KATHMANDU UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF

MANAGEMENT

REPORT ON SNOW LEOPARD: A SHORT ANALYSIS

SUBMITTED BY
Jasmine Acharya
177001
Section: A
BBA 1st Year, 1st Sem

SUBMITTED TO
Mr. Bharat Neupane
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

 About the author

 Context and Setting
 Summary
 Character Sketch
 Snow Leopard as a Travelogue
 Buddhism in Snow Leopard
 Flora and Fauna
 Symbols
 Conclusion
 ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Peter Matthiessen (May 22, 1927- April 5, 2014) was an

American novelist, naturalist, wilderness writer and happened
to be a CIA agent as well. He was the co- founder of the literary
magazine, The Paris Review. He was the only writer to have
won the National Book Award in both fiction and non-fiction. In
2008, Matthiessen received the National Book Award for fiction
for Shadow Country.

Matthiessen was born in New York City to Erard A. and

Elizabeth Matthiessen. The well-to-do family lived in both New
York City and Connecticut. He along with his brother,
Matthiessen developed a love of animals that influenced his
future work as a wildlife writer and naturalist.

He attended St. Bernard’s School, The Hotchkiss School and

Yale University. At his University, he majored in English and
published short stories and also studied Zoology. Marrying and
resolving to undertake a writer’s career, he soon moved back to
Paris, where he associated with other emigrant American
writers such as William Styron, James Baldwin, etc.

In 1959, Matthiessen published the first edition of Wildlife in

America, a history of the extinction and endangerment of
animal and bird species as a consequence of human
settlement, throughout North American history and of the
human effort to protect endangered species. In 1973,
Matthiessen joined field biologist George Schaller on an
expedition in the Himalaya Mountains which was the basis for
The Snow Leopard, his double award winner.

Matthiessen was diagnosed with leukemia in late 2012 AD. He died at his home
in Sagaponack on April 5, 2014, aged 86.
 CONTEXT AND SETTING

Peter Matthiessen accounts his two month long journey for the search of the
Snow Leopard with his travel friend George Schaller, who was also a naturalist,
in the Himalayan Country of Nepal along the far western Tibetan Plateau. He
undertook this five week journey as the winter snows were sweeping into the
high passes.

The writer shares his travel experiences with the readers providing the in-depth
knowledge of Buddhism and also showing the lifestyle of people living in the
Himalayan Region of Nepal. Descriptions of the flora, fauna and Himalayan
villages are also the main part of the book.

The story begins in September 1973 in Nepal. Matthiessen and Schaller were
walking west under Annapurna and north along the Kali Gandaki River, then
west and north again around the Dhaulagiri peaks and across the Kanjiroba, 255
miles to the Land of Dolpo, in the Tibetan Plateau.

Actually, Schaller's main motive of visiting the place was to compare the
mating habits of the Himalayan blue sheep called the Bharal with those of the
common sheep of the USA. Matthiessen on the other hand just wanted a
spiritual exploration. Another aim was to spot the snow leopard, which was
been seen only twice by Westerners in the last twenty five years. They had also
planned to visit the Buddhist lama.

Matthiessen in the novel, frequently is saddened by the memories of his wife

Deborah Love who had died of cancer. The book seems to be a meditation upon
death, suffering, loss, memory and healing.
 SUMMARY

On the surface, The Snow Leopard seems to be simply a description of one

man’s thoughts and views throughout his journey through Tibet, but underneath
lies Matthiessen’s morals and beliefs intertwined with his struggles and
hardships throughout the trip and throughout his life.  He meticulously describes
events from his past as they relate to his present and the details from his present
as they unfold according to his faith. 

Constantly flashing back to the son he left at home and to the wife, Deborah,
that he lost to cancer a few years prior to the adventure, Matthiessen longs to
return to his distant family in the United States and to the days when he and his
wife were young and, sometimes, in love and happy together.  Deborah was the
only person with whom the author has ever felt the oneness that he has sought
ever since he became a follower of the teachings of the Buddha.

This time he walked for five weeks under the massif of Annapurna, from the
Dhorpatan to Dzong, over Jang La pass, between the Seng and Bheri Rivers, on
to Ring-mo, and on over Kang La pass, toward Crystal Mountain in "the Land
of Dolpo". His companion was George Schaller, the most enterprising of all
present-day wildlife biologists. Mr. Schaller, at 40, had studied lions, tigers,
gorillas,etc. He was out to learn something about the November rutting behavior
of Himalayan blue sheep, and maybe to see a snow leopard, a rarity and another
interest of his.

Usually Mr. Matthiessen's companions have been a scruffy collection of shabby

hirelings and rich macho playboys who were footing the bill. So--with his friend
and with the noble Sherpas--there is lightness to this walk for him. What is from
time to time confusing is that, as well as this worthy company, he feels the
presence of Buddha--the Awakened One-- here in high Buddhist country
become a committed convert himself. Also, his wife has died of cancer, and so
memories of her are interjected throughout this radiant but rather fragile,
flickering book.

In his "beloved" boots, a hoopoe feather in his hat, and leaning on his faithful
stave, he takes his omens from the fate of copper-colored grasshoppers and blue
and golden dragonflies. Competing with the goldfinches for marijuana seeds, he
sees the very spider webs shimmer from the forces of a cicada's song. He
doesn't "clutch the mountain," which in ancient Assyrian, he says, was a
euphemism for tumbling into death. When he is exhausted, a lamergeier's wing
shadow sweeping across the snow "draws me taut and sends me on."

Inbound, they cross the Himalayas from south to north; then, outbound, from
north to south, going up to 17,000 feet. It is a land of "air burials," where even
the bones of a dead person that the carrion birds have left are pulverized and
mixed with dough, so that they too will serve to make bird flesh. Griffons and
golden eagles swoop low over Mr. Matthiessen as he sits meditating on the
mountainside, mistaking him for just such a corpse.

On every trail there are prayer cairns and altars. Prayer mills turn in the torrents;
prayer flags flap and prayer wheels spin in the wind. Yak dung fuels the
lamasery fires, and yak butter the lamps. Stooping like a harmless dung seeker,
Mr. Matthiessen stalks the rutting sheep. His favorite Sherpa, Tukten, does a
yeti cry for him, and says there would be more yetis left if the villagers had not
killed many with poisoned barley years ago. The sun is roaring, filling to
bursting each crystal of snow. "There shall none learn to live who hath not
learned to die," he quotes, in order to encourage himself along the dizzy ledges.
Now, of course, it is not the all-too-facile fancy of a religious enthusiast that has
accomplished the waterfalls of imagery that sometimes dash on for 20 pages at
a clip. Rather, 20 years' experience at note-taking on the trail, of bird study and
anthropological reading is at work here. Yet, still, the blue sheep, gentle
leopards, wolves, yaks, foxes, ponies, and "exalted," "berserk" village mastiffs
that threaten to rip him limb from limb are more exact and vivid as natural
history for all of this adjoining mysticism. And most of us know, really, that in
their airiness, the best of the holy men of the great world religions are probably
right, even if we don't choose to invest enough of our time in readying ourselves
for enlightenment of that type.

So, Mr. Matthiessen's paeans and sutras, his plum-pit amulets and "oms",
especially in this huge skyscape where the most awesome sequences of cliff and
peak and snow and ice are juxtaposed one upon another. Warm tears freeze to
his face as easily as he shouts with unexpected laughter. He has a playful step,
when not crawling in semi paralysis along the edge of a drop-off.

A shard of rose quartz, the spores of a cinnamon fern, a companionable mound

of pony dung, a dog barking at his pale tent in the moonlight, all may excite him
as if this were his first--or at least last--day on earth. On the other hand, except
for two or three poignant references toward the end, the interpolations
concerning his wife seem not so much insincere as jimmied unnaturally into his
diary. Though he must indeed have thought of her with grief and guilt under the
circumstances, from falsity of placement and carelessness they do not fit.

But "things go better when my left foot is on the outside edge," he says. All of
this physical and literary recklessness has had the effect of emboldening Mr.
Matthiessen. Not John McPhee, Annie Dillard and Edward Abbey all rolled
together have attempted a journey such as this. His ratty tent leaks--there is
none of the natty, overefficient, L.L. Bean equipment Mr. McPhee always
boasts of in the woods. His mysticism is harder won than Miss Dillard's, and not
punctuated with cranky, quasi-political pronouncements, like Mr. Abbey's. And
if Mr. Matthiessen had to attain part of his lightness by way of the conventional
drug trips of the 1960's (as he describes), by fashionable all-day meditations in
the lotus posture in the 70's, and jet flights to Tokyo to bang heads with a
Japanese seer, nevertheless we must accept the evidence on the page that we
have a veritable yeti here--somebody who on his own ground is leaving marks
nobody else could make.
CHARACTER SKETCH
 SNOW LEOPARD AS A TRAVELOGUE

The meaning of “Travelogue” is a film, book or illustrated

lecture about the places visited by or experiences of a traveler.
Yes, we can take the book, The Snow Leopard by Peter
Matthiessen as a travelogue.

In this book, he tells the readers about his quest in search of

the very rare animal, Snow Leopard in the Himalayas of Nepal
which the Buddhists or the locals call, “The Crystal Mountain”.
The Snow Leopard is a masterful description of the landscapes,
people and systems of belief encountered by Matthiessen
during his expedition.

The journey is described in full from the first day, when the
Matthiessen and Schaller met in Kathmandu to the last, when
they begin their return home from the Crystal Mountain and
everything in between, without the omission of a single detail,
exactly as Matthiessen penned in his beloved daily journal.

On the surface, The Snow Leopard seems to be simply a

description of one man’s thoughts and views throughout the
journey through Tibet, but underneath lies Matthiessen’s
morals and beliefs tangled with his struggles and hardships
throughout the trip and throughout his life.
 BUDDHISM IN SNOW LEOPARD

Matthiessen and his wife Deborah were sincere Zen Buddhists.

Zen Buddhism is an ancient religion dating back to the 7 th
century in China. In Zen Buddhism, there is much focus on the
practice of meditation, which is said to bring enlightenment,
peace, and the fulfillment of one’s connection with the greater
good. Matthiessen sees the journey as an opportunity to
expand his religious experiences and clear his mind of the
worries and stresses of his everyday life.

In almost every few pages throughout the book, Matthiessen

describes different aspects of the cultures especially Buddhism,
with which they are interacting. These creeds are very
important to Matthiessen. This journey is a once in a life time
chance for him to actually see all of the positive and negative
aspects of each group not only on the surface, but also below.
The opportunity for him to finally see inside the belief structures of these
various eastern religions collimate Matthiessen’s need to ruminate over himself
throughout his lonesome adventure and discover his true self and his oneness
with his universe.

During his expedition, Matthiessen comes upon various trials that test his faith
and cause him to consider the reason for its happening. With Buddhism, it is
believed in many circumstances that the events that unfold, such as good or bad
weather, take place not simple by coincidence but because some higher power
recognizes impure motives, or simply because the individual experiencing such
problems did not render enough devotion and respect the particular god and is
being punished for his disrespect.
 FLORA AND FAUNA

Flora is plant life and fauna refers to the animal life. Fauna
derives from the name of Roman goddess, but the easiest way
to remember flora and fauna is that “flora” sounds like flowers,
which are part of the plant kingdom and fauna sounds like
“fawn” and fawns are part of the animal kingdom.

In the book, The Snow Leopard, flora and fauna has a great
importance. In fact, the whole book was possible due to flora
and fauna, especially fauna which relates to the very rare and
endangered animal, snow leopard. Basically, the whole book is
about flora and fauna.

Matthiessen and Schaller starts their quest in search of Snow

Leopard and the Bharal sheep. Schaller is searching inhabitants
of the mountains for the Blue Sheep. Schaller is interested in
his work and figures and has come to the Himalayas to bring
these sheep out of hiding and link the rest of the world’s sheep
to them. Whereas Matthiessen is in search of Snow Leopard
which is very, very less in number and it would be magical to
see that type of rare species. The book also mentions about the
rare plants and herbs found in the Himalayas which can be very
useful in the field of medical science.

The main Flora and Fauna in the novel are:

 Bharal, A Himalayan blue sheep
 Sal forests, hibiscus, bougainvillea blossoming in heroic
landscapes
 Indian Rhinoceros
 Cotton Trees
 Banyan, sacred to both Hindus and Buddhists
 Harvests like Yellow squash, red peppers, bronze
tobacco,etc
 Tsampa
 Asiatic Black Beae
 Yeti
 Himalayan Langurs
 Blue Rock Dove
 Wild asses, Argali or Marco Polo Sheep, Orongo Antelops,
Wild camels, bears, etc.
 Mention of Slow Leopard
 SYMBOLS

The main in the beautifully crafted novel is:

1) “Snow Leopard” itself

The snow leopard appears on your path to teach the art and
mastery of the cosmic gift of intuition. The snow leopards carry
the message and medicine of focused silence, true strength
and power, gracefulness and independence.

The snow leopards also know how to conserve energy and to

use it wisely and efficiently. They tell us to avoid talking too
much about future goals until you have achieved them, but
realize that you have all the energy and strength to very
effectively manifest them and will be able to perform well
under any circumstances. The snow leopard also teaches us the
power of silence. Snow leopard teaches us to be fearless
leaders and to use our power wisely and effectively. Like snow
leopard, it may at time be wise to blend with your environment,
and come to understand divine timing for revealing yourself.

2) Shiva Dance in the spicy food

It symbolizes to a NATARAJ, a symbolic synthesis of the most
important aspects of Hinduism. His matted locks are whirling as
he dances within an arch of flames representing the endless
cycle of birth and death. On his head is a skull which
symbolizes his conquest over death. Goddedd Ganga, the
epitome of the holy river Ganges, also sits on his hairdo.
 3) Enlightment Tree

It is dedicated to Bodhi tree. Enlightment tree refers to the

place where Gautam Buddha attained enlightenment.

4) Livestock Dung

It symbolizes biogas, through which women used to cook food

during the time of rush of monsoon season.
 CONCLUSION

At last, I would like to say that, this novel is a masterpiece of

Peter Matthiessen. By reading this novel, I’m attracted to read
the other works of Matthiessen as well. This is one of the most
beautifully written book I have read. The writing of Matthiessen
helps the reader to imagine the high reaching peaks and snow
covered passes that gave them so much problems. His
descriptions of the villages were really realistic.

For the most part, this book moves along smoothly, but there
were a few times when I found myself getting bored. This book
requires the reader to be in a reflective mood to be truly
appreciated, so be sure to give it your undivided attention. I
recommend reading this book when you have quiet week plan
where you don’t have to worry about frequent distractions.

Thus, this book is a very good book which is deep and moving
at the same time. The travelogue is a complete package of
entertainment and adventure which covers various aspects of a
human life.