Survival Is Selfish Do you think survival is selfish? I do. In this paper, I will Prove that survival is selfish, with help from the authors Lane Wallace, Laurence Gonzalez, and Elie Wiesel. Gonzales provides many scenarios in which survivors had to be selfish. He tells the story of a 16 year old girl who survives a plane crash, writing,"Tough and clear headed, this teenage girl, who had lost her shoes (not to mention her mother) on the first day, saved herself; the others took the same 11 days to sit down and die."(Gonzales, Laurence 326). The only reason the girl survived is she went on by herself, leaving the others to die. Gonzales also points out that those who refuse to follow the rules survive. "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, Laurence 327). Gonzales explains that those who broke the rules put in place for public safety survived. Their selfishness saved them. Author lane Wallace Shows more selfish survivors in "Is Survival Selfish?". 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 be selfish. Another bit he writes is where he, again, argues that survival requires people to be selfish. Wallace uses the story of a woman who saved herself from a plane crash. The other passengers were frozen. Unmoving, as she crawled over them to safety. Wallace asks,"Could she have really saved the others? probably not... if she'd tried, she'd probably 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 to survive, and it was only by looking after herself did she was able to make it out alive. Elie Wiesel is another author who proves survival is selfish with his book, Night. Wiesel writes about his experience in Buchenwald concentration camp. Wiesel shows readers that survivors have no sympathy for the others. "The veterans told us you're lucky"(Wiesel 308). They were rude and were telling people that they were lucky not to be there a year ago. Also, Wiesel says that these people are selfish because they pressure the block leader for survival which he cannot give. "'Save us! You promised!'"(Wiesel 311). They want to survive, but the block leader cannot save them, and if he tries, he, too, will die. To survive people have to be selfish. Some may argue that survival isn't selfish, giving examples of people who risked their lives to save others. This seems like a compelling argument, but it dies under closer examination. People can only save others if they put themselves first. In conclusion, most all the evidence we could find points toward the fact that survival is selfish. My thesis is that survival is selfish, which is supported by the words of Lane Wallace, Laurence Gonzales, and Elie Wiesel. Gonzales provides evidence that survival is selfish using the example of a 16 year old girl who survived a plane crash, and how the people who followed the rules on 9/11 died. Lane Wallace is the second supporting author, writing about the intelligence found in being selfish. Elie Wiesel, Who wrote Night,tells about the survivors being rude and people soon to die trying to get another to sacrifice himself to try to save them, even if it was suicide. All of this evidence shows that survival is selfish.
Argumentative Essay Reflection Questions
Q: List one thing you've learned from writing this paper that you can apply to other writing assignments. What will that look like?
A:I learned how to create and support an argument, and this will help me with my future Argumentative essays.
Q: Identify a specific revision you were asked to make and explain why. How did you revise? What did you learn?
A: I was asked to fix some punctuation. I was asked to do this because I had not done it correctly and it would effect my grade. I learned that things may be important, even if they are very small.
Q: What are the conventions of an argumentative essay and how did you meet those in this assignment?
A: The conventions are to research, put an argument into effect, then support it. I met these conventions by gathering evidence from three different authors, then arguing it in a long paper.
Q:Given more time to work on this assignment, how would you improve it?
A: I would improve my argument so that it would be much better.
Q:What is one thing you are proud of in this paper?
A: I am proud of the length of this paper, because it is so much work to put in this much argument.