One Wrong Step

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death.

“In that moment, I felt like I could conquer any summit on earth.

But that isn’t the way the world works. No one can stay on a summit forever.”

This quote contrasts Atlas’s overconfidence in his early mountain-climbing days with the reality of Everest’s challenges, introducing a shift that requires the protagonist to focus on new aspects of Navigating the Road to Maturity. The metaphor of summits symbolizes the destination of “peace” that Atlas seeks and suggests that this peace is never permanent. The passage also indicates that Atlas still has a lot to learn, foreshadowing the many obstacles that he will encounter along the way.

“I stared up at the mountains, and every beat of my heart pulsed for the chance to climb Everest myself.”

The visceral description of Atlas’s heart “pulsing” with desire emphasizes the teenager’s ambition—a trait that he gets from his father. This emotional imagery shows his passion for mountain climbing and upholds Everest as a symbol of personal achievement and humanity’s collective quest to accomplish great things in the world.

“I could never have imagined these seracs would be shaped into near-perfect triangles of such staggering height. To see them from the moraine was dramatic and beautiful, but to walk among them here felt almost like walking through a dream.”

As Atlas expresses his amazement at Mount Everest’s surreal landscape, it is clear that this mountain far surpasses those that he has previously traversed. The alien nature of the landscape also illustrates the deep challenges that he and his companions will encounter as they boldly seek to conquer the isolated peak.