Week 2 – Mount Analogue Writing Response
By: Bryant Lymburn
Mount Analogue is a short story that follows the journey of mountaineers that set out on an expedition that is in search of climbing the tallest mountain in the world. Initially the expedition is faced with the tough task of finding the mythical location that possesses these record breaking peaks. Eventually the expedition reaches this mythical location by careful planning and a certain amount of luck, but the story cuts out just as they begin to ascend the mountains. Upon reading the book there are a variety of interpretations that can be made from it. I personally found that the book is a abstract representation of life’s struggles, desires, and mysteries.
The first congruence to life was noticed when Pierre Sogol was first speaking with Rene about the time he spent with monks and the roles of tempter and devil that they were assigned daily. He spoke of his inventions that were useful, but secretly painful. To me this translated into a large component of mountaineering. This is seen how the allure of the mountains draw us towards them, but are naturally dangerous places to live, let alone survive, just like Sogol’s inventions were good at first, but then were followed by a foul consequence. This transitions appropriately to the killer flies that sting you in your sleep. This topic allows for death to be thought of and accepted at a natural pace. Death is a topic that you must be willing to accept in life if you are going into these dangerous situations. You must accept it and be ready for it if one is to fully experience, not only your surroundings, but life in general.
One of my favorite sections of the story is the short story that is about the Bitter-Rose. This section seems to not only again align with the tempter, but also greed and desire. It shows that it is human nature to desire and strive for objects and knowledge that we don’t yet have. To obtain these items we must be aware of our surroundings and be willing to make sacrifices to reach them. Just like Ho lost his brother Mo to the hollow men after he killed one of them. This awareness of the surroundings can also be seen when Sogol is discussing how to reach Mount Analogue. If you weren’t looking for Mount Analogue you would never find it due to the light and and space distortion that surrounds it. The surroundings awareness plays a roll later in the book when the effects of the killing an old rock rat was seen in the erosion of a mountain slope on Mount Analogue. Although the impacts were not immediate, over time the effects we implement in our surroundings will have a large impact than anticipated.
The final section and theme that seemed to wrap up the book was that there is an overlaying power of something greater is in control. To me this was represented by the mountain guides that controlled and enforced the rules that were set for the continent of Mount Analogue. Even though the mountain guides were seen as the law there was a mysterious aura and seclusion that surrounded them. They seemed to only act as needed to set a balance is society and the environment. The mountain can also represent this dominating power because you must play by its rules and conditions. It’s almost appropriate that the book was never finished to leave the mystery of both Mount Analogue and this overlying power intact.