Hunter Shobe
Ms. Lehmann
English 1-3
3 December 2019
Is Survival Selfish?
Do you think that 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. People must care what happens to them. Several survival stories prove that people can’t count on other people to save them.
People can’t always count on somebody to get them out of a situation. Sometimes they must do it themselves. People on 9/11 died because they waited to go get help instead of trying to evacuate the Twin Towers. Gonzales writes, “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). This proves that survival is selfish because the people who didn’t follow the rules survived, but the people who followed the rules given to them by authorities died. Had those people taken care of themselves, they would be alive.Another piece of evidence from Deep Survival is when Julian survived her plane crash and she was the only one that survived. “ Meanwhile, the others who had lived through the fall decided to await rescue, which is not necessarily a bad idea either.But expecting someone else to take responsibility for your well- being can be fatal.” (Gonzales 326).This proves that survival is selfish because Julian survived all by herself and by following the river, but the people who didn’t survive was because they didn’t do anything to try to survive.
Another piece of evidence is from Deep Survival,by Laurence Gonzales. Apathy will kill people faster than anything, so people must be selfish to survive. People who are prepared have died waiting for others to come and save them because they gave in to apathy. “Meanwhile, the others who had lived through the fall decided to await rescue, which is not necessarily a bad idea either.” (Gonzales 326). This proves that survival is selfish because people can often be prepared for a survival situation, but they die because they don’t get up and look for rescue. They sit and wait for people to find them.Another quote from Deep Survivalis when Yates is pushing some pilots above their limits and they give up. “ Thepilots began to suffer from fatigue , but Kerns kept driving them.” ( Gonzales330.) This also confirms that apathy can kill because when Kerns kept driving them, they started to give up and apathy started to set in.
Although it’s clear that survival is selfish, there are those who disagree. Some people argue that people who survive often say that they did so for someone else, but they forget that some of those people are all by themselves,and they survive because they don’t want to die. An example of survival being selfish is when Yates cuts his friend loose from his rope to save himself. While his friend did manage to survive from the fall and crawl back to camp, it was still selfish because Yates made the choice to sacrifice his friend for his own survival. It’s the only reason he survived.
People do have to be selfish because they can’t always rely on other people and apathy can kill people faster than anything else. I think relying on another person to get you out of a situation won’t always work,sometimes you must get yourself out of that situation on your own. If peoplejust sit down and wait for somebody to come and rescue then, theyare most likely going to die because theydidn’t do anything. So, is survival selfish? Yes, because people can’t always rely on others to help them and apathy can kill.
Work Cited Page
Gonzales, Laurence. Deep Survival. Collection, edited by Kylene Beers, Martha Hougen, Carol Jago,
William L. McBride, Erik Palmer, & Lydia Stack, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017, pp. 325- 334
Argumentative Essay Reflection
Please answer all questions in complete, grammatically correct sentences.
1. Explain the process you went through to write this paper. Please be specific.
I first had to read Is Survival Selfish?, Deep Survival, Night, and The Leap to prove that survival is selfish and do several assignments on each story. After that, me and my class did a debate on whether survival is selfish or not selfish and in that we discussed several points like that Julian didn't help anyone, but she still survived because everybody who survived the plane crash with her just stayed put and waited for help, but Julian didn't wait, she decided to go to find civilization. After the debate, I made the essay where I would state my points and support them with evidence.
2. What qualifies this paper as an argumentative essay? What are the requirements for this genre and how did you meet them?
This essay is a argumentative essay because it supports one side of the argument and tries to dismantle the points of the other side of the argument and it tries to prove that the argument of survival being selfish is true. The requirements for this genre is that you need to make a claim then you have to support it with two or more points. After that you need to make a rebuttal and state the other side's argument.
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?
" 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.) I chose this quote because later in the same page, it states that the people who didn't follow the rules survived 9/11 and it reinforced the argument that survival is selfish and supported the point.
Ms. Lehmann
English 1-3
3 December 2019
Is Survival Selfish?
Do you think that 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. People must care what happens to them. Several survival stories prove that people can’t count on other people to save them.
People can’t always count on somebody to get them out of a situation. Sometimes they must do it themselves. People on 9/11 died because they waited to go get help instead of trying to evacuate the Twin Towers. Gonzales writes, “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). This proves that survival is selfish because the people who didn’t follow the rules survived, but the people who followed the rules given to them by authorities died. Had those people taken care of themselves, they would be alive.Another piece of evidence from Deep Survival is when Julian survived her plane crash and she was the only one that survived. “ Meanwhile, the others who had lived through the fall decided to await rescue, which is not necessarily a bad idea either.But expecting someone else to take responsibility for your well- being can be fatal.” (Gonzales 326).This proves that survival is selfish because Julian survived all by herself and by following the river, but the people who didn’t survive was because they didn’t do anything to try to survive.
Another piece of evidence is from Deep Survival,by Laurence Gonzales. Apathy will kill people faster than anything, so people must be selfish to survive. People who are prepared have died waiting for others to come and save them because they gave in to apathy. “Meanwhile, the others who had lived through the fall decided to await rescue, which is not necessarily a bad idea either.” (Gonzales 326). This proves that survival is selfish because people can often be prepared for a survival situation, but they die because they don’t get up and look for rescue. They sit and wait for people to find them.Another quote from Deep Survivalis when Yates is pushing some pilots above their limits and they give up. “ Thepilots began to suffer from fatigue , but Kerns kept driving them.” ( Gonzales330.) This also confirms that apathy can kill because when Kerns kept driving them, they started to give up and apathy started to set in.
Although it’s clear that survival is selfish, there are those who disagree. Some people argue that people who survive often say that they did so for someone else, but they forget that some of those people are all by themselves,and they survive because they don’t want to die. An example of survival being selfish is when Yates cuts his friend loose from his rope to save himself. While his friend did manage to survive from the fall and crawl back to camp, it was still selfish because Yates made the choice to sacrifice his friend for his own survival. It’s the only reason he survived.
People do have to be selfish because they can’t always rely on other people and apathy can kill people faster than anything else. I think relying on another person to get you out of a situation won’t always work,sometimes you must get yourself out of that situation on your own. If peoplejust sit down and wait for somebody to come and rescue then, theyare most likely going to die because theydidn’t do anything. So, is survival selfish? Yes, because people can’t always rely on others to help them and apathy can kill.
Work Cited Page
Gonzales, Laurence. Deep Survival. Collection, edited by Kylene Beers, Martha Hougen, Carol Jago,
William L. McBride, Erik Palmer, & Lydia Stack, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017, pp. 325- 334
Argumentative Essay Reflection
Please answer all questions in complete, grammatically correct sentences.
1. Explain the process you went through to write this paper. Please be specific.
I first had to read Is Survival Selfish?, Deep Survival, Night, and The Leap to prove that survival is selfish and do several assignments on each story. After that, me and my class did a debate on whether survival is selfish or not selfish and in that we discussed several points like that Julian didn't help anyone, but she still survived because everybody who survived the plane crash with her just stayed put and waited for help, but Julian didn't wait, she decided to go to find civilization. After the debate, I made the essay where I would state my points and support them with evidence.
2. What qualifies this paper as an argumentative essay? What are the requirements for this genre and how did you meet them?
This essay is a argumentative essay because it supports one side of the argument and tries to dismantle the points of the other side of the argument and it tries to prove that the argument of survival being selfish is true. The requirements for this genre is that you need to make a claim then you have to support it with two or more points. After that you need to make a rebuttal and state the other side's argument.
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?
" 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.) I chose this quote because later in the same page, it states that the people who didn't follow the rules survived 9/11 and it reinforced the argument that survival is selfish and supported the point.