Camden Balls
Ms. Lehmann
English 1-1A
4 December 2019
Selfish to Survive
Do you believe people must be selfish in order to survive? This is the central question of this essay. Survival does require people to behave selfishly because people can’t count on other people to save them, and people shouldn’t assume they are capable of saving others. Most survival stories prove that people must save themselves and not depend on others.
If people do not save themselves, who’s to say someone else will? 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). This proves that if these people would’ve been selfish and decided to save themselves, they would’ve had a better chance of survival. Another story that supports this is Juliane’s story. Juliane survived the 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. “Tough and clear headed, this teenage girl, who had lost her shoes (not to mention her mother) on the first day, saved herself; the other survivors took the same eleven days to sit down and die” (Gonzales 326). Juliane was unprepared for survival but since she decided to take care of herself, she survived while she left the others behind to die. Not only can people not count on others to save them, but they shouldn’t assume they are capable of saving others.
People cannot always save others; it might cost them their lives. If someone is put in a life or death situation, it isn't likely that they can save another person. They are more likely to save themselves. The woman in Deep Survival who survived the plane crash would have died had she attempted to save others on the plane. “I remember she said she battled a lot of guilt for saving herself instead of trying to save the others. Could she really have saved the others? Probably not, and certainly not from the back of the plane. If she tried, she probably would have perished with them” (Wallace 318). She took initiative for herself. She knew people were not moving so she got out to save herself when she probably couldn’t have saved the others on the plane. Another piece of evidence is Yates’ decision. Yates had to make the decision to cut his friend loose or they would have both died on the mountain. “In Yates’ case, he had time to think hard about the odds, and the possibilities he was facing, and to realize that he couldn’t save anyone but himself” (Wallace 319). Yates knew that they would both perish if he didn’t decide quickly, so he decided to save himself. This proves survival is selfish because in both accounts someone decided to save themselves over others knowing that they might die to if they tried to save them. Although it's clear that survival is selfish, not everyone agrees.
Some people argue that people need a reason to survive; this is often thinking of others and the loss they would suffer were they to die. This is wrong because some people’s reason to survive might just be because they don’t want to die; they might not be thinking of someone else back home. A great supporter of this claim is from the story Night. Some Jewish prisoners became guards to save themselves. Wiesel describes them as, “the Kapos, the foremen, all of whom were in perfect physical condition, of course” (Wiesel 310). Which shows that they benefitted from selling others out. So, it's obvious that survival is selfish.
Because people can't count on others to save them, and people shouldn’t assume that they can save others, survival is clearly selfish. Juliane was able to save herself, but she had to leave others behind. The woman who survived the plane crash went over many people deciding to make herself her main priority. In both cases, being selfish to survive is the only reason both people survived. So is survival selfish? Obviously.
Works Cited Page
Gonzales, Laurence. Deep Survival. Collections, edited by Kylene Beers, Martha Hougen, Carol Jago, William L. McBride, Erik Palmer, and Lydia Stack, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017, pp 325-334.
Wallace, Lane. “Is Survival Selfish.” Collections, edited by Kylene Beers, Martha Hougen, Carol Jago, William L. McBride, Erik Palmer, and Lydia Stack, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017, pp 317-320.
Wiesel, Elie. Night. Collections, edited by Kylene Beers, Martha Hougen, Carol Jago, William L. McBride, Erik Palmer, and Lydia Stack, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017, pp 307-312.
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.
As a class we read multiple passages. We read a science writing Deep Survival by Laurence Gonzales, a Argument by Lane Wallace called "Is Survival Selfish," a short story The Leap by Louise Erdrich, and a memoir from the story Night by Eli Wiesel. I took notes on each story and used them in a debate. Then, I wrote a paper arguing that survival is selfish and turned it in. We then received a revised version. We edited our papers and turned them in for a final copy.
2. What qualifies this paper as an argumentative essay? What are the requirements for this genre and how did you meet them?
This paper qualifies as an argumentative essay because I argued that survival is selfish. I also proved that the other side is wrong with evidence. The requirements are two sides of the story, evidence to support my essay, and a clear road map to my paper. The two sides would be is survival selfish or not selfish. I brought in the opposite side and used it to support my side of the argument. I used quotes for my evidence and a kept my paper all together I didn't trail off into evidence or stories I did not need.
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?
I chose the quote, “Tough and clear headed, this teenage girl, who had lost her shoes (not to mention her mother) on the first day, saved herself; the other survivors took the same eleven days to sit down and die” (Gonzales 326). This supports my paper because it proves that she had to leave the others behind, being selfish, and save herself when she knew it might not work but it gave herself a better chance at survival.
Ms. Lehmann
English 1-1A
4 December 2019
Selfish to Survive
Do you believe people must be selfish in order to survive? This is the central question of this essay. Survival does require people to behave selfishly because people can’t count on other people to save them, and people shouldn’t assume they are capable of saving others. Most survival stories prove that people must save themselves and not depend on others.
If people do not save themselves, who’s to say someone else will? 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). This proves that if these people would’ve been selfish and decided to save themselves, they would’ve had a better chance of survival. Another story that supports this is Juliane’s story. Juliane survived the 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. “Tough and clear headed, this teenage girl, who had lost her shoes (not to mention her mother) on the first day, saved herself; the other survivors took the same eleven days to sit down and die” (Gonzales 326). Juliane was unprepared for survival but since she decided to take care of herself, she survived while she left the others behind to die. Not only can people not count on others to save them, but they shouldn’t assume they are capable of saving others.
People cannot always save others; it might cost them their lives. If someone is put in a life or death situation, it isn't likely that they can save another person. They are more likely to save themselves. The woman in Deep Survival who survived the plane crash would have died had she attempted to save others on the plane. “I remember she said she battled a lot of guilt for saving herself instead of trying to save the others. Could she really have saved the others? Probably not, and certainly not from the back of the plane. If she tried, she probably would have perished with them” (Wallace 318). She took initiative for herself. She knew people were not moving so she got out to save herself when she probably couldn’t have saved the others on the plane. Another piece of evidence is Yates’ decision. Yates had to make the decision to cut his friend loose or they would have both died on the mountain. “In Yates’ case, he had time to think hard about the odds, and the possibilities he was facing, and to realize that he couldn’t save anyone but himself” (Wallace 319). Yates knew that they would both perish if he didn’t decide quickly, so he decided to save himself. This proves survival is selfish because in both accounts someone decided to save themselves over others knowing that they might die to if they tried to save them. Although it's clear that survival is selfish, not everyone agrees.
Some people argue that people need a reason to survive; this is often thinking of others and the loss they would suffer were they to die. This is wrong because some people’s reason to survive might just be because they don’t want to die; they might not be thinking of someone else back home. A great supporter of this claim is from the story Night. Some Jewish prisoners became guards to save themselves. Wiesel describes them as, “the Kapos, the foremen, all of whom were in perfect physical condition, of course” (Wiesel 310). Which shows that they benefitted from selling others out. So, it's obvious that survival is selfish.
Because people can't count on others to save them, and people shouldn’t assume that they can save others, survival is clearly selfish. Juliane was able to save herself, but she had to leave others behind. The woman who survived the plane crash went over many people deciding to make herself her main priority. In both cases, being selfish to survive is the only reason both people survived. So is survival selfish? Obviously.
Works Cited Page
Gonzales, Laurence. Deep Survival. Collections, edited by Kylene Beers, Martha Hougen, Carol Jago, William L. McBride, Erik Palmer, and Lydia Stack, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017, pp 325-334.
Wallace, Lane. “Is Survival Selfish.” Collections, edited by Kylene Beers, Martha Hougen, Carol Jago, William L. McBride, Erik Palmer, and Lydia Stack, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017, pp 317-320.
Wiesel, Elie. Night. Collections, edited by Kylene Beers, Martha Hougen, Carol Jago, William L. McBride, Erik Palmer, and Lydia Stack, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017, pp 307-312.
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.
As a class we read multiple passages. We read a science writing Deep Survival by Laurence Gonzales, a Argument by Lane Wallace called "Is Survival Selfish," a short story The Leap by Louise Erdrich, and a memoir from the story Night by Eli Wiesel. I took notes on each story and used them in a debate. Then, I wrote a paper arguing that survival is selfish and turned it in. We then received a revised version. We edited our papers and turned them in for a final copy.
2. What qualifies this paper as an argumentative essay? What are the requirements for this genre and how did you meet them?
This paper qualifies as an argumentative essay because I argued that survival is selfish. I also proved that the other side is wrong with evidence. The requirements are two sides of the story, evidence to support my essay, and a clear road map to my paper. The two sides would be is survival selfish or not selfish. I brought in the opposite side and used it to support my side of the argument. I used quotes for my evidence and a kept my paper all together I didn't trail off into evidence or stories I did not need.
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?
I chose the quote, “Tough and clear headed, this teenage girl, who had lost her shoes (not to mention her mother) on the first day, saved herself; the other survivors took the same eleven days to sit down and die” (Gonzales 326). This supports my paper because it proves that she had to leave the others behind, being selfish, and save herself when she knew it might not work but it gave herself a better chance at survival.