Yarleth Zepeda
Ms. Lehmann
English 1-1A
4 December 2019
The Truth About Survival
Do you believe people must be selfish in order to survive? This is the central question of this essay. Survival does not require people to behave selfishly because the key to survival is having purpose in a crisis, and people need a reason to survive; this is often thinking of others. Most survival stories prove that caring for others in need gives the survivor a selfless purpose.
People who help others often put their lives at greater risk, whether they’re being selfish or not. Doctors and nurses have higher survival rates, since they have someone to help. This gives them a well-defined purpose. In the story Deep Survival, it states “Purpose is a big part of survival, but it must be accompanied by work. Grace without good work is not salvation” (Gonzales 332). This proves that you do not have to be selfish to survive, because helping others to survive is a selfless act. Another example that supports this is rescue personnel. “They have come to understand, perhaps unconsciously, that they can only live fully by helping others through that same transformation” (Gonzales 334). It shows that by caring for others, you are surviving in a way that is not selfish. When you are helping someone else you stay cool headed; this helps your chances of survival.
Not everyone is selfish. In the story “Is Survival Selfish,” by Lane Wallace, Wallace tells readers about a man named Ismay who was a survivor of the Titanic. Ismay was not selfish when he survived, because he did the most he could before retreating to a lifeboat. “Ismay said he’d already helped many women and children into lifeboats and had only climbed in one himself when there were no other women or children in the area and the boat was ready to release” (Wallace 317). He wasn’t thinking only of himself when he tried to escape into a lifeboat. The fact that Ismay helped all women and children in his area before getting into a lifeboat at the last minute, is not selfish. Even though Ismay wasn’t acting selfish, a lot of people looked down on him for getting on a lifeboat. “His reputation was ruined. He was labeled an uncivilized cowered and, a year after the disaster, he resigned his position at White Star” (Wallace 317). Because he saved himself, people didn’t count him a hero even though he risked his life by helping all those women and children before he saved himself.
Some people believe that survival is selfish. They argue that apathy will kill people faster than anything, so people have to be selfish and care about what happens to them. In the story Deep Survival, the author writes “When Roland Difrancesco was attempting to escape the twin towers on 9-11, he only survived because he didn’t give in to apathy” (Gonzales 332). This shows that DiFrancesco decided to do anything to get out of the towers and survive. But this act was not selfish, DiFrancesco was trying to survive for his family. “DiFrancesco, too, was collapsing, but then he said to himself, “I’ve got to see my wife and kids again”. And with that, he got up and bolted down the stairs to safety” (Gonzales 332). This quote lets you know what DiFrancesco was going through during the accident. He wasn’t acting selfishly because he was determined to survive for the people who would be hurt if he didn’t. This is why survival isn’t selfish.
Because the key to survival is having purpose in a crisis (caring for others gives people purpose) and people need a reason to survive (this is often thinking of others and the loss they would suffer were they to die) survival is not selfish. Doctors and nurses have higher survival rates, since they have someone to help. Also, when Ismay helped all those women and children into lifeboats, he wasn’t being selfish when it came to his own survival. So, is survival selfish? Obviously, survival is not selfish.
Works Cited
Gonzales, Laurence. Deep Survival. Collections, Edited by Kyleen Beers, Martha Hougen, Carol Jago, William L. McBride, Erik Palmer, & Lydia Stack, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017, 325-333.
Wallace, Lane. "Is Survival Selfish." Collections, edited by Kyleen Beers, Martha Hougen, Carol Jago, William L. McBride, Erik Palmer, & Lydia Stack, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017, 317-320.
Argumentative Essay Reflection
1. Explain the process you went through to write this paper. Please be specific.
First of all, my class and I read through many stories about survival. We then picked whether we thought it was or was not selfish. Lastly, we had a classroom discussion to argue for our point of view.
2. What qualifies this paper as an argumentative essay? What are the requirements for this genre and how did you meet them?
This paper is about what I as the author believe about survival. Because I am arguing for my point of view about survival, this is qualified as an argumentative essay. Every argumentative paper needs a claim, evidence to support the claim, a counter claim, and a rebuttal. I met all of these requirements in my essay by thinking about what i was going to put in each paragraph.
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?
Most of my quotes were found within the story Deep Survival. A quote I chose was “Purpose is a big part of survival, but it must be accompanied by work. Grace without good work is not salvation” (Gonzales 332). I chose this quote to prove my point that to survive in a way that is not selfish you need a purpose or something to survive for. This helped my paper by backing up my argument.
Ms. Lehmann
English 1-1A
4 December 2019
The Truth About Survival
Do you believe people must be selfish in order to survive? This is the central question of this essay. Survival does not require people to behave selfishly because the key to survival is having purpose in a crisis, and people need a reason to survive; this is often thinking of others. Most survival stories prove that caring for others in need gives the survivor a selfless purpose.
People who help others often put their lives at greater risk, whether they’re being selfish or not. Doctors and nurses have higher survival rates, since they have someone to help. This gives them a well-defined purpose. In the story Deep Survival, it states “Purpose is a big part of survival, but it must be accompanied by work. Grace without good work is not salvation” (Gonzales 332). This proves that you do not have to be selfish to survive, because helping others to survive is a selfless act. Another example that supports this is rescue personnel. “They have come to understand, perhaps unconsciously, that they can only live fully by helping others through that same transformation” (Gonzales 334). It shows that by caring for others, you are surviving in a way that is not selfish. When you are helping someone else you stay cool headed; this helps your chances of survival.
Not everyone is selfish. In the story “Is Survival Selfish,” by Lane Wallace, Wallace tells readers about a man named Ismay who was a survivor of the Titanic. Ismay was not selfish when he survived, because he did the most he could before retreating to a lifeboat. “Ismay said he’d already helped many women and children into lifeboats and had only climbed in one himself when there were no other women or children in the area and the boat was ready to release” (Wallace 317). He wasn’t thinking only of himself when he tried to escape into a lifeboat. The fact that Ismay helped all women and children in his area before getting into a lifeboat at the last minute, is not selfish. Even though Ismay wasn’t acting selfish, a lot of people looked down on him for getting on a lifeboat. “His reputation was ruined. He was labeled an uncivilized cowered and, a year after the disaster, he resigned his position at White Star” (Wallace 317). Because he saved himself, people didn’t count him a hero even though he risked his life by helping all those women and children before he saved himself.
Some people believe that survival is selfish. They argue that apathy will kill people faster than anything, so people have to be selfish and care about what happens to them. In the story Deep Survival, the author writes “When Roland Difrancesco was attempting to escape the twin towers on 9-11, he only survived because he didn’t give in to apathy” (Gonzales 332). This shows that DiFrancesco decided to do anything to get out of the towers and survive. But this act was not selfish, DiFrancesco was trying to survive for his family. “DiFrancesco, too, was collapsing, but then he said to himself, “I’ve got to see my wife and kids again”. And with that, he got up and bolted down the stairs to safety” (Gonzales 332). This quote lets you know what DiFrancesco was going through during the accident. He wasn’t acting selfishly because he was determined to survive for the people who would be hurt if he didn’t. This is why survival isn’t selfish.
Because the key to survival is having purpose in a crisis (caring for others gives people purpose) and people need a reason to survive (this is often thinking of others and the loss they would suffer were they to die) survival is not selfish. Doctors and nurses have higher survival rates, since they have someone to help. Also, when Ismay helped all those women and children into lifeboats, he wasn’t being selfish when it came to his own survival. So, is survival selfish? Obviously, survival is not selfish.
Works Cited
Gonzales, Laurence. Deep Survival. Collections, Edited by Kyleen Beers, Martha Hougen, Carol Jago, William L. McBride, Erik Palmer, & Lydia Stack, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017, 325-333.
Wallace, Lane. "Is Survival Selfish." Collections, edited by Kyleen Beers, Martha Hougen, Carol Jago, William L. McBride, Erik Palmer, & Lydia Stack, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017, 317-320.
Argumentative Essay Reflection
1. Explain the process you went through to write this paper. Please be specific.
First of all, my class and I read through many stories about survival. We then picked whether we thought it was or was not selfish. Lastly, we had a classroom discussion to argue for our point of view.
2. What qualifies this paper as an argumentative essay? What are the requirements for this genre and how did you meet them?
This paper is about what I as the author believe about survival. Because I am arguing for my point of view about survival, this is qualified as an argumentative essay. Every argumentative paper needs a claim, evidence to support the claim, a counter claim, and a rebuttal. I met all of these requirements in my essay by thinking about what i was going to put in each paragraph.
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?
Most of my quotes were found within the story Deep Survival. A quote I chose was “Purpose is a big part of survival, but it must be accompanied by work. Grace without good work is not salvation” (Gonzales 332). I chose this quote to prove my point that to survive in a way that is not selfish you need a purpose or something to survive for. This helped my paper by backing up my argument.