Three Cups of Tea

~Greg Mortenson

Themes and Motifs:

• The search for identity
• Follow your bliss (Mortenson lives non materialistic lifestyle)
• The desire to leave a legacy (Mortenson wants to leave necklace on K2)

• What happens when cultures collide?
• Both Pre 2001 and Post 2001
•  The impact of technology -what will building the bridge do to the community?  How can it help?  How can it hurt?
• Limitations of technology

• How failure and coincidence can lead to success/ meaningful coincidences 
• i.e., not reaching K2 and missing the mountain path on the return
• i,e, meeting Hillary at AMC, meeting Tara at AMC

• Definition of family/ What is home?/ What is community?
• One cup of tea= stranger, two cups of tea= friend, three cups of tea= family “for who we will do anything.”
• American idea of home vs. Korphe’s idea of home

• How do you earn trust?
• respects local culture (prays, drinks tea, eats local food, learns language)
•  fought K2
• unselfishly works for school.

• How do cultures show hospitality/ gratitude?
• Village saves Mortenson and he in turn repays them
• Korphe sacrifices 12 rams so the school can continue to be built

• Making and keeping promises
• to Korphe
• to Afghanistans
• to himself and benefactors

• Illusion vs. reality
• Idea of blissful simplicity vs. sparse and stark existence i.e., beautiful ginger hair is actually a result of malnutrition.

• Concept of relationships
• importance of family
• the American pragmatic way vs. Korphe’s patient way
• between the haves and have nots
• business relationships
• relationships across cultures
•  land and environment.

• The need for perseverance/ devotion/ single minded obsessions
• Mortenson lives out of car
•  Mortenson writes 500 letters celebs. like Tom Brokaw and Oprah and one of those letters is passed on to American Himalayan Foundation which results in Hoerni’s donation for the bridge.

• The need to find the believers in an idea
• Hoerni  $20,000 donation
• Tara’s support
• Parade magazine publishes article and puts him on the map

• Symbolic significance of the bridge
• obstacle in the way of Mortenson’s greater vision of a school
• joins two cultures together

• How do you use your own skills to make a difference?
• Mortenson is able to use his medical skills to help others in the village after they have help him.

• Clarity of vision- how to turn an abstract vision into a concrete reality 
• Have a propriety of vision (understanding what people seek- needs, wants, interests) 
• Understanding culture (work within the culture/ complement the culture  don’t combat the culture)  
• Develop relationships between key groups (key persons/ personalities)
• Time
• Eastern vs. Western

Mortenson as Mythic Hero

I.          The Departure  

a. call to adventure 

b. refusal of call

c. supernatural aide

d. crossing the first threshold

e. belly of the whale

II. The Initiation

a. road of trails

b. the meeting with the goddess

c. temptations away from true path

d. atonement with father

e. apotheosis

f. ultimate boon

III. The Return

      a. refusal of the return

      b. magic flight

      c. rescue from without

      d. crossing the return threshold

      e. master of the two worlds

      f. freedom to live

IV. Common Mythic Elements

a. the mundane and the special

b. mentor

c. oracle

d. failed hero

f. wearing the enemies skin

g. shape shifter