only for personal goals that may have been accomplished, but also because the trip had been in honor of his sister.
The book also starts to explore the ethical choices that people have to make every day. Although we have not discussed this topic yet in class, very obvious ethical choices needed to be made in Mortenson's trips. Two men were planning on summating a mountain, when a third man had fallen ill. Mortenson recounts, "Dan and Jon were the real heroes," he says. "They gave up their summit bid to get Etienne down"(14). This decision was an easy one to make, but did require a moral decision. Dan and Jon could've simply left Etienne on the mountain for another group to help and complete their summit dreams. This would be almost the same as murder, and anyone in this situation would do the right thing, as Dan and Jon did, and assist Etienne down the mountain. Later in the story Mortenson's guide keeps a close eye on him, even during his Muslim prayer practice. Mouzafer would, "steal a glance away from Mecca to make sure Mortenson was still nearby"(22). This action gets into a religious decision, and I won't call myself an expert of Islam by any means. However, I do believe that during prayer time you should be devoting yourself to God. I believe that Mousafer made the right decision by making sure that Mortenson stayed out of trouble and alive, even if it meant not completely devoting his time to God. Saving a man's life probably makes up for skimping on prayer. The ethics explored early in this story show people making good decisions that led to a positive outcome for all.
Mortenson, Greg, and David Relin. “Three Cups of Tea”. New York: Penguin Group, 2006.
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3 comments:
I have heard that this is a good book, but right now according to your blog it doesn't seem like one that would interest me. Do you like it? You don't really seem to say. I agree with your thought on ethical choices, how we must make them everyday and they are very critical towards the shaping of our lives. I hope your book continues to get more and more interesting!
You have great analyzation, good job. I wonder how his failure to climb K2 will affect him later in the book? He already seems very angry at himself. I am not suprised that the men went back down with the ill because a summit climb is not worth a life. I am excited to see what is going to happen.
I think that his failure to climb this mountain, though definately a large dissapointment and maybe a setback of some kind, will serve as a kind of reserve pof strength the next time he tries to do something and it seems he will fail. When he remembers his failure on the mountain, it will give him a little more determination not to let it happen again, and he will be able to put a little more effort in. We'll see.
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