Essays

Taking Responsibility

Disclaimer: Please remember, I provide these essays to you as an outline for your own. Plagiarism, using one's work as your own, can have severe consequences. There are many tools integrated into teaching software that can detect plagiarism. It's also as easy as plugging in one sentence into Google to find this essay. I want these to be available to all those that may need an outline or inspiration for their own assignments, however, I know some have used my work and have been caught. Please, don't just copy and paste my work and earn yourself a zero on the essay or fail your class. Thank you for reading and I truly hope that these essays will help. Good luck! If you ever need a peer reviewer for your essay, message me!

This was my first essay of the 2016-2017 school year so... anyway the prompt was: Should survivors be held accountable for their actions.

Too Many Burdens
Every moment we are at a tipping point. Roughly every one to two minutes we could die, however, when we take another breath the grim reaper restarts his watch. We live with constant dangers that threaten this gentle balance, the thin line between our reality and the afterlife, and we are put closer and closer to his scythe. Some people have and will be put into situations that will draw them near the dark beyond and not by their choosing. Ones who are forced into fighting for their lives should not be held accountable for their actions. There are many stories that illustrate what it takes to survive, including The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell, The Seventh Man by Haruki Murakami, and Life of Pi by Yann Martel. These stories express why survivors should not have to take responsibility for something they did not choose. 

    Most survivors do not choose to be in the situations they are put into. No rational person wants to suffer for days, weeks, or months on end fighting to live. In The Most Dangerous Game, Rainsford, an experienced hunter, is forced by the crazed foreign General Zaroff into a battle of wits and strength, where the winner is chosen through forced survival. To win Rainsford must survive three nights while being hunted by Zaroff, but if Zaroff finds him he will become just like any other hunted animal. General Zaroff explains that "'Tonight... we will hunt--you and I,'" Rainsford continues with, "'No, general... I will not hunt,'" and the scene goes on with the general, "'As you wish, my friend,' he said. 'The choice rests entirely with you. But may I not venture to suggest that you will find my idea of sport more diverting than Ivan's?' He nodded toward the corner to where the giant stood, scowling, his thick arms crossed on his hogshead of chest" (Connell 14). Rainsford gets forced into being hunted if only for the small possibility of escaping. Rainsford then claims that his, "... whole idea at first was to put distance between himself and General Zaroff; and, to this end, he had plunged along, spurred on by the sharp rowers of something very like panic" (Connell 16). Most of us want to feel that we are in control of our lives, however, in light of a disaster or dire circumstance, we might lose this feeling and be thrown into utter chaos. We can be consumed by our own fears and make rash decisions that can worsen our situation. The majority of survivors are thrust into environments and places they are not familiar with and cannot control, as Rainsford was. Though he was experienced, he had no concrete knowledge of his environment, and in this rare case, his opponent. Also, like many survivors, he had times of triumph and fear, but we should not have to be scared that we might not make it another day for something we did not ask for.

    During our lives, we take risks, most of which are small and have very little impact on our future, but for a survivor, that one choice can determine whether they live or not. In Life of Pi, Pi survives a shipwreck only to have to live long enough to get help, and he is stuck in the middle of the ocean, with a tiger. In this circumstance, he had enough food for himself, but what he was concerned with was the tiger, Richard Parker, and Richard Parker going after the last remaining easy food source, himself. To prolong his time, he created a raft to stay away from Richard Parker and also decided to try fishing. During his first attempts ever at fishing he came upon a problem, "The riddle seemed irresolvable: to fish I needed bait, but I would only have bait only once I had fished. What was I supposed to do? Use one of my toes? Cut off one of my ears?" (Martel 205). Though he may not have actually done those things, in the state he was in, his mind drove him to that dire place. In times when our life is at stake, we may think of these last resorts and some might have to rely on them. Pi states, "... I had climbed aboard and was rummaging through the locker, feverishly looking for an idea that would save my life... I fancied that with a jump and a pull at a loose knot I could save myself from Richard Parker. Desperation had pushed me to take such a risk" (Martel 205). He took the risk of being injured or even killed at sea by Richard Parker in order to survive Richard Parker. When people are placed into these life or death states, we take risks that can either benefit us or end it right then and there.

    Living through these insane ordeals can stress, overwhelm, and possibly mentally scar a person for the rest of their life. Life-or-death situations can alter the survivor's perspective and entire reality long after the actual event. In The Seventh Man, the narrator witnesses his best friend K. die within the eye of a typhoon when he could have saved him, or just as likely, suffered the same fate. After this traumatic time in his young life, he starts to have this dream. He recalls, "I'm swimming in the ocean... Then, all of a sudden, someone grabs my right leg... I'm being dragged down under the surface. I see K.'s face there... I swallow water, and my lungs start to fill. I wake up in the darkness, screaming, breathless, drenched in sweat" (Murakami 140-141). The incident affects him not only making him feel survivor's guilt but also tormenting him in his memories and dreams. Something as harsh as almost dying will most likely stick with you, no matter how much you want to forget and move on. The seventh man also says, "I never went near that seashore- or any other. I was afraid that if I did, my dream might happen in reality. I had always enjoyed swimming, but after that day I never even went to swim in a pool. I wouldn't go near deep rivers or lakes" (Murakami 141). Though survivors might have feared for their lives during their ordeal, that fear can easily stay with them after they are safe. Survivors might endure tons of physical damage, but they might also endure the same amount if not more mental and emotional damage.
    Though it can be true that some survivors put themselves into the situation where they fighting to live, all in all, they probably do not want to die. In The Value of a Sherpas Life, the author Grayson Schaffer explains Mount Everest Sherpas are underappreciated for the work they do. He also states that they do put their own selves at risk for injury or death. He argues with how the tourism industry treats these people, but states, "... shutting the industry down would anger the outfitters, clients, and, most of all, the Sherpas. That last group would lose jobs that pay between $2,000 and $6,000 per season, in a country where the median income is $540 per year" (Schaffer 218). They put themselves in danger for money? Yes, to support themselves and their families. Schaffer also says, "... right now- despite what anybody may feel in their heart- the industry clearly values life on a two-tiered basis: Westerners (tourists) at the top, Sherpas at the bottom... review the numbers that I reported last year: lower pay, lower standards for rescue insurance, lower payouts on accidental-death coverage in general... some families find help from climbers to send their kids to school and others don't" (Schaffer 218). Though they put their lives on the line for their families, when they die the family gets very little if anything to help them keep going through economic hardships. Although not every risk-taker that gets himself into a precarious situation does it to benefit or support a family, they still have someone who they care about and who cares about them. Just because they take risks does not mean they want to die or get injured so they should not be punished.
    A survivor should not be held responsible for their actions because most did not want to have to go through such an ordeal. Most did not want to have to fight for their lives, have to take risks that could have gotten them killed, or suffer physical and mental trauma. In these situations they have already been through enough, we do not need to add more burdens to their already heavy shoulders.

10-13-16

A/N: I am proud to say I got a 96/100! 🎉