Into Thin Air: The Refusal Of The Call

I am currently reading the BFG by Roald Dahl. It was been a very compelling read due to the many twists and turns in the plot. However, the story, in my opinion, didn't have a refusal of the call because Sophie was stolen by the BFG so there was no choice for Sophie but to accept her call to adventure and travel to Giant Country. Therefore, I've decided to revisit one of the old novels that I've used for this blog because it did contain a refusal to the call by the main character Jon Krakauer.

Near the beginning of the book, Jon spoke about his previous climbing experiences while much younger. According to him, in his twenties, Krakauer lived to climb mountains, aspiring to be a serious climber. However, climbing mountains took him away from the things he loved like his family and friends while it left him hurting financially. So, Jon gave up his dream to climb Everest, well, for the time being. Then, in 1995, Outside Magazine hired Krakauer to do a story about being guided up and climbing the highest mountain in the world but he was not to actually attempt the summit. At first, Jon was unsure about the climb because he wasn't in the physical condition required to climb a mountain of Everest's scale and wasn't ready to pay the large sum of money required to be guided up the mountain by a professional company like Rob Hall's Adventure Consultants. So, he decided to ponder accepting this opportunity, his call to adventure.

Those few days of Jon pondering his choice would become his journey's refusal of the call, even though it was short and he later committed to climbing Mt. Everest for Outside Magazine. In my opinion, this short refusal of the call was extremely significant to the story because it initially frustrated me, creating tension in the story and caused me to bond with Jon. Jon's initially refusal of the call frustrated me because I wanted to see him succeed. Earlier in the book, he had stated it was his lifelong dream to climb Mt. Everest but he was never able to because of financial difficulties and numerous commitments like a job and a family. So, when the opportunity to climb Everest arose for him, I wanted him to accept his call to adventure right away to ensure he would have a chance living his dream. This pondering over a decision by Jon resulted in tension to be built in the story as I wondered if he would accept this opportunity or not and in the end created a more interesting plot for the reader when Jon finally did accept his call to adventure.

This refusal of the call also caused me to feel a bond with Jon as I began to think about what I would do in his situation. I personally would never climb a mountain but I understood the choice was difficult for Jon because he was feeling nervous and unprepared for this important journey that was ahead of him. I felt the same way when I received the invitation to announce of the Tavistock Braves, an area Junior D hockey team.

Since I've been young, it was been my dream to announce for an NHL hockey team as their colour commentator. Therefore, this call to adventure was extremely important to the journey of my life as it would give me a place to launch my career from. However, even with all of the positives that would come with accepting this invitation, I wasn't sure if I would do it. Like Jon, I felt unprepared for the journey that was ahead and even began to doubt myself but in the end I accepted and have been the Braves announcer ever since while Jon accepted his call to adventure and began climbing Mt. Everest. This connection between us created a bond and allowed me to see the story from his view in a much clearer way because I knew how Jon felt as he climbed up the mountain. Maybe I didn't understand the cold temperatures, deadly situations, painful injuries or other conflicts and complications that arose in Jon's journey, but I was able to understand his feelings, thoughts and mental problems while traveling through his journey. And because of that, the refusal of the call allowed me to understand the story and Jon much better as I felt I was with Jon and the other climbers every step of the way.