Kinley Jarvis
Ms. Lehmann
English 1-3
3 December 2019
Is survival selfish, or selfless?
Do you think survival is selfish? This is the central question of this essay. Survival does require people to be selfish because people can’t count on other people to save them, and apathy will kill people faster than anything, so people must be selfish and care about what happens to them. Many survival stories prove that people must save themselves.
Gonzales proves again and again that people need to help themselves. They can’t depend on other people to save them. People who waited to be saved during 9-11 died because rescue personnel couldn’t get to them. “In the World Trade Center disaster, many people who were used to following the rules died because they did what they were told by authority figures.” (Gonzales 327). If the people who died in 9-11 had taken care of themselves, maybe they’d be here today. They followed the rules and waited to be saved and lost their lives. Another piece of evidence can be found in Juliane’s story. Juliane survived a plane crash because she left the others and saved herself; she had to look after herself instead of waiting for help. The others who waited for help died. “Juliane had nothing except a few pieces of candy and some small cakes. She had no survival equipment, no tools, no compass, or map...” (Gonzales 326). Juliane lived because she didn’t depend on anyone except herself. She got up and saved herself.
Not only do people need to depend on themselves, they also need to avoid falling into apathy. Apathy is the fastest killer to anyone in a survival situation. You have to be selfish and care about what happens to you. When Ronald DiFrancesco was attempting to escape the twin towers on 9-11, he only survived because he didn’t give in to apathy. “DiFrancesco, too, was collasping, but then said to himself, “I’ve got to see my wife and kids again.” And with that, he got up and bolted downstairs to safety.” (Gonzales 332). He survived because he avoided apathy and ignored the rules he was given. Not that you need more evidence to know I'm in the right, but I have more. People who are prepared have died waiting for others to come and save them because they gave in to apathy. “Although we cannot know what the others who survived the fall were thinking and deciding, it’s possible that they knew they were supposed to stay put and await rescue. They were rule followers, and it killed them.” (Gonzales 327). Once people give in to apathy and decide to put their life in someone else’s hands, they decrease their chances of survival.
Although it’s clear that survival is selfish, there are those who disagree. Some people argue that people who survive live because they keep a cool head, not because they are selfish. The truth is, people's reason for surviving could be not wanting to die. In the story Night by Elie Wiesel, the Blockalteste (a man who was once a prisoner in the camp) kept himself alive by joining the Nazis and watching over the prisoners. Although he did give the prisoners advice to pass their physical, he stayed alive by turning on them. He would’ve died if he hadn’t done so. Ultimately, the evidence is overwhelming that survival is selfish.
People do have to be selfish because people can’t count on other people to save them, and apathy will kill people faster than anything, so people must be selfish and care about what happens to them. I think it’s true that survival is selfish because you can’t count on people to save your life. People have to care about what happens to them as well. So, is survival selfish? Yes, absolutely.
Works Cited
Gonzales, Laurence, Deep Survival, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Collections
Argumentative Essay Reflection
Please answer all questions in complete, grammatically correct sentences.
2. What qualifies this paper as an argumentative essay? What are the requirements for this genre and how did you meet them? To write an argumentative paper, you need proof to prove your point. In this particular essay, I used quotes from authors that wrote stories on survival. You also need a rebuttal. A rebuttal explains the otheside's point and then you explain why they're wrong. This paper qualifies as an argumentative essay because it has all the requirements.
3. Explain how you found at least one of the quotations from the essay and tell me why you chose that particular quote. What did it do for your paper? “Although we cannot know what the others who survived the fall were thinking and deciding, it’s possible that they knew they were supposed to stay put and await rescue. They were rule followers, and it killed them.” (Gonzales 327) is a quote in my paper. I found it by reading the story Deep Survival by Laurence Gonzales. I feel like it explained my point almost perfectly. People can't always depend on other people to save them. Sometimes, you gotta save yourself.
Ms. Lehmann
English 1-3
3 December 2019
Is survival selfish, or selfless?
Do you think survival is selfish? This is the central question of this essay. Survival does require people to be selfish because people can’t count on other people to save them, and apathy will kill people faster than anything, so people must be selfish and care about what happens to them. Many survival stories prove that people must save themselves.
Gonzales proves again and again that people need to help themselves. They can’t depend on other people to save them. People who waited to be saved during 9-11 died because rescue personnel couldn’t get to them. “In the World Trade Center disaster, many people who were used to following the rules died because they did what they were told by authority figures.” (Gonzales 327). If the people who died in 9-11 had taken care of themselves, maybe they’d be here today. They followed the rules and waited to be saved and lost their lives. Another piece of evidence can be found in Juliane’s story. Juliane survived a plane crash because she left the others and saved herself; she had to look after herself instead of waiting for help. The others who waited for help died. “Juliane had nothing except a few pieces of candy and some small cakes. She had no survival equipment, no tools, no compass, or map...” (Gonzales 326). Juliane lived because she didn’t depend on anyone except herself. She got up and saved herself.
Not only do people need to depend on themselves, they also need to avoid falling into apathy. Apathy is the fastest killer to anyone in a survival situation. You have to be selfish and care about what happens to you. When Ronald DiFrancesco was attempting to escape the twin towers on 9-11, he only survived because he didn’t give in to apathy. “DiFrancesco, too, was collasping, but then said to himself, “I’ve got to see my wife and kids again.” And with that, he got up and bolted downstairs to safety.” (Gonzales 332). He survived because he avoided apathy and ignored the rules he was given. Not that you need more evidence to know I'm in the right, but I have more. People who are prepared have died waiting for others to come and save them because they gave in to apathy. “Although we cannot know what the others who survived the fall were thinking and deciding, it’s possible that they knew they were supposed to stay put and await rescue. They were rule followers, and it killed them.” (Gonzales 327). Once people give in to apathy and decide to put their life in someone else’s hands, they decrease their chances of survival.
Although it’s clear that survival is selfish, there are those who disagree. Some people argue that people who survive live because they keep a cool head, not because they are selfish. The truth is, people's reason for surviving could be not wanting to die. In the story Night by Elie Wiesel, the Blockalteste (a man who was once a prisoner in the camp) kept himself alive by joining the Nazis and watching over the prisoners. Although he did give the prisoners advice to pass their physical, he stayed alive by turning on them. He would’ve died if he hadn’t done so. Ultimately, the evidence is overwhelming that survival is selfish.
People do have to be selfish because people can’t count on other people to save them, and apathy will kill people faster than anything, so people must be selfish and care about what happens to them. I think it’s true that survival is selfish because you can’t count on people to save your life. People have to care about what happens to them as well. So, is survival selfish? Yes, absolutely.
Works Cited
Gonzales, Laurence, Deep Survival, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Collections
Argumentative Essay Reflection
Please answer all questions in complete, grammatically correct sentences.
- Explain the process you went through to write this paper. Please be specific. First off, we read some stories all related to whether or not survival is selfish. After reading, we took notes and had a class debate. We were divided into two groups-one group saying survival was selfish, and the other saying survival is not selfish. Once that was over and done with, we started writing our first essay. Ms. Lehmann graded and corrected them for us so we could make our second copy better. Everyone put their second copy of their essay into this page, and fixed everything else that needed fixed.
2. What qualifies this paper as an argumentative essay? What are the requirements for this genre and how did you meet them? To write an argumentative paper, you need proof to prove your point. In this particular essay, I used quotes from authors that wrote stories on survival. You also need a rebuttal. A rebuttal explains the otheside's point and then you explain why they're wrong. This paper qualifies as an argumentative essay because it has all the requirements.
3. Explain how you found at least one of the quotations from the essay and tell me why you chose that particular quote. What did it do for your paper? “Although we cannot know what the others who survived the fall were thinking and deciding, it’s possible that they knew they were supposed to stay put and await rescue. They were rule followers, and it killed them.” (Gonzales 327) is a quote in my paper. I found it by reading the story Deep Survival by Laurence Gonzales. I feel like it explained my point almost perfectly. People can't always depend on other people to save them. Sometimes, you gotta save yourself.