Justyce Schilz Ms. Lehmann English 1-3 8 November2018 Survival is Selfish Do you think survival is selfish? This is the central question of this essay. Survival is selfish because Laurence Gonzales, Lane Wallace, and Elie Wiesel prove this in their stories. The first story that proves survival is selfish is “Deep Survival,” by Laurence Gonzales. Gonzales provides many examples of scenarios in which survivors had to be selfish in “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. “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 that she went on by herself, leaving the others to die. Gonzales also points out that those who refuse to follow the rules survive. 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). The people who broke the rules put in place for public safety survived. Their selfishness saved them. In the article “Is Survival Selfish,” Lane Wallace gives more evidence that survival is selfish. Wallace provides many examples in “Is Survival Selfish” of situations in which people had to be selfish to survive. 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. Wallace uses the story of a woman who saved herself from a plane crash to show this. The other passengers were frozen, unmoving and she crawled over them to safety. Wallace asks, “Could she really have saved the others? Probably not...if she tried, she would have probably 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 that she was able to make it out alive. Elie Wiesel gives further evidence of how survival is selfish in Night. Wiesel gives many examples that prove survival is selfish in his memoir. Having lived through a concentration camp in his lifetime, Weisel’s ideas about survival are based in his own first-hand experience. Weisel shows readers that there is no sympathy when it comes to survival. Wiesel says, “The veterans told us: ‘You’re lucky to have brought here so late...Today, this is a little paradise...Yes, you are lucky’” (Wiesel 308). These men must look out for themselves in order to survive. Wiesel points out that in order to survive you must think about yourself. Later on Wiesel is thinking about how this could be his last time to talk to his father because his father might not make it through the second selection. Wiesel says, “My father had remained near the block, leaning against the wall. Then he began to run, to try to catch up with us. Perhaps he had forgotten to tell me something...But we were marching to fast” (Wiesel 312). In order to survive, Wiesel had to keep marching and had to leave his father behind. There is overwhelming evidence on how survival is selfish but some people disagree. Some people 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. You have to be alive to save others. Is survival selfish? Yes. Survival is selfish. Gonzales givesthe story about how a 16- year- old girl was selfish and survived. Wallace gives you the story of how a woman saved herself from a plane crash because she was being selfish and making sure that she thought about herself not others.Wiesel gives you the story of his own experience and how he survived because he was selfish. The main point in of all of these stories is that survival is 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, 2107, pp. 307-312. Argumentative Essay Reflection Questions
List one thing you’ve learned from writing this paper that you can apply to other writing assignments. What will that look like?
~ I have learned that in an argumentative you have to list facts and some opinion. In my future argumentative essays I will give more evidence to make the essay better. 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 make sure that everything was capitalized throughout the essay because some of the titles that needed to be capitalized were not. I went through my paper and made sure that everything was capitalized that needed to be capitalized. I learned that I need to make sure that I capitalize. 3. What are the conventions of an argumentative essay and how did you meet those in this assignment? ~ The convections of an argumentative essay are the claim, the evidence to support your claim, and the rebuttal. All of these convections are added into my essay. 4. Given more time to work on this assignment, how would you improve it? ~ If I had more time to work on this I would explain my claims more. I would also give a lot more evidence to make sure that I back up my claims. 5. What is one thing you’re proud of in this paper? ~ I am really proud of how this paper ended. This paper had a much better flow than some of my other ones. This paper was a good paper.