Adrian Velazquez
Ms. Lehmann
English 1-1A
4 December 2019
Survival Is Selfish
Do you think people must be selfish in order to survive? This is the central question of this essay. Survival does require people to behave selfishly because people can’t count on other people to save them, and people shouldn’t assume they are capable of saving others. Most survival stories prove that people can’t wait for someone else to save them.
If people count on others, they often die. People who waited to be saved during 9-11 died because rescue personnel couldn’t get to them. Many people who were used to following the rules died because they did what they were told by authority figures. “Like an employee of the Aon Insurance Company that was on his way to escaping but was told to go back to the ninety-third floor of the south tower and was killed” (Gonzales 327). This proves that survival is selfish because you must look after yourself. Another example that supports this is Juliane and her plane crash. People should not wait for others because it could cost them their lives. Juliane survived the plane crash because she left the others and saved herself; she had to look after herself instead of waiting for help. Like the book says, “Meanwhile, the others who had lived through the fall decided to await rescue, which is not necessarily a bad idea either. But expecting someone else to take responsibility for your well-being can be fatal” (Gonzales 326). The other people who waited for help died. Most survival situations prove that you should not wait for others to help. If people don’t look after themselves, they often die.
People shouldn’t assume they are capable of saving others; it could cost them their lives. One woman who survived a plane crash would have died had she attempted to save others on the plane. She saved herself because there was no way to save the others. “If she’d tried, she probably would have perished with them” (Wallace 317). This proves that survival is selfish because you must look after yourself. Another example is a man named Yates he had to make the decision to cut his friend loose or they would have both died on the mountain. “In Yates’ case, he had time to think hard about the odds, and the possibilities he was facing, and to realize that he couldn’t save anyone but himself” (Wallace 317). If he wouldn’t have cut him down, they would’ve both died. That's why you shouldn’t always think someone is going to help you.
Some people argue that people who survive live because they keep a cool head, not because they are selfish. This is wrong because people survive by looking after themselves and no one else. In “Is Survival Selfish,” the story about the guy who survived on the Titanic proves this. He claims he didn’t get himself to safety before all women and children were aboard lifeboats. Although he says this, he could’ve been lying, which is the reason for his survival. He was looking out for himself. This evidence shows that survival is selfish.
People do need to be selfish because they shouldn’t count on others to save them, and they shouldn’t think they can save someone else and still survive. You don’t have any certainty that you will be saved by just sitting there. People shouldn’t think that they can save someone else before getting themselves to safety. So, do people need to be selfish to survive? Yes.
Works Cited
Wallace, Lane. “Is Survival Selfish.’’ Collections, edited by Kylene Beers, Martha Hougen, Carl Jago, William L. Mcbride, Erik Palmer, Lydia Stack, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017, pp. 317-320.
Gonzales, Laurence. 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
Please answer all questions in complete, grammatically correct sentences.
1.Explain the process you went through to write this paper. Please be specific.
We read the book and read some stories about survival to see if survival was selfish, then we wrote a essay about if survival is or is not selfish.
2.What qualifies this paper as an argumentative essay? What are the requirements for this genre and how did you meet them?
This qualifies as an argumentative essay because I argue about what I think is selfish and how you have to do somethings to help yourself.
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?
I found my quote by reading through the book and i liked the quote because it explained a lot on about being selfish.
Ms. Lehmann
English 1-1A
4 December 2019
Survival Is Selfish
Do you think people must be selfish in order to survive? This is the central question of this essay. Survival does require people to behave selfishly because people can’t count on other people to save them, and people shouldn’t assume they are capable of saving others. Most survival stories prove that people can’t wait for someone else to save them.
If people count on others, they often die. People who waited to be saved during 9-11 died because rescue personnel couldn’t get to them. Many people who were used to following the rules died because they did what they were told by authority figures. “Like an employee of the Aon Insurance Company that was on his way to escaping but was told to go back to the ninety-third floor of the south tower and was killed” (Gonzales 327). This proves that survival is selfish because you must look after yourself. Another example that supports this is Juliane and her plane crash. People should not wait for others because it could cost them their lives. Juliane survived the plane crash because she left the others and saved herself; she had to look after herself instead of waiting for help. Like the book says, “Meanwhile, the others who had lived through the fall decided to await rescue, which is not necessarily a bad idea either. But expecting someone else to take responsibility for your well-being can be fatal” (Gonzales 326). The other people who waited for help died. Most survival situations prove that you should not wait for others to help. If people don’t look after themselves, they often die.
People shouldn’t assume they are capable of saving others; it could cost them their lives. One woman who survived a plane crash would have died had she attempted to save others on the plane. She saved herself because there was no way to save the others. “If she’d tried, she probably would have perished with them” (Wallace 317). This proves that survival is selfish because you must look after yourself. Another example is a man named Yates he had to make the decision to cut his friend loose or they would have both died on the mountain. “In Yates’ case, he had time to think hard about the odds, and the possibilities he was facing, and to realize that he couldn’t save anyone but himself” (Wallace 317). If he wouldn’t have cut him down, they would’ve both died. That's why you shouldn’t always think someone is going to help you.
Some people argue that people who survive live because they keep a cool head, not because they are selfish. This is wrong because people survive by looking after themselves and no one else. In “Is Survival Selfish,” the story about the guy who survived on the Titanic proves this. He claims he didn’t get himself to safety before all women and children were aboard lifeboats. Although he says this, he could’ve been lying, which is the reason for his survival. He was looking out for himself. This evidence shows that survival is selfish.
People do need to be selfish because they shouldn’t count on others to save them, and they shouldn’t think they can save someone else and still survive. You don’t have any certainty that you will be saved by just sitting there. People shouldn’t think that they can save someone else before getting themselves to safety. So, do people need to be selfish to survive? Yes.
Works Cited
Wallace, Lane. “Is Survival Selfish.’’ Collections, edited by Kylene Beers, Martha Hougen, Carl Jago, William L. Mcbride, Erik Palmer, Lydia Stack, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017, pp. 317-320.
Gonzales, Laurence. 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
Please answer all questions in complete, grammatically correct sentences.
1.Explain the process you went through to write this paper. Please be specific.
We read the book and read some stories about survival to see if survival was selfish, then we wrote a essay about if survival is or is not selfish.
2.What qualifies this paper as an argumentative essay? What are the requirements for this genre and how did you meet them?
This qualifies as an argumentative essay because I argue about what I think is selfish and how you have to do somethings to help yourself.
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?
I found my quote by reading through the book and i liked the quote because it explained a lot on about being selfish.