Cristina Bedolla
Ms. Lehmann
English 1-3
8 November 2018
Survival Requires Selfishness
Duke Ellington once said, “Selfishness can be a virtue. Selfishness is essential to survival, and without survival we cannot protect those whom we love more than ourselves.” Survival requires people to be selfish because they can’t save the people they love if they are dead. Survival is selfish; authors Laurence Gonzales, Lane Wallace, and Elie Wiesel prove this in their stories. The first story, “Deep Survival,” by Laurence Gonzales, has many stories that prove people have to be selfish in order to survive.
Gonzales provides many examples of scenarios in which survivors had to be selfish in the essay, “Deep Survival." Gonzales shows that many survivors only survive by being selfish. He tells the story of a 16-year-old girl who survived a plane crash, writing “Tough and clearheaded, 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 only reason the girl survived is she went on by herself, leaving the others to die. If people follow the rules, they have a high chance of not surviving. Gonzales points out that those who refused to follow the rules survived 9-11. Gonzales writes, “In the World Trade Center disaster, many people who were used to following the rules died because they did what they were told by authority figures” (Gonzales 327). Gonzales explains that those who broke the rules put in place for public safety survived, and their selfishness saved them. The next article, “Is Survival Selfish?” offers many reasons for believing that survival is selfish.
Wallace provides many examples of the selfishness of survival. Wallace argues that survival requires people to be selfish. 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 explains that being brave and saving others before yourself is a foolish thing to do in a survival situation. As a result, being selfish is the smart thing to do. Survival requires that people need to be selfish. To be able to save others, people have to save themselves first. Wallace uses the story of a woman who saved herself from a plane crash. The other passengers were frozen, unmoving, and she crawled over them to safety. Wallace asks, “Could she really have saved the others? Probably not, and certainly not from the back of the plane. If she’d tried, she probably would have perished with them. So why do survivors berate themselves for not adding to the loss by attempting the impossible?” (Wallace 318). Wallace points out that the woman in the story had to be selfish, and it was only by looking after herself that she was able to make it out alive. In the last story, Night, by Elie Wiesel, the author gives his own account of surviving Buchenwald concentration camp, a feat that required a great deal of selfishness.
Elie Wiesel wrote that the veterans had no sympathy for the other prisoners. Wiesel writes that, “The veterans told us: ‘You’re lucky'" (Wiesel 308). These men wouldn’t be so distant if they had the chance to survive without being selfish. When it’s life or death, many people just think about making it out alive. Wiesel wrote that he was only thinking about himself and no one else. “I had but one thought: not to have my number taken down and not to show my left arm” (Wiesel 310). During the test to determine if he lived or not, Weisel was only thinking about himself. He wasn’t thinking of his father or friends. Many people have different opinions about survival being selfish.
Some may argue that survival is not selfish, giving examples of people who risked their lives to save others. This seems like a compelling argument on the surface, but it falls apart on closer examination. People can only save others if they put themselves first. People would have to be alive in order to save others.
Authors Laurence Gonzales, Lane Wallace, and Elie Wiesel provide many examples in their stories that prove survival is selfish. Laurence Gonzales says people have to be selfish enough not to care about everyone and focus on themselves. Lane Wallace proves that even though people try not to be selfish, they are often forced to put themselves first in survival situations. Elie Wiesel explains that surviving the concentration camp required a certain amount of selfishness. After reading the stories, it’s clear that survival does require people to be selfish.
Works Cited
Gonzales, Laurence. “Deep Survival.” Collections, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017, pp.325-334.
Wallace, Lane. “Is Survival Selfish?” Collections, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017, pp. 317-320.
Wiesel, Elie. Night. Collections, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017, pp. 307-312.
Ms. Lehmann
English 1-3
8 November 2018
Survival Requires Selfishness
Duke Ellington once said, “Selfishness can be a virtue. Selfishness is essential to survival, and without survival we cannot protect those whom we love more than ourselves.” Survival requires people to be selfish because they can’t save the people they love if they are dead. Survival is selfish; authors Laurence Gonzales, Lane Wallace, and Elie Wiesel prove this in their stories. The first story, “Deep Survival,” by Laurence Gonzales, has many stories that prove people have to be selfish in order to survive.
Gonzales provides many examples of scenarios in which survivors had to be selfish in the essay, “Deep Survival." Gonzales shows that many survivors only survive by being selfish. He tells the story of a 16-year-old girl who survived a plane crash, writing “Tough and clearheaded, 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 only reason the girl survived is she went on by herself, leaving the others to die. If people follow the rules, they have a high chance of not surviving. Gonzales points out that those who refused to follow the rules survived 9-11. Gonzales writes, “In the World Trade Center disaster, many people who were used to following the rules died because they did what they were told by authority figures” (Gonzales 327). Gonzales explains that those who broke the rules put in place for public safety survived, and their selfishness saved them. The next article, “Is Survival Selfish?” offers many reasons for believing that survival is selfish.
Wallace provides many examples of the selfishness of survival. Wallace argues that survival requires people to be selfish. 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 explains that being brave and saving others before yourself is a foolish thing to do in a survival situation. As a result, being selfish is the smart thing to do. Survival requires that people need to be selfish. To be able to save others, people have to save themselves first. Wallace uses the story of a woman who saved herself from a plane crash. The other passengers were frozen, unmoving, and she crawled over them to safety. Wallace asks, “Could she really have saved the others? Probably not, and certainly not from the back of the plane. If she’d tried, she probably would have perished with them. So why do survivors berate themselves for not adding to the loss by attempting the impossible?” (Wallace 318). Wallace points out that the woman in the story had to be selfish, and it was only by looking after herself that she was able to make it out alive. In the last story, Night, by Elie Wiesel, the author gives his own account of surviving Buchenwald concentration camp, a feat that required a great deal of selfishness.
Elie Wiesel wrote that the veterans had no sympathy for the other prisoners. Wiesel writes that, “The veterans told us: ‘You’re lucky'" (Wiesel 308). These men wouldn’t be so distant if they had the chance to survive without being selfish. When it’s life or death, many people just think about making it out alive. Wiesel wrote that he was only thinking about himself and no one else. “I had but one thought: not to have my number taken down and not to show my left arm” (Wiesel 310). During the test to determine if he lived or not, Weisel was only thinking about himself. He wasn’t thinking of his father or friends. Many people have different opinions about survival being selfish.
Some may argue that survival is not selfish, giving examples of people who risked their lives to save others. This seems like a compelling argument on the surface, but it falls apart on closer examination. People can only save others if they put themselves first. People would have to be alive in order to save others.
Authors Laurence Gonzales, Lane Wallace, and Elie Wiesel provide many examples in their stories that prove survival is selfish. Laurence Gonzales says people have to be selfish enough not to care about everyone and focus on themselves. Lane Wallace proves that even though people try not to be selfish, they are often forced to put themselves first in survival situations. Elie Wiesel explains that surviving the concentration camp required a certain amount of selfishness. After reading the stories, it’s clear that survival does require people to be selfish.
Works Cited
Gonzales, Laurence. “Deep Survival.” Collections, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017, pp.325-334.
Wallace, Lane. “Is Survival Selfish?” Collections, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017, pp. 317-320.
Wiesel, Elie. Night. Collections, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017, pp. 307-312.
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?
2. Identify a specific revision you were asked to make and explain why (this can be at any stage of the writing process). How did you revise? What did you learn?
3. What are the conventions of an argumentative essay and how did you meet those is this assignment?
4. Given more time to work on this assignment, how would you improve it?
5. What is one thing you’re proud of in this paper?
1. List one thing you’ve learned from writing this paper that you can apply to other writing assignments. What will that look like?
- I learned how to make an out line which I believe well help ma a lot because it did during this writing assignment.
2. Identify a specific revision you were 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 was asked to explain each article and the quotes I would use in the essay.
3. What are the conventions of an argumentative essay and how did you meet those is this assignment?
- First I had to introduce the paper, give a transition, thesis statement, and give another transition. Then go through every article and introduce it give a quote explain the quote, and a transition. Lastly I had to do a rebuttal and a conclusion. I meet this in my assignment by giving information.
4. Given more time to work on this assignment, how would you improve it?
- I would improve it by fixing a bit of my grammar errors and making it made sense, but I actually believe I did fine during this assignment.
5. What is one thing you’re proud of in this paper?
- I’m proud that I have gotten better in introduce the quote, giving the quote, and explaining it because I worked on it more when writing this essay.