Peak

Peak stencils a blue mountain tag on the skyscraper just before he is arrested. He refers to the compulsion to tag as a bit of mystery, and implies that the world does not have enough mystery in it. The tag serves as inspiration to the boy who falls to his death. He does so trying to be involved in the mystery. The tag symbolizes the urge that anyone can feel to make a mark on the world, and to prove that they were here. It is similar to the prayer flag that Peak gives to Sun-jo on the summit and to the flagpole that Sun-jo plants at the top of Everest. They leave evidence that shows they existed, and they tried to do something that few people will ever experience.

At the novel’s beginning, the boulder in the road is a clear symbol of the various obstacles that must be overcome in the story. Peak must overcome his impulsiveness if he is going to stay out of legal trouble. Sun-jo must overcome his financial circumstances if he is going to go back to school and not enter the dangerous life of a Sherpa. If relations with China and Tibet are ever to improve, innumerable barriers must be deconstructed.