THE SNOW LEOPARD

"The Snow Leopard" by peter Matthissen is a non-fiction book describing his trip to Himalayas
to study the elusive and mystical mountain cat known as "Snow Leopard" and the Himalayan
Blue Sheep.The book gives a exciting experience that motivates us to pursuit for something
more and never give up.

Auther's Biography

Peter Matthissen was born on 22 May 1927 in NewYork City. He was the son of Erard Adolph
Matthiessen and Elizabeth. He completed his schooling from St. Bernard’s School and
Hotchkiss School. He then served in the U.S. Navy from 1945 to 1947. After that, he continued
his studies and joined Yale university where he majored in English. Matthiessen developed a
love of animals that influenced his future work as a wildlife writer and naturalist. He was a
famous nonfiction as well as a fiction writer and was the first to win the National Book Award
in both the categories Matthiessen's nonfiction featured nature and travel, notably The Snow
Leopard (1978) and American Indian issues and history, such as a detailed and controversial
study of the Leonard Peltier case, In the Spirit of Crazy Horse (1983).

He worked for three years as a commercial fisherman on the ocean haul seine crews at the
eastern end of Long Island, and as a captain of a character fishing boat. His many expeditions to
the wilderness areas of the world have taken him to Alaska, the Canadian Northwest Territories,
Asia, Australasia, Oceania, South America, Africa, New Guinea and Nepal – memorably
described in such books as The Cloud Forest, Under the Mountain Wall, Blue Meridian, Sand
Rivers, The Tree Where Man was Born, The Snow Leopard, etc.
The book, “The Snow Leopard” was written in 1978 when he travelled Himalayas in Nepal
where he has written about Himalayan blue sheep, bharal and its predator, the snow leopard.

Some of his awards for his writings includes:

 1979 National Book Award, Contemporary Thought, for The Snow Leopard
 1980 National Book Award, General Non-Fiction (paperback), for The Snow Leopard
 2008 National Book Award, Fiction, for Shadow Country
 2010 William Dean Howells Medal, for Shadow Country

Later Matthiessen was diagnosed with leukemia in late 2012 and died at his home in
Sagaponack on 5 April 2014 at the age of 86.
Context and Setting

The book “The Snow Leopard” by Peter Matthiessen is about the author’s travel diary to Nepal.
He writes so rhythmically and better than anyone else. His words present us a virtual vivid
picture of the beautiful scenarios. George Schaller's original objective was to compare the
mating habits of the Himalayan blue sheep (the bharal) with those of the common sheep of the
USA, while for Matthiessen the trip was more of a spiritual exploration. Another aim was to
spot the snow leopard, a predator on the bharal and a creature that was seldom seen (it had only
been glimpsed twice by Westerners in the previous twenty-five years). The travel aspect of the
work is in the tradition of writing by Sir Richard Burton, Sir Henry Morton Stanley, and Sir
Ernest Henry Shackleton. A third part of the plan was to visit the Crystal Monastery and its
Buddhist lama. The book is a mixture of meditation upon death, loss, memories, healing and
suffering.

This book mainly focuses on the Himalayan part of Nepal. This diary has been set out in
different places like: Varanasi, Pokhara, Kathmandu, India, Dolpo, track along the Yamdi
River, Mustang. The book recounts the journey of Matthiessen and Schaller in 1973 to Shey
Gompa in the inner Dolpo region of Nepal. In the book, narrator describes about the flora and
faunas in the Himalayan regions of Nepal. Also, he explains about the religious surrounding. He
was quite influenced by Buddhism around the area of his journey. He has described the setting
of Buddhist monasteries, thanka paintings and other artifacts of Buddhism.
Character Sketch

Peter Matthiessen
Matthiessen is the main character of the book. He is also the author as well as the narrator of the
book. He is a nature lover, an active traveler and a kind person. He recently had lost his wife
and was grieving her death. Matthiessen is a spiritual person. He also follows and practices Zen
Buddhism.

George Schaller
Schaller is a zoologist mostly called as GS. He is a single minded person, a stern pragmatist,
unable to muster up much grace in the face of unscientific attitudes and he takes a hard-eyed
look at almost everything. He is a lean and intent young man. George is a preeminent biologist
who has researched about many animals like: lion, tiger etc. in the wild. His main objective in
the book is to observe and compare blue sheep of Nepal and general sheep of USA. He has
helped save many endangered species and travels to the Nepali Himalayas hoping to study
Bharals and their mating behaviour.

The Sherpas
The Sherpa are of the famous mountain tribe of north-east Nepal, near Namche Bazzar. Jang-bu,
Phu-Tsering, Dawa and Tunkten were the four Sherpas. Jang-bu was their head. They are the
Buddhist herders who had come down in recent centuries out of eastern Tibet. The four of them
helped Matthiessen and GS in building fire, cooking food, guarding the tents and preparing
sleeping bags as well as guided them towards North.

The porters
They lived a tough life in rural part of Nepal in that time. They were hardworking people who
believed to work honestly and properly. Some of them were Mongols and some were Aryans.
They were bare-footed with ragged shorts, Jodhpur-legged pant, vests, shawls and headgear.
They were mostly the locals without certain occupations and steadfast habit. They carried the
stuffs of Peter and his friend along with their own food and blankets.

Deborah
She is the second wife of Peter who is died of cancer in New York but is alive in his heart. She
was a believer of Zen Buddhism but was laid off from sickness. The writer remembers her time
and again. So, her death inspired the author to go for the expedition for meditation.

Alex
Alex is the son of Matthiessen and Deborah. He is eight and has unlimited love and affection for
his father. He is missed by the author when he reads his son's letter. He is not really a major
character but still is mentioned by peter.

Rue, Sara, Luke

They are the children of George Schaller.

There are many other minor characters in the book such as Bhim Bahadur.
Summary

This is a travel account written by Peter Matthiessen. He has described the book alongwith the
zoologist GS (George Schaller). In literal sense, "The Snow Leopard" seems to be a description
of one man’s thoughts and views throughout his journey, and if we see in a deeper sense
underlies the hardships and struggles throughout the trip as well as throughout his life.

The story begins with the narrator giving introduction about their journey and introducing his
friend George Schaller, the zoologist known as GS. Narrator had met him first in East Africa
where he was studying lions. When the narrator met him the following year in New York where
he was studying wild sheep and goat, GS asked the narrator if he wanted to join him on his
expedition to Nepal to study the Himalayan Blue Sheep.  Narrator and his wife were students of
Buddhism and he griefs over his wife’s death as he recalls the green bronze buddha theyhad
bought from Kathmandu. They head off for their journey on the morning of 26 September along
with a driver and two Sherpas facing all the difficulties of the bad weather.

The narrator was visiting Nepal for the second time. Twenty years before he had visited Nepal
and had seen those astonishing snow peaks step by step across the greatest range on earth to
somewhere called Crystal Mountain, which was a true pilgrimage, a journey of the heart. The
Tibetan culture was the last introductory part for them as it was in danger of disappearing from
human sight. On the way to Varanasi, the holy city on the Ganges, and visited the Buddhist
shrines at Bodh Gaya and Sarnath. In those monsoon days of mid-September, the brown heat of
India was awesome, and after a few days on the Ganges Plain, he was glad to fly north to
Kathmandu, in the green foot-hills of the Himalayan wall. That day was clear, and among the
temple spires and tiered pagodas, black kites and red veered on the wind. The dry air at 4000
feet was great relief from the humidity of India, but in the north the peaks were hidden by thick
clouds of the monsoon, and by evening it was raining. 

The weather was very worse before they began their trip. Even after they reached Kathmandu it
rained continuously. During their journey by road of Trisuli side they had to face many
obstacles like landslides, rains. Besides this they luckily reached to Pokhara at dusk where the
white egret flapped crossed the sunken clouds, black with rain. This time he walked for five
weeks under the massif of Annapurna, from the Dhorpatan to Dzong- Jang La pass- Seng and
Bheri Rivers-Ring-mo-Kang La pass-Crystal Mountain in "the Land of Dolpo," before the
onrush of approaching winter. His companion was George Schaller, who, though no Darwin at
synthesizing or speculating is a remarkable observer of matters of fact probably the most
enterprising of all present-day wildlife biologists.

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. Usually 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. They cross the Himalayas from south to north and then 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. 
On every trail there are prayer cairns and altars. 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. Matthiessen sees what he suspects is one, nevertheless. 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. Lightness of step and
radiance of light--although the Buddha once cried out in pity for an immodest yogin who had
wasted 20 years of life in learning to walk on the water, when for a small coin the ferryman
would have taken him across. 

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," are not without justification, 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 semiparalysis along the edge of a drop-off. "All the
way to Heaven is heaven," he tells port Mr. Schaller--who is sometimes alarmed by his
rhapsodies--quoting St. Catherine as "the very breath of Zen." And after their tiring journey they
return to their homeland.
Interpretation

Buddhism in Nepal
In The Snow Leopard, Zen Buddhism has been presented. Matthiessen and his wife, Deborah
were Zen Buddhists. Zen Buddhism is an ancient religion dating back to the 7th century in
China. A great deal of the doctrine is ascribed to the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama an
ancient, holy mendicant who became the Buddha.
In The Snow Leopard, there is very much focus on the practice of Zen Buddhism. Both the
author and his wife were true devotees of Zen Buddhism. He had also bought a green Buddha
statue while on his visit to Kathmandu. Zen Buddhism does not distinguish between birth, life,
death, and the hereafter. All things are related and cyclical. The same is presented in the novel
in a very vivid way. The transition between the various stages of life is simply a move between
planes of existence and seemingly negative experiences, such as death, should be no cause for
sorrow.

Flora and Fauna

Flora is plant life and fauna refers to the animal life. 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.

Matthiessen and Schaller started their quest in search of a Snow Leopard and the Bharal 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 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.

Some of the Flora and Fauna given in the book are:

 Bharal – The Himalayan Blue Sheep
 Indian Rhinocerous
 Banyan
 Caragana and Lonicera
 Yeti
 Asian Redstarts
 Tsampa
 Himalayan Langurs
 Blue Rock Dove
 Wild asses
 Asiatic Black Bear
 Asian Redstarts
 Yellow squash, Red peppers, Bronze Tobacco, a red millet
 Cotton Trees
 Sal Forests
 Snow leopard
Snow Leopard as a Travelouge

The Snow Leopard, rather than being just a plain book, is actually a fully formed travelogue.
The Snow leopard is a travel journal with a descriptive writing, touch of religious, spiritual and
traditional work. The book is a masterpiece for all the travelers and the nature lovers. It is a
travelogue with writer’s own morals and beliefs that connects with past events.

The book starts from September 28, when the author and George Schaller meet at a hotel while
drinking tea and observing the beauty of the hills. He travelled many places with his friend like
Dolpo, Kathmandu, Pokhara, Yamdi Khola, Lumbini,etc. It is shown in the book that the author
interacts with many people and does not leave any opportunity to grab information. Difference
in the lifestyles can also be seen in this book along with the description of landscapes and while
enduring cold and the difficulties of high altitude, the author was able to beautifully document
the land of Dolpo. Even though there were obstacles like leeches, landslides, floods, heavy
rainfall which caused their tents to leak, however, for the sake of adventure of travelling they
keep going on.

There are very few or no conversation at all in this book, which further supports the fact that
this book is a travelogue. 
Symbols

Many symbols can be found in the book that has specific meanings and importance. Some of
the symbols that are used in the book are:

Kali Gandaki
It signifies to the Black women or the dark women. The steep walls, grey torrents and black
boulders give hellish darkness to this river. Kali, the black is the female aspect of time and
death.

The Stupas
The narrator in the book explains how visitng stupas made him feel like his material need is
fading away. Thus, the stupas explained in the book symbolizes peace.

Englightment tree
It symbolizes the Bodhi tree where Lord Buddha had gained wisdom and enlightment.

Shiva Dance in the spicy food

Shiva dance symbolizes to “NATARAJ”, a form of dance performed by Lord Shiva in Hindu
belief.  His head has a skull which symbolizes the winning over death. Further his hair lays the
holy river Ganga.

Rarest and Beautiful cats

In this diary the narrator has symbolized the rarest and beautiful cats to the snow leopard the
title itself. As the Bharals are found in large numbers the leopard are seen in rarest number.

Livestock dung
The dung symbolizes firewood or gas which the women in rural used to cook food during the
time when it was raining and there were no dry woods.
Critical Analysis and Concluding Remarks

The Snow Leopard  is an account of an expedition high into the seldom-seen Himalayan land of
Inner Dolpo, to record the habits of the bharal, or rare Himalayan blue sheep, and, if possible, in
passing to glimpse the famously shy and evasive snow leopard. In the book he records altitudes
and temperatures and the history and geography of every region he visits. The book also
presents author’s relationship with his wife and his struggle with the fact of her death. The
impact of her death led the author to search for relaxation and peace which he gained through
this journey.

The book has described about different flora and fauna of Nepal as well as the Buddhism
practices in Nepal. It is a book that celebrates the spark of life that put us forward towards
transcending our heavy human existence in pursuit of something more. On the surface, this
book is simply a description of one man’s thoughts and views throughout his journey but there
lies Matthiessen’s morals and beliefs intertwined with his struggles and hardships throughout
the trip and throughout his life.

In the end, the fact that the book was written in a daily diary format helped to know the length
and magnitude of the journey. We can find that they never saw a snow leopard, this made the
expedition pointless, but they did see many other things along the way and they learned a lot of
things in Nepal.
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

 Author's Biography
 Context and Setting
 Character Sketch
 Summary
 Interpretation
 Snow Leopard as a Travelouge
 Symbols
 Critical Analysis and Concluding Remarks
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to thank Mr. Bharat Prasad Neupane, Faculty of English for giving an opportunity
to prepare an analysis on the novel 'The Snow Leopard"by Peter Matthiessen. During this
assignment, I learnt about a lot of things such as how to do interpretation, what to include in a
book analysis. Although I tried my best to prepare this analysis, I would like to apologise on
any mistakes that may have occured in this analysis.

And the last I would again like to thank our faculty, Mr. Bharat Neupane for this opportunity
and I hope that you will not be disappointed with my analysis.

Thank You.
 KATHMANDU UNIVERSITY SCHOOL
OF
MANAGEMENT
Balkumari, Laltipur

Review on the Novel

The Snow Leopard
-Peter Matthiessen

Submitted By: Submitted to:

Bandana Shrestha Mr. Bharat Prasad
BBA 1st Semester Neupane
Section: A Faculty of English
Roll No: 197096