KATHMANDU UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT (KUSOM)

Balkumari, Lalitpur
ADVANCED ENGLISH

ASSIGNMENT III
The Snow Leopard

Submitted to: Submitted by:

Mr. Bharat Prasad Neupane Yash Agrawal
(faculty teacher) Roll No:197006
Section: C

BBA Hons: Semester: I Year: I

Date of submission: 2019/12/23
Acknowledgement
I would like to express my humble gratitude towards KUSOM and Mr. Bharat Prasad Neupane
(faculty teacher) for giving me the opportunity to prepare this assignment. I would also like to
thank Peter Matthiessen, the writer of The Snow Leopard, for writing such a wonderful
travelogue which might have helped many people around the world to know about Nepal and
its diversity.
It was the first of this type of opportunity for me because I got to know about various religion
and culture which are found in Himalayan region of Nepal. I also got to know about the
different types of flora and fauna found here as well as to imagine the natural beauty of Nepal
provided by the writer.
I would again like to thank Mr. Bharat Prasad Neupane for extending the deadline for the
assignment submission which made it a lot easier to complete this assignment.
I would also like to thank all the people who were helpful to me in any way, while preparing
this assignment.
Thank You!
Contents
 Author’s Biography
 Context
 Setting
 Character Analysis
 Summary
 Interpretation
 The Snow Leopard as a Travelogue
 Symbols
 Critical Analysis and Concluding Remarks
 References
Author’s Biography
Peter William Matthiessen (1927-2014) was an American novelist, short story writer, CIA officer,
Zen teacher, wilderness writer and naturalist. Majority of his writing are on his personal travels.
He is the author of more than thirty books and the only writer to win the National Book Award for
both non-fiction (The Snow Leopard, in two categories, in 1979 and 1980) and fiction (Shadow
Country, in 2008). He was the co-founder of literary magazine, The Paris Review. His work used
to deal with the destructive effects of encroaching technology on preindustrial cultures and the
natural environment. He has set out on journey to many places like Alaska, Asia, Australasia, New
Guinea and even Nepal. Most of his non-fictional works (Wildlife in America, Baikal: Sacred Sea
of Siberia, East of Lo Monthang: In the Land of Mustang, Snow Leopard) have been based on his
travelling.
Matthiessen married to Deborah Love who was a teacher and writer. In the book, The Snow
Leopard, he has mention about her and how their relationship was. Both husband and wife used to
practice Zen Buddhism. In 1972, his wife died because of cancer.
The Snow leopard is a non-fiction book published 1978 in USA. This book won the National Book
Award in 1978. It was first published in Great Britain in 1979 by Chatto and Windus. The book
simply seems to be a writer’s travelogue but it is a spiritual journey for the author in search of
enlightenment. This book highlights the power of nature and its glory, silence and beauty. It makes
people think deeply about the greatness of nature. His description about the village life will make
the readers think about the hardships and the beauty in a place without technology and the busy
life.
Matthiessen was treated for acute leukemia for more than a year. He died on April 5, 2014, three
days before publication of his final book, the memoir In Paradise on April 8.

Context
The book is the account of the writer’s two months long expedition set with a hope to see a
glimpse of a rare and beautiful mammal, Snow Leopard. This animal had been seen only twice by
the Western people in the last 25 years. He is travelling to Nepal in the Himalayan region along the
far western Tibetan Plateau with his friend who loves travelling and is also a naturalist, George
Schaller (GS).
The novel is narrated from a first-person perspective which states each and every details of the
events that took place when the narrator and his friend were travelling from Dhorpatan to
Dhaulagiri through the Jang La Pass, heading forward to the Crystal Mountain and then to the
inner Dolpa with a group of Nepali bearers and guides.
In the story, we can find two type of context, first one having a concept to capitalize on an
advantage and not to take thought of the other day i.e. to follow the concept of Carpe Diem and the
second one to hunt inner peace. For the writer, his main goal was to pursuit motive to live, goal
and ambition of his life. In the story we can find a descriptive thoughts, views and perception of
the writer throughout his journey but more importantly there is a hidden mystery, inner conflict
and struggles that had been faced by him in the journey of the nature as well as in the journey of
life. After the death of his wife he was alone. He found himself lost somewhere in the dark room.
So, to get ahead in life and to leave those sorrow moments behind, he set plans to trip different
places of the world to see rare flora and fauna. His journey is all about spirituality, a pathway
towards the procedure of healing himself. In the story as well, the writer talks about this wife who
used to love nature and had died a year ago from cancer. So, we can see in story itself how much
he is affectionate towards the nature. There are some moments where he stops to listen the
melodious tune of the insects and birds as they used to remind him about of his wife. His love and
passion for nature and all its creation is fairly apparent.
In the other hand, the writer’s friend GS, grabbed this opportunity with his both hands i.e. trip to
Nepal to witness the breeding habits of Himalayan Blue Sheep (Bharal) and then to associate it
with the other classes of sheep which are found in USA. But at the end of the day, both had a
common goal to see a snow leopard, with rarity being the key.
So, the story is all about the journey to spot a snow leopard and to visit the Crystal Monastery and
its Buddhist Lama. It also about to compare the mating habit of the Himalayan blue sheep i.e.
Bharal with that classes of sheep found in the USA.

Setting
The writer and his friend GS first visited Varanasi, the holy city of Ganges and then they visited
the Buddhist shrine at Bodh Gaya and Sarnath. After that they come to Pokhara which mark the
start of their journey. They travel Dhorpatan to Dhaulagiri through the Jang La Pass, between the
Seng and Bheri rivers forwarding to Ringmo and on to the Kang La pass. After that they head
towards the Crystal Mountain and then to the inner Dolpa along the far western Tibetan Plateau.
Their journey ends when they come back to Kathmandu.
The writer visits the royal places of Nepal. He visits the mighty and majestic Mountains with soft
snow covering their path. This journey displays the diversity which is found in Nepal. The book
sketches the cultural variation and richness found in the environment of the land of the Lord
Buddha.

Character Analysis
 Peter Matthiessen
Peter Matthiessen is the author as well as the narrator of the story. He is non-fictional
writer. He was born in New York. In the story, he is currently in his mid-forties. From the
story, we can find that he loves to travel and explore new places. He is quite fervent about
the phenomena of flora and fauna. He can also be categorized as a reckless and self-
centered parent as he goes on various expeditions while leaving his 8-year-old son at home
while still being affected by the death of his mother.
Till now he had married three times. His last wife, Deborah Love had died due to cancer.
After which he lost all the hope to live and enjoy the luck of being Homo sapiens. This
creates inner conflict as a result he goes to the journey in search of inner peace. Both used
 to love and take care of each other despite of some marital problems. She also convinced
him to follow Zen Buddhism. After her death, he did not quite and followed the path of Zen
Buddhism. It was also found in the story that he had been doing drugs for 10 years and his
use of drugs had made him later realize his poor decision which lead him to follow the path
of Buddhism.
 George Schaller
George Schaller is the person who made plan to travel and explore the inner Dolpa region
of Nepal. He is a good friend of the writer as well. He loves his work and likes to explore
wild animals and collect their information. His main aim to visit Nepal was to study the
mating behavior of the Himalayan Blue Sheep and compare them with the sheep that are
found in USA. He also travelled with Matthiessen with a hope to see the rare Snow
Leopard.
He can be taken as a very work oriented, passionate and professional person, considering
the fact that he wanted to move on with their journey despite several warnings that there
might be danger ahead. At first, he also seemed to be a compassionate and understanding
friend on the surface since he was the one who invited Peter Matthiessen as he was finding
it difficult to cope with the death of his wife .But being the work oriented man he is, it
seemed as if he wanted to get the best results out of his work by bringing Matthiessen along
in his expedition despite the fact that Peter had a son affected by the death of his mother.
Overall, he is portrayed as a dedicated man who takes his work seriously and was always
indulged in work even when it was time to eat and actually gave more priority to his work
rather than the well-being of his friend.
 Jang Bu
He is a young man in his twenties and despite his young age, he is still the leader of
Sherpa’s travelling crew .He acts his age but every command is followed by every crew
member which in fact shows that he is a very good leader .He is a very friendly and
respectful man who is liked by all the members as he treats everyone with love and respect.
 Phu –Tsering
He is another member of the crew who is in his twenties. He serves as a cook and treats the
foreigners with proper manners like many Sherpas do. Apparently, he had already been in
an expedition with GS before. The main reason behind asking him to join GS again is not
because he is an excellent cook but it is due to his travelling spirit.
 Tukten
He is a member of the travelling crew who is a potter. He is in his fifties and according to
description the writer consists of elf ears, thick neck and yellow face. He has a drinking
habit and can be abusive after he gets drunk which is a habit disliked by the crewmembers
but the writer seems to be very fond of him.
 Tasi Chhongu
She is also known as ‘Namu’ which means hostess in Sherpa language. She is represented
as a typical Nepali woman living in the Himalayas. She provided the shelter for the crew.

Summary
The novel is an account about the journey of the writer along with his friend George Schaller (GS)
who is an amazing biologist. Schaller came to Nepal in search of the Mountain Blue sheep
(Bharal) to study about their habitat, behavior and their mating habits. They had to reach the
Crystal Monastery near Shey Gompa for this. Matthiessen also mentions that where there are many
Bharals, there is bound to be the most magnificent and beautiful of wild cats, the Snow Leopard.
So, through this very description, he puts forward the side objective of encountering the Snow
Leopard. The writer joined Schaller on his journey as he wanted to explore the wonders of wildlife
as well as to find his inner peace. But they both actually had a secondary common aim which was
to find the Snow Leopard in the Himalayas. The novel starts from the introduction, where the
writer has written that he starts his journey with GS in late September of 1973. Their journey
started from Pokhara leading to Dhorpatan onward to Dhaulagiri on through the Jang La pass
between the Seng and Bheri rivers forwarding to Ringmo, on to the Kang La pass, finally heading
towards the Crystal Mountain and its Buddhist Lama in the inner lands of Dolpo region.
Matthiessen happens to pass by Varanasi on his way to Nepal, and later meet with G.S at a hotel.
They travel with two Sherpa to Pokhara in a Land Rover on September 26. But the real journey
begins on the morning of September 28. They took four Sherpa and fourteen porters with them.
They start their journey from the westward under the Annapurna range and then to northwards
along Dhaulagiri. They cross the Yamdi valley and Naudanda and reach Modi river the next day.
On September 30, they evaluate the routes and decides to follow the Kusma route and reach
Paniavas. The writer mentions encountering with schoolchildren who sing rhymes and riddles
from their book pages. He also saw the condition of the rural areas of Nepal and felt disappointed.
He was constantly worried about the increasing poverty rate and also for the deforestation which
was undoubtedly increasing.
After that, the team finds their boots fully loaded with leeches. The writer told that it would be a
risky task continuing the journey but G.S. decides to move forward. So, the writer and the other
crew members followed him.
They reach Beli Bazaar and then they decide to camp out at Tatopani. While camping, the writer
remembers his wife and son. The writer soon after starts talking about his relationship with his
long-lost wife Deborah who had passed away a year prior to this journey due to cancer. He
revealed that even though they both really loved and cared for each other they had their difference
due to which they got a divorce. To solve their problems, they went to Geneva and Switzerland for
a vacation but things still couldn’t turn out well. So, after returning from Geneva they both
finalized their divorce. But soon after when he learned about his wife’s sickness, it bought them
together. He also felt guilty for leaving his son behind. But he still continued his journey of self-
exploration and enlightenment by travelling through the snow filled paths of the Himalayas with
the mighty and majestic mountains as the view.
Next day, they reached a village where they noticed that people were drinking fresh blood from the
recently sacrificed buffalo. This was a very unique moment for them as they hadn’t observed such
a ritual before. They found it weird. They also noticed that people had similar attributes as those of
Eskimos. Then, the expedition team soon reaches Tarakot. From there on, they are forbidden by
the police to continue their journey, even if they had permits. Also, the climate becomes worse and
winter creeps in. Despite the restriction from the police, they decide to continue their expedition to
the Crystal Mountain. Up till now, the writer mentions various philosophies regarding Buddhism
and relates them with past experiences. Also, he observes the struggle of the local people to
survive. In addition to this, he is quite observant of the environment around him and describes the
plants and wildlife he encounters along his journey. He was a naturalist. So, being a lover of flora
and fauna, he stumbled upon quite a lot of them and took the time to admire them. Seeing those
beautiful mountains and listening those melodious tunes of birds and insects, he became
bewitched. He felt like he grew there like a moss.
While travelling to the Himalayas, the travelling crew along with the writer had to face a lot of
problems. Some porters were lost due to snow blindness. Also, due to staying for extra days than
the actual thought days, the writer had to pay triple price and hire new porters which was
exceeding their budget.
Throughout the journey, the writer generated a lot of information about Tibetan culture as well as
Buddhism in the Himalayas. He meditates from time to time. On high plateaus, there where eagles
and vultures seen perfectly with clear sight. The author also mentions the presence of altars, prayer
cairns, prayer flags and such all around the places. He has also noted down the Tibetan script for
“Om Mani Padme Hum” which can be translated into “The Jewel in the Heart of the Lotus”. He
also mentions one of his Sherpa talking about yetis and how they had been poisoned and killed by
the local people years ago. They also meet some local members of the Nepal Panchayat. They gave
them tea and allowed them to continue their journey.
Then, they left Rohagaon on the dawn of October 21 and they travel along the trail of Suli Gad.
The writer picks up ferns and watch the spores fly away but it reminds them that is an action as a
sin by the Sherpas. As they move further upwards to Suli, they meet an Asian Black Bear’s nest.
The writer then comes to know that there is no exact word for Buddhism in Tibet. Tukten and
Gyalsen, two of the Sherpa decide to travel to Jumla in order to get more food supplies. They leave
Ring-mo before the news arrive that they are forbidden to travel further on. Matthiessen also
mentions that, later on, they made camp at an altitude of 14,000 ft.
The writer mentions the happy-go-lucky personalities of the Sherpas. He also felt happy and safe
with them.
On November 1, they saw the first sight of the Crystal Mountain. That is when the writer realizes
how tired he is after thirty-five days of trekking. He says that all of them were very happy to have
reached Shey Gompa, after what seemed like they wouldn’t reach at all. Then, the author moves on
to explain about Shey, which is located in the Inner Dolpo region. Shey Gompa is a monastery of
the Kagyu Sect. Here, they encounter wolves, mistaken for Snow Leopards. They do not encounter
Snow Leopards. However, he learns from the Lama of the Crystal Monastery about acceptance.
Upon Matthiessen’s question regarding isolation, the Lama replies that he is happy there,
especially when he has no other choice. From this, Matthiessen tries to feel okay about the fact that
he still hadn’t seen a Snow Leopard.
In mid-November, they found the tracks of the Snow Leopard outside the monastery. Their hopes
were regenerated once again. Also, GS found that the Bharal is neither a sheep nor a goat, but a
creature close to the ancestral goat like animal from which Ovis and Capra are evolved. After that
the writer plans to leave the place and get back to Kathmandu.
At the end of the novel, the writer returned back to Kathmandu without encountering snow leopard
but his friend, GS, wanted to spend some time there. Lastly, the writer got detailed information
from GS about the encounter of snow leopard while his journey back to his home.

Interpretation
 Buddhism
The writer is highly influenced by Zen Buddhism. His wife made him to follow Zen
Buddhism and after her death, he felt that it is the only thing that connects him and his wife.
Thus, he decides to continue the following of Zen Buddhism.
Buddhism is non-theistic or atheistic religion that consists the path of full practices of
spiritual seeking as well as for inner peace development. It was founded by Siddhartha
Gautam (Gautam Buddha) in 6th century. It is one of the most followed religion in central
Asia.
In the novel, the writer has closely experienced the culture of Buddhism while travelling
from Pokhara to Dhorpatan. The writer talks about the lord Buddha and his life and what he
used to do. He also explains about his life, his death wife and his journey on those majestic
and royal Himalayas. From the story, we can find the four noble truths of the Buddhism
which are:
1. The truth of suffering (Dukkha)
2. The truth of the origin of suffering (Samudāya)
3. The truth of the cessation of suffering (Nirodha)
4. The truth of the path to the cessation of suffering (Magga).
Also, the most famous mantra, Om Mane Pedme Hum, is explained through its meaning
that is “The jewel in the heart of the lotus”. The writer achieved the spiritual satisfaction
and inner peace through the knowledge gained from lama of Buddhist monasteries. This
novel has also stated about the “samsara” which defines the state of grief and sorrow after
the attachment to material well-being and also about “nirvana” which is the stage of being
enlightened.
The writer has also talked about the incarnation form of Buddha, Padhma Sambhava who
fought and destroyed the demon named Shey. He also talks about Buddhist philosophy
explaining the path of inner peace. The book further relates Buddhism with Nepalese and
Tibetan context and history. He talks about the visits to different monasteries while
observing the various Buddhist cultures and traditions and artifacts like thangka paintings,
buddha models, shapes of monasteries etc. He talks about how buddha must have felt when
he saw the suffering and death when the writer saw a dead body being carried by people.
Thus, the novel describes legends and teachings about Buddhism. The novel evolves as a
beautiful book of natural history and travel into a grand, Buddhist-tinged parable of our
search for meaning. The book is highly influenced by Zen Buddhism and even consists of
few practices as well. At end, Zen Buddhism is all about enlightenment and inner peace
through meditation.
 Mysticism
 Mysticism is the art of living in this world. It is the esoteric spiritual teachings of the world:
namely, the struggle for an attention or consciousness that can embrace two opposite forces
without being swallowed by either. It means living in the midst of both the forces of outer
life and the forces of the mystical return while searching in oneself for the consciousness
that is at the root and that stands as the reconciling fulfillment of both these movements. It
is a spiritual belief stating that a connection can be obtained with God or the spirits through
thought and meditation.
The author writes in detail about this trip where he dreams to find the mystical cat called
Snow Leopard. Like no other large cat, the snow leopard suggests a sense of myth and
mysticism, strength and spirit covered in a white blanket, rarely seen but is always present.
After two months of adventurous journey, the writer failed his very objective of sighting a
snow leopard. But, instead of being disappointed over the fact, he takes it as a religious
lesson: life will never give you all that you want and letting go of desire is probably a good
thing. This instance solely justifies the basic concept of mysticism. The author also says “I
shall not see it because I am not ready. This lesson may also help individuals gain some
acceptance over death.

The Snow Leopard as a Travelogue

A travelogue is a film, a book or illustrated lecture about the places visited by or experiences of a
traveler. The book written by Peter Matthiessen is a perfect example of a travelogue as it’s a
journal of his experiences with team while travelling through the difficult path of Himalayas
region of Nepal. He writes in detail about the journey to the Himalayas, recorded in dates since the
start of the journey. It consists of hurdles, struggle that they had to face during their journey. It also
consists of the new experience knowledge and self-growth that they had with in themselves.
In the novel, travelling covers the idea of understanding the different diversity that are found in
different parts of Nepal. The author travels from USA to Nepal and presents his various
experiences of lifestyle and culture and tries to understand them by comparing with his own
culture and lifestyle.
From September twenty-seventh to December tenth, he does not miss out a date to write his
experiences along the Himalayas. His travel experience ranges from Pokhara to Dhorpatan during
the first week of October, Dhorpatan to Crystal mountain during the end of October and beginning
of November and furthermore his experiences in the Crystal Mountain to his end of the journey till
the tenth of December. All the events that occurred are recorded in this novel. Thus, this
travelogue is a narrative story about the author’s personal impressions and experiences in this
journey which is one way of writing a travelogue.

Symbols
 Snow Leopard
It is a rarely found animal according to the book and had been seen by few people only. It
represents the rare and beautiful moments of human life. It symbolizes the inner peace that
all human being search for but that is rarely found by some only. Everything we desire for
 are not always fulfilled. These desires are rarely achieved which provides an uncertain
happiness to the people. Thus, the snow leopard represents the same rare happiness that
human beings feels.

 “Man is modifying the world so fast that and so drastically that most of the
animals cannot adapt to the new conditions”
This statement was quoted by George Schaller in the novel. This clearly shows the effect of
urbanization on nature. He even predicts that Nepal would become desert due increase rate
of deforestation. Thus, the writer wishes for the conservation of forests.

 Flora and fauna

In the novel, the eagle flew through the snowfields camp which symbolizes the heroic
activities done by it. The flying of the silver bird represents lost hope found. When the bird
spreads its crimson wings, it represents rays of light coming out of it. Grasshopper is the
symbol of motivation. When the writer lost his hope to continue his journey, he saw the
grasshopper jumping off cliff. It gave him motivation to continue his trip. Also, we can find
the writer talking about Garuda. It is a mythical creature especially believed in Hinduism
and Buddhism. This half man half bird creature symbolizes the protector of temples and
monasteries.
The peepal tree indicates the holy tree for both Hindus and Buddhists. Under the peepal
tree, Gautam Buddha got enlightenment. This tree is also known as the Bodhi Tree.
Similarly, the lotus in Buddhism symbolizes two things: one is phenomenon of life and
another purity of body, mind and speech.
 Kali Gandaki
It symbolizes destruction. It reflects the image of Lord Shiva also known as the destroyer
who lives in the Himalayas where the river starts to flow. In English “kali” means black
which symbolizes the steep black walls, the grey flow and black stones that give darkness
to the river.
 Istefahen Bowl
The bowl was bought by the writer and his wife when they were on a trip as they wanted to
sort out the conflict between them. It was like a lost hope for saving their marriage. This
bowl represents new beginning. But its core is lost as they end up getting divorce.
 Stupas
It represents existence of human as it is found on the entrance of village and town in the
Himalayan region.
 Bloods and swellings
It represents all the difficulties, pain and hardships they had to face throughout their entire
journey.
 Livestock dung
It is the alternate form of gas which is used by the women of the rural villages of Nepal to
cook food in the monsoon season when there were no dry woods available. In a way, it
symbolizes the little development in the field of science.
Critical Analysis and Concluding Remarks
The novel accounts the wilds of the Dolpa region of Nepal trek by Peter Matthiessen with his
friend George Schaller. The author is a naturalist. He likes to observe the natural world. The author
started his journey to hunt inner peace while the main aim for GS was to observe the mating
behavior of the Himalayan Blue Sheep and study their behavior to compare with the sheep that are
found in USA. But their main aim was to encounter snow leopard.
This book highlights the power of nature and its glory, silence and beauty. The writer has given a
detailed description of the mountain scenes, wildlife, monastery, geography and landscapes. He
also has given descriptions about the flora and fauna that are found in the Himalayan region of
Nepal. This detail puts a vivid image into the reader’s mind. He also describes about the tales and
historical background of the people in the Himalayan region. It makes people think deeply about
the greatness of nature. I think the book was beautifully written. The description about the nature
given in the book has made it easier for the readers to imagine the situation.
As the novel was based on the beautiful natural view of Nepal, it automatically made me excited to
read it. Even though I have never observed the culture of Himalayan regions, the book has
beautifully described about it which made me to gain a lot of information. The author has also
mentioned about the flora and fauna which makes the readers to feel as if they are enjoying with
them in their present moment.
I was hoping that the writer would encounter the snow leopard but it went against my imagination.
But it taught me that everything you desire for are not always fulfilled. So, it better not to think
about those desires which have no chances to get achieved by the thinker.
Also, there was a lot of information about the places and the people which made me difficult to
remember them. I found a lot of information about the cultures as well and due to the American
language used here, I felt difficult to read it which made me to leave some paragraphs of the book.
I got chance to learn about the different religion and their behavior of our country which I never
thought I would.
To sum up, “The Snow Leopard” is an account of the writer’s spiritual journey in search of
enlightenment. His description about the village life will make the readers think about the
hardships and the beauty in a place without technology and the busy life. It can be helpful for those
who are interested in travelling and wants to learn about the different religion which are found in
Nepal.
References
 The Snow Leopard

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Snow_Leopard

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Matthiessen

 https://www.coursehero.com/file/41969617/Snow-leopard-book-reviewdocx/#/doc/qa

 http://www.supersummary.com/the-snow-leopard/summary/

 https://www.enotes.com/topics/snow-leopard

 https://www.enotes.com/topics/snow-leopard/in-depth