Yunuen Arteaga
Ms. Lehmann
English 1-1A
18 December 2019
Being Selfish
Do you believe people must be selfish to survive? This is the central question of this essay. Survival does require people to behave selfishly because people shouldn't assume, they are capable of saving others and apathy will kill people faster than anything, so people have to be selfish and care about what happens to them. Most survival stories prove that people have limits; they can’t possibly help every time, or it could cost their lives.
If people do not choose to know their limits and instead risk their lives to save others, they can possibly cause the people they are trying to help and themselves to die, which defeats the purpose. One woman who survived a plane crash would have died had she attempted to save others on the plane. “Could she really have saved others? Probably not, and certainly not from the back of the plane. If she’d tried, she probably would have perished with them” (Wallace 318). This proves that survival is selfish because saving others isn’t always the best thing to do. It can put everyone in danger. Another story that supports this is Yates’ story. Yates had to decide to cut his friend loose, or they would have both died on the mountain. His friend did end up safe. “In Yates’ case, he had time to think hard about the odds, and the possibilities he was facing, and had to realize that he couldn’t save anyone but himself. But Yates was criticized by some for his survival decision, even though the alternative would have led to both of their deaths” (Wallace 319). This clarifies that Yates couldn’t have possibly helped his friend because even he was in danger. Not only should people not assume they are capable of saving others, but apathy will kill people faster than anything.
People who let apathy take hold are more likely to die. Apathy will kill people faster than anything, so people must be selfish and care about what happens to them. When Ronald DiFrancesco was attempting to escape the Twin Towers on 9-11, he only survived because he didn’t give in to apathy. “But after ten or so floors, he encountered people who were succumbing to fatigue and smoke. The people, all of whom would die, were just giving up and falling asleep” (Gonzales 332). If he would have given into apathy, he would have gone back into the smoke with all those people and died. People who prepared have died waiting for others to come and save them 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. John Leach writes that victims have been recovered from life rafts with a survival box (containing flares, rations, first-aid kit and so on) unopened and the necessary contents unused” (Gonzales 327). This states that people have all these things they can use themselves for survival, but they rather sit back and wait for other people to help them, which most likely leads to death. Although survival is selfish, not everyone agrees.
Some people argue that the key to survival is having purpose in a crisis; caring for others gives people purpose. This is wrong because doctors and nurses have the knowledge and training to save people in a crisis. If people don’t have the training there is a chance that they won’t be able to save others, so people are putting themselves at risk. So, it’s obvious that survival is selfish.
Because saving others isn’t always a good thing and you should care about yourself more than anything to avoid giving into apathy, survival is selfish. The women who survived the plane crash didn’t have the experience to save people who were frozen, willing to die anyways. Ronald DiFrancesco survived by not giving in to apathy and escaping. So, is survival selfish? Obviously.
Work Cited Page
Gonzales, Laurence. “Deep survival” Collections, edited by Kylene Beers, Martha Hougen, Carol Jago, William L. McBride, Erik Palmer, Lydia Stack, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017, pp. 325-346
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
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 by the hook and introducing why you have to be selfish to survive. The second paragraph was how people shouldn't assume they're capable of saving others and give evidence and cite it. Third paragraph was about how apathy could kill people faster. Then the rebuttable following up with the conclusion. Don't forget about the work cited page.
2. What qualifies this paper as an argumentative essay? What are the requirements for this genre and how did you meet them?
It talks about how your side of the topic is "right". Has to have evidence though. A rebuttable and citations so people can go see where you got it from.
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?
Ms. Lehmann
English 1-1A
18 December 2019
Being Selfish
Do you believe people must be selfish to survive? This is the central question of this essay. Survival does require people to behave selfishly because people shouldn't assume, they are capable of saving others and apathy will kill people faster than anything, so people have to be selfish and care about what happens to them. Most survival stories prove that people have limits; they can’t possibly help every time, or it could cost their lives.
If people do not choose to know their limits and instead risk their lives to save others, they can possibly cause the people they are trying to help and themselves to die, which defeats the purpose. One woman who survived a plane crash would have died had she attempted to save others on the plane. “Could she really have saved others? Probably not, and certainly not from the back of the plane. If she’d tried, she probably would have perished with them” (Wallace 318). This proves that survival is selfish because saving others isn’t always the best thing to do. It can put everyone in danger. Another story that supports this is Yates’ story. Yates had to decide to cut his friend loose, or they would have both died on the mountain. His friend did end up safe. “In Yates’ case, he had time to think hard about the odds, and the possibilities he was facing, and had to realize that he couldn’t save anyone but himself. But Yates was criticized by some for his survival decision, even though the alternative would have led to both of their deaths” (Wallace 319). This clarifies that Yates couldn’t have possibly helped his friend because even he was in danger. Not only should people not assume they are capable of saving others, but apathy will kill people faster than anything.
People who let apathy take hold are more likely to die. Apathy will kill people faster than anything, so people must be selfish and care about what happens to them. When Ronald DiFrancesco was attempting to escape the Twin Towers on 9-11, he only survived because he didn’t give in to apathy. “But after ten or so floors, he encountered people who were succumbing to fatigue and smoke. The people, all of whom would die, were just giving up and falling asleep” (Gonzales 332). If he would have given into apathy, he would have gone back into the smoke with all those people and died. People who prepared have died waiting for others to come and save them 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. John Leach writes that victims have been recovered from life rafts with a survival box (containing flares, rations, first-aid kit and so on) unopened and the necessary contents unused” (Gonzales 327). This states that people have all these things they can use themselves for survival, but they rather sit back and wait for other people to help them, which most likely leads to death. Although survival is selfish, not everyone agrees.
Some people argue that the key to survival is having purpose in a crisis; caring for others gives people purpose. This is wrong because doctors and nurses have the knowledge and training to save people in a crisis. If people don’t have the training there is a chance that they won’t be able to save others, so people are putting themselves at risk. So, it’s obvious that survival is selfish.
Because saving others isn’t always a good thing and you should care about yourself more than anything to avoid giving into apathy, survival is selfish. The women who survived the plane crash didn’t have the experience to save people who were frozen, willing to die anyways. Ronald DiFrancesco survived by not giving in to apathy and escaping. So, is survival selfish? Obviously.
Work Cited Page
Gonzales, Laurence. “Deep survival” Collections, edited by Kylene Beers, Martha Hougen, Carol Jago, William L. McBride, Erik Palmer, Lydia Stack, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017, pp. 325-346
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
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 by the hook and introducing why you have to be selfish to survive. The second paragraph was how people shouldn't assume they're capable of saving others and give evidence and cite it. Third paragraph was about how apathy could kill people faster. Then the rebuttable following up with the conclusion. Don't forget about the work cited page.
2. What qualifies this paper as an argumentative essay? What are the requirements for this genre and how did you meet them?
It talks about how your side of the topic is "right". Has to have evidence though. A rebuttable and citations so people can go see where you got it from.
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?