Mount Everest Hillary and Tenzing Contrast Essay

Farah Aboufakhr 6th hour Hillary vs. Tenzing: To the top of Mount. Everest! Sir Edmund Hillary’s, View from the Summit and Tenzing Norgay’s, The Dream Comes True were very interesting articles on Mount Everest. Climbing though the chilling Himalayas, they had to overcome difficult obstacles. In each of their essays, they have some things they agreed upon, and some they did not. Each perspective brings out a sharp contrast in the personality of both of these men. They did share several similarities like a few of the obstacles they had to overcome.

Two of these obstacles were the navigation of the steep section also known as a crag and the clotting of ice around oxygen equipment. Each of the authors had their own reasons for writing their stories. Hillary wrote his story View From the Summit as a story of his excitement and triumph! Emphasizing on himself as more important than the other characters in the story like focusing on Tenzing’s struggle to breathe with the clotting of the ice around the oxygen equipment. He himself had some of the same problems. Then I brought Tenzing along to join me,” said Hillary (page 33) hinting at the fact that he was first and leading. Also depicting that he, Hillary, was leading, he said, “I got Tenzing to establish a belay” (page 34) making it seem as though Tenzing was useless to this. Tenzing Norgay wrote his story attempting to fix his image, which was slightly tarnished by Edmund Hillary’s account. He told the truth about who made it to the top of Everest first so that people would stop pestering him as to the truth and he also thought that he must be truthful to the people and the mountain.

He stated that both had trouble with the clotting ice around the oxygen equipment whereas Hillary stated, “I noticed that Tenzing was moving rather slowly…” (page 33) depicting that only Tenzing had trouble. Hillary made it seem as though Tenzing had trouble climbing when he said, “I waved to Tenzing and brought in the rope as he, too, made his way laboriously up the crack and dragged himself out beside me, panting for breath. ” (page 34) Hillary though was encouraged as how well he was moving. In Tenzing’s account it was as if he had 2 different works in the one story.

For a few paragraphs he would talk about the climb with a voice filled with awe and respect for the place he was blessed to walk through. He would then talk about a fact that Hillary wrongfully stated like the height of the crag and in one instance where he got into talking about who got to the top first his tone became very annoyed. Hillary’s account was filled with excitement and daring moments of heroism like when the piece of ice slid down and he almost lost is footing and when he helped Tenzing clear the ice out of the oxygen mask and when he supposedly pulled Tenzing up a 40 foot crag which Tenzing considered only a 15 foot crag.

Hillary’s account could be described as bragging and exaggeration of events. Why do fame and fortune cause people to lie about their experiences? Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay both wrote essays containing versions of their journey to the South Summit of Mount Everest. Each author had his own unique point of view. Although the sections were very different, they did share several similarities like a few of the obstacles they had to overcome.

In Hillary’s View from the Summit, he exaggerates his version of the climb to gain a bigger name for himself. When in actuality, he made himself appear conceited. Norgay, in The Dream Comes True, is very honest. He is a hometown mountain climbing guide who joined Hillary in the long hike mostly for the joy of climbing Mount Everest. Norgay deserves respect in the modesty and honesty he shows in his essay of climbing Everest. Both though, had accomplished a great thing in reaching the top of Mount. Everest.