In the poem Shatayev seems to draw all her strength from the women of her climbing team. Rich writes in the sixth stanza, "After the long training the early sieges we are moving effortlessly in our love." To characterize the terrorizing, freezing, and finally fatal trek up Lenin peak as effortless due to a "love" depicts a bond of a immeasurable magnitude. When the speaker talks of love or strength within the team, the word "I" is seldom used. The repeated use of "our" and "we" show an intense strength of love in there group. They are one, working together toward a common goal with their hardship only serving to tighten their unit.

weakness. This is reinforced in the second journal entry when she writes, "We know we have always been in danger down in our separateness and now up here together but till now we had not touched our strength." Danger has always been there for them; separate or together; but it wasn't until "now" that they truly found their safety in each other. Their common goal brings them together and helps their strengths to overlap and conquer their fears.

The descriptions of death intense and at times beautiful. Rich's descriptions in the first stanza makes their deaths seem almost gentle. The picture given when Rich writes, "The cold felt cold until the wind grew colder then the wind died down and we slept" makes their deaths seem like more of a release than a struggle. In the second stanza this is conflicted when Shatayev, "meet[s] a NO of no degrees" the nemesis of her, "yes," her will. This "NO" a strong rival attacking her "yes" opens the door for, "the black hole sucking the world in." These are very powerful and violent descriptions of death. It seems that the loss of her "yes," the embodiment of her journey and the love for her team is more damaging than the loss of her own life.

The most amazing part of the piece is their undaunting will. She and her team mates are determined. When she says in the last stanza "We will not live to settle for less" she displays a chilling mix of determination and pride. That is one of the most powerful statements I have ever read. These women are willing to face death before they will concede. It was their dream, and they gave their lives for it. She resolves any doubts that she is not content as to where her life has taken her in the last line when she says, " We will not live to settle for less We have dreamed of this all our lives." Not only does she show that she is content with her end, she is happy with it and would have been displeased with any other choice than persisting or to die trying.

Love seems to be one of the driving factors for Shatayev. Her love for the women of her team is intense, it drives deep and is easily felt by the reader. She has a bond that epitomizes the idea of si

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1449
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)