Alex Recendez
Ms. Lehmann
English 1-3
3 December 2019
Does Survival Count as Selfish?
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 states repeatedly that people need to take initiative and save themselves first because others might not be able to help them. People who waited to be saved during 9-11 died because rescue personnel couldn’t get to them. “I can’t go anywhere because they told us not to move. I have to wait for the firefighters” (Gonzales 327). The man who said this died waiting. This shows that those who waited to be saved didn’t survive the attack. Another piece of evidence can be found later in the article. 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). The quote states that while the others stayed put and waited for the search and rescue group to arrive, the teen girl went on her own and survived. Not only do people have to take initiative to save themselves, but also, they can’t let apathy get to them because it kills faster than anything.
Falling into apathy is dangerous. Once people fall into apathy, they stop having concern about what will happen to them next and they give up hope. There were people who had everything needed to survive, but they didn’t because they gave in to apathy. “Conversely, searchers are always amazed to find people who have died while in possession of everything they needed to survive” (Gonzales 326). Later in the article, there is more evidence. A man by the name of Ronald DiFransesco was attempting to escape the twin towers on 9-11. The only reason he survived was because he didn’t give in to apathy in the way back to his office, he encountered people giving up. “The people, all of whom would die, were just giving up and falling asleep” (Gonzales 332). This shows us that the people who had the opportunity to survive by leaving the building just gave up. DiFrancesco realized he didn’t want to die, and he left the building alive. Survival doesn’t always come down to whether you have enough supplies, but it often comes down to whether you will surpass apathy. There still are people who would disagree that survival is selfish.
Although it’s clear that survival is selfish, there are those who disagree. Others say that the key to survival is having a purpose in a crisis. Because caring for others gives purpose, survival must not be selfish. People who survive often say that they did it for someone else. This is false because most people only think of saving themselves because they think about themselves losing their families, not about their families losing them. In the book Deep Survival, DiFransesco has a good example. “I’ve got to see my wife and kids again” (Gonzales 332). He was thinking of himself seeing his family, not his family seeing him.
This proves that survival does require people to be selfish because people can’t count on others to come and save them because apathy can kill people faster than anything. People must be selfish because they can’t count on other people to save them. Apathy will get to people quicker than any other factor. Once people take initiative for themselves, others might follow their lead and not die. So, is survival selfish? Yes.
Works Cited
Wallace, Lane. “Is Survival Selfish.” Collections, Edited by Kylene Beers, Martha Hougen, Carol Jago, William L.
McBride, Erik Palmer & Lydia Stack, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017, pp. 317-320.
Gonzales, Laurence. Deep Survival. Collection, Edited by Kylene Beers, Martha Hougen, Carol Jago, William L.
McBride, Erik Palmer, & Lydia Stack, Houghton Miffiln 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 started with and introduction and then I followed by two claims with two quotes for every claim. My last two paragraphs were the rebuttal and the conclusion.
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 argumentative because it represents arguments from both sides of the issue.I had to tell why I am correct and why the other side is wrong. I stated my claims and supported them and then I stated the other sides claims and stated why they're wrong.
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?
One quotation I found was, “I can’t go anywhere because they told us not to move. I have to wait for the firefighters” (Gonzales 327). I found this by reading Deep Surivaval. I chose this quotation because I felt like I could easily back it up. It made my paper easier to write.
Ms. Lehmann
English 1-3
3 December 2019
Does Survival Count as Selfish?
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 states repeatedly that people need to take initiative and save themselves first because others might not be able to help them. People who waited to be saved during 9-11 died because rescue personnel couldn’t get to them. “I can’t go anywhere because they told us not to move. I have to wait for the firefighters” (Gonzales 327). The man who said this died waiting. This shows that those who waited to be saved didn’t survive the attack. Another piece of evidence can be found later in the article. 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). The quote states that while the others stayed put and waited for the search and rescue group to arrive, the teen girl went on her own and survived. Not only do people have to take initiative to save themselves, but also, they can’t let apathy get to them because it kills faster than anything.
Falling into apathy is dangerous. Once people fall into apathy, they stop having concern about what will happen to them next and they give up hope. There were people who had everything needed to survive, but they didn’t because they gave in to apathy. “Conversely, searchers are always amazed to find people who have died while in possession of everything they needed to survive” (Gonzales 326). Later in the article, there is more evidence. A man by the name of Ronald DiFransesco was attempting to escape the twin towers on 9-11. The only reason he survived was because he didn’t give in to apathy in the way back to his office, he encountered people giving up. “The people, all of whom would die, were just giving up and falling asleep” (Gonzales 332). This shows us that the people who had the opportunity to survive by leaving the building just gave up. DiFrancesco realized he didn’t want to die, and he left the building alive. Survival doesn’t always come down to whether you have enough supplies, but it often comes down to whether you will surpass apathy. There still are people who would disagree that survival is selfish.
Although it’s clear that survival is selfish, there are those who disagree. Others say that the key to survival is having a purpose in a crisis. Because caring for others gives purpose, survival must not be selfish. People who survive often say that they did it for someone else. This is false because most people only think of saving themselves because they think about themselves losing their families, not about their families losing them. In the book Deep Survival, DiFransesco has a good example. “I’ve got to see my wife and kids again” (Gonzales 332). He was thinking of himself seeing his family, not his family seeing him.
This proves that survival does require people to be selfish because people can’t count on others to come and save them because apathy can kill people faster than anything. People must be selfish because they can’t count on other people to save them. Apathy will get to people quicker than any other factor. Once people take initiative for themselves, others might follow their lead and not die. So, is survival selfish? Yes.
Works Cited
Wallace, Lane. “Is Survival Selfish.” Collections, Edited by Kylene Beers, Martha Hougen, Carol Jago, William L.
McBride, Erik Palmer & Lydia Stack, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017, pp. 317-320.
Gonzales, Laurence. Deep Survival. Collection, Edited by Kylene Beers, Martha Hougen, Carol Jago, William L.
McBride, Erik Palmer, & Lydia Stack, Houghton Miffiln 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 started with and introduction and then I followed by two claims with two quotes for every claim. My last two paragraphs were the rebuttal and the conclusion.
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 argumentative because it represents arguments from both sides of the issue.I had to tell why I am correct and why the other side is wrong. I stated my claims and supported them and then I stated the other sides claims and stated why they're wrong.
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?
One quotation I found was, “I can’t go anywhere because they told us not to move. I have to wait for the firefighters” (Gonzales 327). I found this by reading Deep Surivaval. I chose this quotation because I felt like I could easily back it up. It made my paper easier to write.