EYE 117/Giles
Notes for Paper 2
Does climbing matter?
How does it matter, for different climbers at different times and places?
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TEXT 1: “Ktaadn” by Thoreau
“Formal” signal phrase
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“It was vast, Titanic, and such as man never inhabits. Some part of the beholder, even some vital
part, seems to escape through the loose grating of his ribs as he ascends. He is more lone than you
can imagine” (McCarthy 179).
Paraphrase: ___________________________________________________________________________
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“Formal” signal phrase
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“The tops of mountains are among the unfinished parts of the globe, whither it is a slight insult to the
gods to climb and pry into their secrets, and try their effect on humanity. Only daring and insolent
men, perchance, go there . . . their tops are sacred and mysterious” (McCarthy 179)
Paraphrase: _________________________________________________________________________
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What might serve as a good topic sentence for this section of the paper?
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TEXT 2: Introduction to Contact: Mountain Climbing and Environmental Thinking
“Formal” signal phrase
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“The physical necessity of bodily movement is how climbing demonstrates people’s connection to
nature. You see, the progressive continuity between person and place manifests through the body’s
thick nerves and heavy flesh, not the wavering, lambent mind” (McCarthy 13).
Paraphrase: ___________________________________________________________________________
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“Formal” signal phrase
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“The union between human and nature produced by climbing animates both the material world and
the experiencing body . . . and thus it is in bodily activity we clarify that interplay, that
intermingling” (McCarthy 13).
Paraphrase: __________________________________________________________________________
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What might serve as a good topic sentence for this section of the paper?
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TEXT 3: Interview with Jon Krakauer about his book Into Thin Air
“The greater the risk, the greater the reward in most aspects of life, and in climbing that’s certainly true
too” (Krakauer “Interview”)
Paraphrase: __________________________________________________________________________
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What is the context for this kind of statement? (Refer to Krakauer’s Introduction to Into Thin Air for the
specific place, time, and situation of his subject)
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TEXT 4: Touching the Void (MGM 2003)
RISK makes you feel more alive, says Simon, near the beginning of the film (Touching the Void)
What is the context for this kind of statement? (Refer to your memory/notes of the film for the specific
place, time, and situation of his subject)
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What might be a “working thesis” for this paper-in-progress?