Carolina Simental Ms. Lehmann English1-1A 15 November 2018 Is Survival Really selfish? Do you think survival is selfish? People have debated about this very question for years. This is essay will argue that survival is not selfish, as proven by authors Louise Erdrich, Laurence Gonzales, and Lane Wallace. The first author who shows survival is not selfish is Louise Erdrich Erdrich’s short story “The Leap” provides many examples of situations where survival does not require people to be selfish. The narrator explains that her mother was part of a blindfolded trapeze act; on a stormy day, their tent was struck by lightning in the middle of a show. Her husband fell and died, but the narrator’s mother saved her baby and herself. Later, the narrator says, “My mother once said that I'd be amazed at how many things a person can do within the act of falling” (Erdrich 342). This proves that her mother had time to think, and she chose to save her baby instead of falling with her husband. By thinking of her child first, she also saved herself. Later in the story, Erdrich gives us another situation like this one. Erdrich talks about the same mother going into a burning building to save her daughter. The narrator explains, “I didn’t see her leap through the air, only heard the sudden thump and looked out my window. She was hanging by the backs of her heels from the new gutter” (Erdrich 345-346). The decision savedthem both; Erdrich proves that survival is not selfish by telling us about this mother and her decision to save her daughter. Both of these scenarios prove that people don’t have to be selfish to survive. Laurence Gonzales provides even more evidence. The essay “Deep Survival,” by Gonzales, also proves that survival is not selfish.Gonzales describes a group of pilots who survived by sticking together. Kearns, a survival guide leading the pilots, says,” All at once, it hit me that I might actually lose them. Those million-dollar pilots could die’’’ (Gonzales 331). Kearns's fear that the pilots might die gave him the strength to save the others and survive himself. Gonzales gives another example of a scenario in which someone survived because they were not selfish. He talks about a man who survived the World Trade Center attacks because he wanted to see his kids again. While the building was on fire, DiFrancesco tried to go back up to find fresh air, 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. DiFrancesco, too, was giving up, but then he thought to himself, “I’ve got to see my wife and his kids again’’ (Gonzales 332). Thinking of others rather than just focusing on himself gave DiFrancesco the strength he needed to go back down the stairs and escape with his life. Inthis case, he only survived because he put his wife and kids before himself. Lane Wallace gives more examples of survivors who lived because they were not selfish ‘’By Lane Wallace, proves that survival is not selfish. Wallace argues that people aren’t selfish in survival situations: they simply follow their instinct. Wallace writes, “there is a fine line between brave and foolish. There can also be a fine line between smart and selfish’’(Wallace 320). Wallace is making the point that people respond in different ways to survival situations. He makes it clear here that survival is simply a matter of instinct, rather than any kind of intentional decision to be selfish or brave. Being selfish requires intention; if survival is instinct, there is no intention and therefore it cannot be selfish. Wallace also points out that those who save others don’t do so out of sense of benevolence. Wallace explains that, “oddly enough, most of the people who perform such impulsive rescues say that they don’t really think before they acto Which means they weren’t ‘choosing’ civilization” (Wallace 320). Wallace is arguing that people who are described as being brave or benevolent aren’t actuallyexhibiting those character traits at all; they are simply acting. If someone isn’t brave, when they save others how can survival be selfish? Some argue that survival is selfish because people have time to think before they act, and those who survive think of themselves. People may have time to think in survival situations, but many people do not think of themselves first. In fact, the people with the high rates of survival are thinking of others. Gonzales writes: “Doctors and nurses often think about others because they have to help others” (Gonzales 332). By thinking of othersthey are trying to save, rescue workers take themselves out of the equation and can better focus on getting out of danger, saving both parties involved. Survival is not selfish. The short story “The Leap”, “Deep survival,” and “Is Survival Selfish” all prove that people don’t have to be selfish too survive. Erdrich gives us the example of a mother who risked her life for her child and saved them both. Gonzales proves that those who think of others survive because of their instinct, not their personality. Wallace proves that people aren’t selfish in survival situations. clear that survival is not selfish. Page Break Work Cited Erdrich,Louise . “The Leap.” Collections Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017, pp.339-346. Gonzales, Laurence . “Deep Survival.’’ Collections. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017, pp. 325-334. Wallace, Lance,“Is Survival selfish?’’ Collections, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt,2017,pp.317-3320.
Works Cited Erdrich,Louise . “The Leap.” Collections Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017, pp.339-346. Gonzales, Laurence . “Deep Survival.’’ Collections. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017, pp. 325-334. Wallace, Lance,“Is Survival selfish?’’ Collections, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017, pp. 317 - 320.
Argumentative Essay Reflection Questions 1. List one thing you’ve learned from writing this paper that you can apply to other writing assignments. What will that look like?
This argumentative Essay helped me learn how to resersh and fight for what I believe.
2. Identify a specific revisions you here asked to make and explain why (this can be at any stage of the writing process). How did you revise what did you learn?
I had to rewrite my story because it was typed wrong. I went back sentence by sentence and fixed what was wrong.
3. What arethe convention of an argumentative essay and how did you meet those in this assignment?
convention is the and tools we used in are essay. I used my short story notes and my “collections” book.
4. Give more time to work on this assignment, how you improve it?
I would go through over and over so when I hand it in the first time it will be writen right the first time.
5. What is one thing you’reproud of in this paper?
I sound sufisticated when I read the argumentaive essay.