I would take the plank from a drowning man if I am placed in the middle of the dangerous ocean where its waves are making me to drown. According to Thoreau, it is injustice to take the plank from the man and to make that man to drown. It is easy to say I will give him back the plank because it is not fair to him. Plus, I will feel bad when I survive with that plank. However, it is too hard to take an action. In a real life situation, the only thing that will come to my mind will be “I need his plank now”. At that moment, I will not be able to think it is too cruel to take it from the drowning man. I will think my life is more important than drowning man who I have never seen in my life. He is in danger, but so do I. I need to survive because
“The sea's only gifts are harsh blows, and occasionally the chance to feel strong. Now I don't know much about the sea, but I do know that that's the way it is here. And I also know how important it is in life not necessarily to be strong but to feel strong. To measure yourself at least once. To find yourself at least once in the most ancient of human conditions. Facing the blind deaf stone alone, with nothing to help you but your hands and your own head.” – Christopher McCandless, Into the Wild
Survival skills can take over when in a life or death situation. The protagonist, Rainsford, in the short story “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell is a clear example of this. While on the way to hunting expedition Rainsford is thrown overboard his ship and swims to the nearby shore of Ship Trap Island. He explores the island and finds a chateau. He is invited in by the owner, General Zarroff, and they begin to converse. Here Rainsford learns something dark about this man that will lead to him being on the run for his life. He is forced to let his survival skills, resourcefulness, thinking on his feet, and his good eye, take center stage in the fight for his life.
As he hits an angle of actuality, he says, “Survivors would have us believe … some bolt of truth forking across the water” (17-18). In a mocking tone, Collins suggests that the ones who live speak of a life changing moment that was shone upon them and the world is meant to believe the absurdity. He also emphasizes the ‘Light’, describing it as “dawning on you with all its megalithic tonnage” (20) to show much it is exaggerated by these so called ‘survivors’. He is a part of the minor crowd that does not believe in such ridiculous talk and states his opinion as, “But if something does flash before your eyes as you go under, it will probably be a fish” (21-22). Speaking harshly realistic, he points out that the person drowning is most likely to see something as minor as a fish than a grand truth or life vision. Throughout this stanza, he defines this type of death to be a quick, irrelevant death. Along with this, he accentuates the small difference it would make, like someone spitting in the
In the article it talks about how it was a extremely ordinary day for the main character and he had no indications that today would be his last day on earth. With that in mind, this man chose to be courageous not knowing the consequences of his actions. "Every time they lowered a lifeline and flotation ring to him, he passed it on to another of the passengers". When the water was to take this mans life, it was unbeknownst to him, but he still had the courage to pass the rope to save another. Courage is not a attitude that one might claim in just a day. It is a characteristic that is made, created, and molded as you use it. With unfathomable courage, this heroic man passed the rope one last time, knowing he would never lay a hand on it again. Imagine the character he would have had to possess in order to utilize his agency, without hesitation, by passing on his chance of life to someone he didn't even
injustice to another, then I say, break the law." This shows Thoreau’s policy of civil
This letter covers the ways in which peaceful protest and standing up against injustice can lead to positive results. Both pieces conveyed a similar message of standing up for what is right. The strongest rhetorical methods which Thoreau uses are allusions, logos, ethos and rhetorical questions. However, King’s use of Thoreau’s piece was written prior to the civil war, and was in response to the Mexican-American war and slavery in some territories. It was intended for US citizens; more specifically, those who are unhappy with the way the United States government is ran.
When Thoreau returned home his family noticed a change in his personality. He was no longer accepting people’s opinions as facts but would shock people with his own independent and unconventional opinions. He desired to live his life with the freedom to think and act as he wished. He obtained a local teaching job and refused to Flog children as punishment. Instead he would give moral lectures. The community objected to this method of punishment and forced Thoreau to flog his incorrigible children. That day Thoreau flogged six students and then turned in his resignation. He did so believing that physical punishment should have no place in education.
The most dangerous fear that Pi deals with is Richard Parker who has no mercy on his victims. Pi knows that he should deal with Richard Parker in a small damaged lifeboat. He can't run away from his fears, so he makes a border between Richard Parker and himself. Pi says, " I started thinking seriously about how I was going to deal with Richard Parker. This forbearance on his part on hot, cloudless days, that is what it was and not simple laziness, was not good enough. I couldn't always be running away from him. I needed safe access to the locker and to the top of the tarpaulin, no matter on what time of day or the weather and no matter of his mood. It was rights that I needed, the sort of rights that come with the might. It was time to impose myself and carve out territory," (Martel, 224). If one runs away from self-fears, the person will not achieve the goals for which Pi is no different. Despair has had the most destructive effect on Pi that has really stopped him to try rescue him. The only factor that forces despair to diminish is taking practical steps. Pi could survive 227 days on the lifeboat with faith. He reminds himself everything in this world is a creature of God. He says, " Despair was a heavy blackness that let no light in or out. It was a hell beyond expression. I thank God it always passed. A school of fish appeared around the net or a knot cried out to be reknotted. Or I thought of my family, of how they were spared this terrible agony. The blackness would stir and eventually go away, and God would remain, a shining point of high in your heart.
“No, I would rain softly and sweetly on the just, but if I caught a sample of the unjust outdoors I would drown him.”
In the article, “The Man in the Water” the author, Roger Rosenblatt, shows humans potential selflessness. After a plane crashes into the ocean, one man, the hero of the story, saves the lives of many before saving himself. As the rescuers were handing down the floaties to bring people to safety, every time one was given to this man he risked his life and handed it to someone else. Every time that he decides to save someone else he is one step closer to dying, and he knows that too, but instead he helps those in need around him. Although in the end he did not survive, what he did had effects on those watching. It showed people that any person could be a hero. The man in the water was a man with courage, and no fear, he sacrificed his life for the life of many who may not have survived if it wasn't for him or what he had done. While nature was against him and the people he fought against it to let those people live the rest of their life. In the article, the author, Roger Rosenblatt demonstrates the potential heroism and
After reading the first chapter of Mark Ferguson’s short story, “A Drowning” I already knew that I would not like the story. It is an example of a lifeguard’s nightmare, finding a drowning victim without a way to save them. The fact that the narrator is painfully reliving the story makes me tense, especially when thinking about dangerous situations that could happen while I am working as a lifeguard and the effects it could have on me. To conclude, the story made me more and more uncomfortable each time the the victim was put in further danger and especially uncomfortable when he never came back up which made the story difficult for me to read.
“Nobody heard him, the dead man, / but still he lay moaning:” This is how many people go on through life. Many are dying inside but you would never know. It is possible for people to create masks to hide their emotions. Sometimes these masks are so deceptive that even close friends or family members cannot see through then until it is too late. In Stevie Smith’s poem, “Not Waving but Drowning” the writer effectively highlights how someone’s cry for help can be mistaken for joy. It is important for people to at least have someone who cares about them and knows them well enough to see when something is going wrong in their lives. This can often be the lifeline that saves one from drowning.
For example, he says, "For its part, nature cared nothing about the five passengers. Our man, on the other hand, cared totally." Basically, nature has no thoughts or feelings about what it does or causes, but man has the greatest of feelings about these situations. The man in the water cared deeply about the safety and welfare of his fellow passengers. According to Rosenblatt, the man's confliction with nature could be described as a battle in which nature had no ideas of good or evil or principles, and man acted completely based upon those things. The unknown savior in the water fought this dispute against nature as long as he possibly could, but eventually the altercation overwhelmed him. Obviously, the man's fearlessness in his confrontation with the ruthlessness of nature greatly contributed to the theme of courageousness in Rosenblatt's
In 1842 a tragedy occurred when a ship struck an iceberg and more than thirty passengers piled onto a rescue boat that was meant to hold a maximum of seven people. As a storm became evident and water rushed into the lifeboat, it was clear that in order for anyone to survive the load would need to be lightened. The commanding captain suggested that some people would need to be thrown overboard in order for anyone to survive. There was a great argument on the boat between the captain and the passengers who opposed his decision. Some suggested that the weakest should be drowned, as miles of rowing the lifeboat would take toll on even the strongest. This reasoning would also make it absurd to draw names of who should be thrown over. Others suggested that if they all stayed onboard no one would be responsible for the deaths, although the captain argued he would be guilty if those who he could have saved perished in the process. Alternatively the captain decided that the weakest would be sacrificed in order to save the few left on the lifeboat. Days later the survivors were rescued and the captain was put on trial for his virtues.
If life were merely a contest with fate, then should we not think before we act? Though some may argue that the proper time to reflect is before acting, I have learned from experience that, more times than not, this is not the best approach. The ability to act on instinct is crucial to success, in many situations. During an earthquake, for instance, one must quickly respond in whichever way necessary to protect themselves, as well as their loved ones. No matter how prepared, or trained, one may be, there is no way to predict what the essential motions should be taken at the time of an emergency.