An important scene that happened in chapter seven is when Mortenson and the Bedford are stuck by the entrance to a concrete bridge that they need to cross in order to get to Korphe on time to build the school before winter. The reason why they are stuck at the entrance of the bridge is because of two dozen Taliban were at the bridge with their rocket launchers and Kalashnikovs aimed at a company of Pakistani soldiers whose own weapons were aimed at the Taliban. The reason why the Taliban are there is because a contractor from the government from distant lowland Islamabad said he would pay to widen their game trails into logging roads so they could sell their timber. But the contractor stole the money so they can't improve the Karakoram Highway so they are blocking it until he returns so they can hang him from the bridge. This is an important scene because it does end up delaying everything until next summer. In other words if it hadn't happened perhaps they could of built a bridge to Korphe(which the people of Korphe decide they need more than a school at the moment in the next chapter).
The next important scene in chapter seven is the next morning after the first important scene in chapter seven happened Mortenson and the Bedford are on their way to Korphe because Mortenson assums that since he doesn't see any contractor swinging from the bridge that the Talibad had extracted a promise of reparations from the Pakistani soldiers. This is an important scene because they could have been delayed it so long that Mortenson might have had to turn back and go home until next summer. Though it's very improbable its not impossible. In the end it helped speed everything up because they could have been there longer then they were. -Iliana
Beaten By The Braldu
Chapter 8
An important scene that happened in chapter eight is when Changazi has Mortenson's school supplies shifted to his other office. After that he wants Mortenson to build his village, Kuardu a school before winter. However Mortenson has other plans he wants to build a school in Korphe not Kuardu. After Changazi tells Mortenson this before a meal is served, Mortenson steps over the food and doesn't look at his elders all of this is unforgivably rude in their culture. In the end Mortenson's determination to go to Korphe and build a school there wins against Changazi's determination to build a school in Kuardu. This arguement however wasted a lot of time from building a school in Korphe(so he thinks until he finds out the people of Korphe have other plans), in other words it caused the building of the bridge(the people of Korphe when Mortenson was gone all agreed that they needed a bridge more than they needed a school at the moment, plus they needed a bridge in order to get the school supplies to Korphe and Mortenson ends up agreeing to this proposal) to be delayed until next summer. So Mortenson goes home feeling like a failure because he didn't get anything done that summer. -Iliana
One of the most important scenes between chapters 7&8 would have to be when the people of Korphe told Greg that they had to build a bridge before he builds the school. Greg was hoping that building a bridge would be easy and it wouldn't cost that must money and it wouldn't take up to much time. Greg told all the villagers that he had spent all of his money already, buying supplies for the school, and he'd have to return to America to raise more money. He expected the people of Korphe to be upset but they didn't seem worried at all, because the way they look at it is they've survived this long without a school, what's another year? Disappointed that Greg would not be able to build a school now, he return to San Francisco and began a hard time in his life. He'd been gone for months longer than he expected and he only had eighty-three dollars in the bank. His girlfriend started seeing someone else and his boss at the hospital he worked at told him he no longer had a job. He is mostly poor and hopeless at this point.
The reason this scene is very important is because when Greg went to Korphe with the intensions of building a school for Korphe. Greg was just trying to be a good person and help them but it all blew up in his face. When he got home his life just went downhill, so its just the beginning of the end in away because he loses his girlfriend and his job. This scene is also important because it shows the other side of Greg, before we knew him as confident and so sure of what he was doing, and now he's starting to doubt himself.
Another important scene would have to be when he drove in a car for eight hours and was thinking he'd been too harsh, too angry, with Changazi and the other men who'd tried to scheme and plot to get the school he'd planning to build for Korphe. But Greg felt bad because he was a man without a home, without a car to drive and hardly any money in the bank. The problem was that everybody from the United States seemed rich to the Korphe people and he was nothing close to that.
The reason I think this scene is important is because all of the Korphe people expect Greg to have a lot of money, when he really doesn't at all so Greg has to find ways to raise money and finish the promise he set out to do.
It's also important because it shows how Korphe people look at Americans, they see them as rich and powerful, but truth is most of them aren't.
The third important scene from chapters 7 & 8 would have to be when Dr. Louis Reichardt, the first American to reach the summit of K2 called him. Reichardt call Greg for some advice and ask how he was. Greg told the whole story, from the 580 letters to the bridge that needed to be build, from losing his girlfriend to losing his job. Reichardt said to Greg that what he is trying to do now is way more difficult than climbing K2.Hearing Reichardt tell him that he was trying to do was tough, but not out of reach, it made Greg think that maybe he hadn't failed.
This scene is very important because if Reichardt never stayed in touch with Greg, he might of gave up and just stopped trying about everything. But it kept he's hopes alive and I think it gave Greg more motivation.
One important scene in chapters 7&8 is when Greg was sitting in Haji Ali's home thinking about how hard he has worked to get the materials for the school and now they want a bridge. The scene is important because Greg had given up so much to get to this moment and now he was told he couldn't build a school. Greg was disappointed but not angry because he knew that Haji Ali was right, they needed the bridge for the supplies. But yet he was still angry with himself for not thinking things through on how to get the supplies over without a bridge. ~ Jessica
Another important scene would be when Greg had to confess to Korphe that he spent all his money on the supplies and would have to go back to America to raise more money for the bridge. This scene is important because he thought that the villagers would be disappointed like him but they told him that they were used to waiting for things. They told him that a Balti hunter might track a mountain goat for days before he was close enough to risk shooting the only bullet he could afford. The people of Kophe were good at being patient. ~ Jessica
The third important scene is after Greg got off the phone with Reichardt he immediately started to look for Hoerni's number to tell him what happened at that he needed more money. This scene is important because it shows that Greg had courage even though he thought he messed up and was failing Jean. In the end Hoerni paid for the bridge supplies and Greg planned his next trip to Korphe. ~ Jessica
Important Scenes: 1. Mortenson starts to blend in with Pakistan's Muslims: While loading lumber for the Korphe school in Rawalpindi, local Pakistanis crowded around the Bedford truck being used to carry the supplies, as they heard that "an enormous infidel in brown pajamas was loading a truck full of supplies for Muslim schoolchildren". However, when Rawalpindi's residents saw Greg Mortenson in a dirty shalwar with oily skin, they assumed he was from Bosnia and Herzegovina, (a country in the Balkans with a significant population of Muslims), or Chechnya, (an Islamic region of Russia). When Mortenson told the crowd that he was an American in Urdu, (Pakistan's official language) they didn't believe him, and several men told Greg they didn't think he was from the United States. After performing a prayer for Greg's safe journey, Abdul, one of Mortenson's Pakistani friends, tells him, "I think not a Bosnian, Greg Sahib.Nowadays, you are the same as a Pakistan man."
This scene is important because it's a major milestone in Greg Mortenson's quest to become fully acquainted with Pakistani culture. If an individual is going to be working in a foreign country which speaks a different language and follows a different religion than his or her native nation, that person is going to have to assimilate to the foreign culture in order to navigate comfortably through the country and get things done. One can't expect to build a hotel in Saudi Arabia without knowing Islamic customs, construct a restaurant in Seoul without speaking Korean, buy a car in Mexico without speaking Spanish, the list goes on and on. Because he took the time to immerse himself in Pakistani traditions, Mortenson was able to accomplish a lot of humanitarian work in Pakistan.
2. Taking the supplies to Korphe: En route to Korphe via Skardu, Greg sits on the top of the truck with the school supplies in it, enjoying the breeze. After "a hot week of haggling and fretting over every rupee", Mortenson finally begins to relax and feel a sense of confidence that the Korphe school will be built. Mortenson was so happy to start bringing the supplies to Korphe that he "felt like a king, riding high on his throne".
Although this scene is not a very long one, it is important because it shows that Mortenson's hard work and determination have finally paid off. After a long and exhausting week of buying supplies in Rawalpindi, Mortenson takes the time to relax and savor the moment. All he had to do now was chill out during his ride to Korphe. According to Mortenson, even Jean Hoerni, his Swiss patron, couldn't even find fault with anything he'd done.
3. Mortenson encounters the Taliban for the first time: During the trip to Korphe on the Karakoram Highway, Mortenson and his driver, Mohammed, stumble upon a group of armed insurgents traveling to Afghanistan to aid the Taliban in their fight to seize power. One of the extremists walks up to Mortenson and asks him if he is an American. Mortenson tells the man that he is. The insurgent replies by saying, "America number one."
This scene is important because it is Mortenson's first major encounter with the Taliban. Because this meeting happened in 1994, there was little hostility between the Taliban and the United States, as 9/11 was years away, and the Americans had helped the future Taliban expel the Soviets from Afghanistan in the 1980's. Had Mortenson run into the extremists after September 11, 2001, he could've been killed. Greg would be later be kidnapped by radical militants, and would also have tea with a Taliban leader later in the book. - Jim Merkel III
Hard Way Home
Chapter 7
An important scene that happened in chapter seven is when Mortenson and the Bedford are stuck by the entrance to a concrete bridge that they need to cross in order to get to Korphe on time to build the school before winter. The reason why they are stuck at the entrance of the bridge is because of two dozen Taliban were at the bridge with their rocket launchers and Kalashnikovs aimed at a company of Pakistani soldiers whose own weapons were aimed at the Taliban. The reason why the Taliban are there is because a contractor from the government from distant lowland Islamabad said he would pay to widen their game trails into logging roads so they could sell their timber. But the contractor stole the money so they can't improve the Karakoram Highway so they are blocking it until he returns so they can hang him from the bridge. This is an important scene because it does end up delaying everything until next summer. In other words if it hadn't happened perhaps they could of built a bridge to Korphe(which the people of Korphe decide they need more than a school at the moment in the next chapter).
The next important scene in chapter seven is the next morning after the first important scene in chapter seven happened Mortenson and the Bedford are on their way to Korphe because Mortenson assums that since he doesn't see any contractor swinging from the bridge that the Talibad had extracted a promise of reparations from the Pakistani soldiers. This is an important scene because they could have been delayed it so long that Mortenson might have had to turn back and go home until next summer. Though it's very improbable its not impossible. In the end it helped speed everything up because they could have been there longer then they were. -Iliana
Beaten By The Braldu
Chapter 8An important scene that happened in chapter eight is when Changazi has Mortenson's school supplies shifted to his other office. After that he wants Mortenson to build his village, Kuardu a school before winter. However Mortenson has other plans he wants to build a school in Korphe not Kuardu. After Changazi tells Mortenson this before a meal is served, Mortenson steps over the food and doesn't look at his elders all of this is unforgivably rude in their culture. In the end Mortenson's determination to go to Korphe and build a school there wins against Changazi's determination to build a school in Kuardu. This arguement however wasted a lot of time from building a school in Korphe(so he thinks until he finds out the people of Korphe have other plans), in other words it caused the building of the bridge(the people of Korphe when Mortenson was gone all agreed that they needed a bridge more than they needed a school at the moment, plus they needed a bridge in order to get the school supplies to Korphe and Mortenson ends up agreeing to this proposal) to be delayed until next summer. So Mortenson goes home feeling like a failure because he didn't get anything done that summer. -Iliana
One of the most important scenes between chapters 7&8 would have to be when the people of Korphe told Greg that they had to build a bridge before he builds the school. Greg was hoping that building a bridge would be easy and it wouldn't cost that must money and it wouldn't take up to much time. Greg told all the villagers that he had spent all of his money already, buying supplies for the school, and he'd have to return to America to raise more money. He expected the people of Korphe to be upset but they didn't seem worried at all, because the way they look at it is they've survived this long without a school, what's another year? Disappointed that Greg would not be able to build a school now, he return to San Francisco and began a hard time in his life. He'd been gone for months longer than he expected and he only had eighty-three dollars in the bank. His girlfriend started seeing someone else and his boss at the hospital he worked at told him he no longer had a job. He is mostly poor and hopeless at this point.
The reason this scene is very important is because when Greg went to Korphe with the intensions of building a school for Korphe. Greg was just trying to be a good person and help them but it all blew up in his face. When he got home his life just went downhill, so its just the beginning of the end in away because he loses his girlfriend and his job. This scene is also important because it shows the other side of Greg, before we knew him as confident and so sure of what he was doing, and now he's starting to doubt himself.
Another important scene would have to be when he drove in a car for eight hours and was thinking he'd been too harsh, too angry, with Changazi and the other men who'd tried to scheme and plot to get the school he'd planning to build for Korphe. But Greg felt bad because he was a man without a home, without a car to drive and hardly any money in the bank. The problem was that everybody from the United States seemed rich to the Korphe people and he was nothing close to that.
The reason I think this scene is important is because all of the Korphe people expect Greg to have a lot of money, when he really doesn't at all so Greg has to find ways to raise money and finish the promise he set out to do.
It's also important because it shows how Korphe people look at Americans, they see them as rich and powerful, but truth is most of them aren't.The third important scene from chapters 7 & 8 would have to be when Dr. Louis Reichardt, the first American to reach the summit of K2 called him. Reichardt call Greg for some advice and ask how he was. Greg told the whole story, from the 580 letters to the bridge that needed to be build, from losing his girlfriend to losing his job. Reichardt said to Greg that what he is trying to do now is way more difficult than climbing K2.Hearing Reichardt tell him that he was trying to do was tough, but not out of reach, it made Greg think that maybe he hadn't failed.
This scene is very important because if Reichardt never stayed in touch with Greg, he might of gave up and just stopped trying about everything. But it kept he's hopes alive and I think it gave Greg more motivation.
One important scene in chapters 7&8 is when Greg was sitting in Haji Ali's home thinking about how hard he has worked to get the materials for the school and now they want a bridge. The scene is important because Greg had given up so much to get to this moment and now he was told he couldn't build a school. Greg was disappointed but not angry because he knew that Haji Ali was right, they needed the bridge for the supplies. But yet he was still angry with himself for not thinking things through on how to get the supplies over without a bridge. ~ Jessica
Another important scene would be when Greg had to confess to Korphe that he spent all his money on the supplies and would have to go back to America to raise more money for the bridge. This scene is important because he thought that the villagers would be disappointed like him but they told him that they were used to waiting for things. They told him that a Balti hunter might track a mountain goat for days before he was close enough to risk shooting the only bullet he could afford. The people of Kophe were good at being patient. ~ Jessica
The third important scene is after Greg got off the phone with Reichardt he immediately started to look for Hoerni's number to tell him what happened at that he needed more money. This scene is important because it shows that Greg had courage even though he thought he messed up and was failing Jean. In the end Hoerni paid for the bridge supplies and Greg planned his next trip to Korphe. ~ Jessica
Important Scenes: 1. Mortenson starts to blend in with Pakistan's Muslims: While loading lumber for the Korphe school in Rawalpindi, local Pakistanis crowded around the Bedford truck being used to carry the supplies, as they heard that "an enormous infidel in brown pajamas was loading a truck full of supplies for Muslim schoolchildren". However, when Rawalpindi's residents saw Greg Mortenson in a dirty shalwar with oily skin, they assumed he was from Bosnia and Herzegovina, (a country in the Balkans with a significant population of Muslims), or Chechnya, (an Islamic region of Russia). When Mortenson told the crowd that he was an American in Urdu, (Pakistan's official language) they didn't believe him, and several men told Greg they didn't think he was from the United States. After performing a prayer for Greg's safe journey, Abdul, one of Mortenson's Pakistani friends, tells him, "I think not a Bosnian, Greg Sahib.Nowadays, you are the same as a Pakistan man."
This scene is important because it's a major milestone in Greg Mortenson's quest to become fully acquainted with Pakistani culture. If an individual is going to be working in a foreign country which speaks a different language and follows a different religion than his or her native nation, that person is going to have to assimilate to the foreign culture in order to navigate comfortably through the country and get things done. One can't expect to build a hotel in Saudi Arabia without knowing Islamic customs, construct a restaurant in Seoul without speaking Korean, buy a car in Mexico without speaking Spanish, the list goes on and on. Because he took the time to immerse himself in Pakistani traditions, Mortenson was able to accomplish a lot of humanitarian work in Pakistan.
2. Taking the supplies to Korphe: En route to Korphe via Skardu, Greg sits on the top of the truck with the school supplies in it, enjoying the breeze. After "a hot week of haggling and fretting over every rupee", Mortenson finally begins to relax and feel a sense of confidence that the Korphe school will be built. Mortenson was so happy to start bringing the supplies to Korphe that he "felt like a king, riding high on his throne".
Although this scene is not a very long one, it is important because it shows that Mortenson's hard work and determination have finally paid off. After a long and exhausting week of buying supplies in Rawalpindi, Mortenson takes the time to relax and savor the moment. All he had to do now was chill out during his ride to Korphe. According to Mortenson, even Jean Hoerni, his Swiss patron, couldn't even find fault with anything he'd done.
3. Mortenson encounters the Taliban for the first time: During the trip to Korphe on the Karakoram Highway, Mortenson and his driver, Mohammed, stumble upon a group of armed insurgents traveling to Afghanistan to aid the Taliban in their fight to seize power. One of the extremists walks up to Mortenson and asks him if he is an American. Mortenson tells the man that he is. The insurgent replies by saying, "America number one."
This scene is important because it is Mortenson's first major encounter with the Taliban. Because this meeting happened in 1994, there was little hostility between the Taliban and the United States, as 9/11 was years away, and the Americans had helped the future Taliban expel the Soviets from Afghanistan in the 1980's. Had Mortenson run into the extremists after September 11, 2001, he could've been killed. Greg would be later be kidnapped by radical militants, and would also have tea with a Taliban leader later in the book. - Jim Merkel III