Zane Bourn
Ms. Lehmann
English 1-1A
4 December 2019
Survival is Not Selfish
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 people who survive live because they keep a cool head, not because they are selfish, and people need a reason to survive; this is often thinking of others and the loss they would suffer were they to die. Most survival stories prove people who keep a cool head can survive a lot better.
If people don’t keep a cool head, they often die whether they are selfish or not. Helping other people keeps people calm in a crisis. “Helping someone else is the best way to ensure your own survival” (Gonzales pp 331). This proves that survival is not selfish because helping other people can help you stay alive. Another example that supports this is a positive mental attitude. Having a positive mental attitude is the number one thing that defines whether a person survives or dies; this is unrelated to looking after yourself first. “Cool is the ultimate American conception of the survival model. James Stockdale, a fighter pilot who was shot down over Vietnam in 1965, spoke many times about how he survived...he’s talking about being cool” (Gonzales 333-334). Stockdale was able to stay calm, but it was not because he was thinking of himself. Stockdale stayed calm, and that is why he lived; it has nothing to do with being selfish. Not only do people who survive live because they keep a cool head, but people need a reason to survive, and that’s often the people they love.
People need a reason to survive; this is often thinking of others and the loss they would suffer were they to die. People who survive often say that they did so for someone else. Gonzales writes, “Many people that survive alone report that they were doing it for someone else” (Gonzales pp 332). Most people have stayed alive to see their family, friends, and pets. They love people and stay alive so those; people won’t get hurt by their death. Another piece of evidence is Ronald DiFrancesco’s story. When Ronald DiFrancesco survived the World Trade Center attack, he says it was the thought of his family that saved his life. “DiFrancesco was too collapsing but then he said to himself ‘I’ve got to see my wife and kids again.’ And with that he got up bolted down the stairs to safety”. (Gonzales pp 332). Thinking of seeing your family again gives people the drive to stay alive and see them again. Although it’s clear that survival is not selfish, not everyone agrees.
Some people argue that people who give in to apathy have died because they weren’t selfish. This is wrong because caring for others also stops apathy. DiFrancesco was attempting to escape the Twin Towers on 9-11; he only survived because he didn’t give in to apathy. DiFrancesco was thinking about his family, not about himself. So, it’s obvious that survival is not selfish.
Because people who survive live because they keep calm in a crisis and people need a reason to survive (often thinking of others and the loss they would suffer), it is clear that survival is not selfish. Having others that would be impacted by a person’s death makes people think about their family, friends, and pets which keeps them alive. Most people stay alive because they think of others. So, is survival selfish? Obviously not.
Page Break
Works Cited
Laurence Gonzales Deep Survival. Collections, edited by Kylene Beers, Martha Hougen. Carl Jago, William L. McBride, Erik Palmer, & Lydia Stack, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017, pp. 325-334.
Argumentative Essay Reflection
Refletion:Please answer all questions in complete, grammatically correct sentences.
1. Explain the process you went through to write this paper. Please be specific.
Ms. Lehmann gave us lots of notes to go off of. We had a argument over if survival is selfish or not. That gave us some ideas on the essay. Then we typed the essay. She corrected it and we finished the mistakes.
3. What qualifies this paper as an argumentative essay?
What are the requirements for this genre and how did you meet them? You have two sides of this argument you have a selfish side and a not selfish side that are arguing over if survival is selfish or not.
2. 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 looked in the book and read though it and looked for some important stuff that she said. It made my paper more important.
Ms. Lehmann
English 1-1A
4 December 2019
Survival is Not Selfish
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 people who survive live because they keep a cool head, not because they are selfish, and people need a reason to survive; this is often thinking of others and the loss they would suffer were they to die. Most survival stories prove people who keep a cool head can survive a lot better.
If people don’t keep a cool head, they often die whether they are selfish or not. Helping other people keeps people calm in a crisis. “Helping someone else is the best way to ensure your own survival” (Gonzales pp 331). This proves that survival is not selfish because helping other people can help you stay alive. Another example that supports this is a positive mental attitude. Having a positive mental attitude is the number one thing that defines whether a person survives or dies; this is unrelated to looking after yourself first. “Cool is the ultimate American conception of the survival model. James Stockdale, a fighter pilot who was shot down over Vietnam in 1965, spoke many times about how he survived...he’s talking about being cool” (Gonzales 333-334). Stockdale was able to stay calm, but it was not because he was thinking of himself. Stockdale stayed calm, and that is why he lived; it has nothing to do with being selfish. Not only do people who survive live because they keep a cool head, but people need a reason to survive, and that’s often the people they love.
People need a reason to survive; this is often thinking of others and the loss they would suffer were they to die. People who survive often say that they did so for someone else. Gonzales writes, “Many people that survive alone report that they were doing it for someone else” (Gonzales pp 332). Most people have stayed alive to see their family, friends, and pets. They love people and stay alive so those; people won’t get hurt by their death. Another piece of evidence is Ronald DiFrancesco’s story. When Ronald DiFrancesco survived the World Trade Center attack, he says it was the thought of his family that saved his life. “DiFrancesco was too collapsing but then he said to himself ‘I’ve got to see my wife and kids again.’ And with that he got up bolted down the stairs to safety”. (Gonzales pp 332). Thinking of seeing your family again gives people the drive to stay alive and see them again. Although it’s clear that survival is not selfish, not everyone agrees.
Some people argue that people who give in to apathy have died because they weren’t selfish. This is wrong because caring for others also stops apathy. DiFrancesco was attempting to escape the Twin Towers on 9-11; he only survived because he didn’t give in to apathy. DiFrancesco was thinking about his family, not about himself. So, it’s obvious that survival is not selfish.
Because people who survive live because they keep calm in a crisis and people need a reason to survive (often thinking of others and the loss they would suffer), it is clear that survival is not selfish. Having others that would be impacted by a person’s death makes people think about their family, friends, and pets which keeps them alive. Most people stay alive because they think of others. So, is survival selfish? Obviously not.
Page Break
Works Cited
Laurence Gonzales Deep Survival. Collections, edited by Kylene Beers, Martha Hougen. Carl Jago, William L. McBride, Erik Palmer, & Lydia Stack, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017, pp. 325-334.
Argumentative Essay Reflection
Refletion:Please answer all questions in complete, grammatically correct sentences.
1. Explain the process you went through to write this paper. Please be specific.
Ms. Lehmann gave us lots of notes to go off of. We had a argument over if survival is selfish or not. That gave us some ideas on the essay. Then we typed the essay. She corrected it and we finished the mistakes.
3. What qualifies this paper as an argumentative essay?
What are the requirements for this genre and how did you meet them? You have two sides of this argument you have a selfish side and a not selfish side that are arguing over if survival is selfish or not.
2. 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 looked in the book and read though it and looked for some important stuff that she said. It made my paper more important.