Survival: The Essential Elements When asked what the most essential characteristics are, what comes to mind? Many say items such as : food, water, fire and shelter, but do these things really make or break whether one will live through a situation. Plenty of people are found dead with any or all of these things at their disposal. Why are these people unable to hold out in their circumstances?. After exploring several text about survival it is obvious that it is not objects that determine survival, but rather characteristics. A positive outlook, resourcefulness and the ability to make determining decisions are the most influential elements in any survival situation. Possessing a mentally positive attitude is a driving factor in survival.
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This is where determining decisions come in. One must be able to make clear, contemplated decisions in order to prevail. Well thought out choices are what make the future of a person. In time of crisis one must be able to think quickly, but also make the best choice. I Louise Erdrich's’ “The Leap” , she tells of a woman who was once an acrobat, during her blindfolded double act with her husband lightning stuck the circus tent. Louise wrote “ When her hands did not meet her husbands, My mother tore her blindfold away. As she swept past her husband on the wrong side, she could have grasped his ankle … and gone down clutching him. Instead she changed direction. Her body twisted toward a heavy wire and she managed to hang onto the braided metal’ (Endrich 342). This character made a clear, challenging decision, to surpass her husband and grab the wire. Through quick wit she was able to maintain both her life and the life of her unborn child. In Wallace's article “ Is survival Selfish she debates whether or not heroes should be considered foolish or if survivors should are selfish. She tells a story of a woman involved in a crash on landing, saying “ I remembered reading the account of one woman who was in an air liner crash on landing … nobody was moving toward the emergency exits even as the cabin began to fill with smoke. After realizing the people around her were too frozen to react she took direct action crawling over several rows of people to get to exit. She got out and survived” ( Wallace 318). This woman survived because she calculated her situation and decided to take action and get out. May people are too afraid to be the first to make the decision to hurry away from a dangerous situation, and that is what leaves them harmed or even dead. Making determining decisions in one of the main factors that will truly save a
This is where determining decisions come in. One must be able to make clear, contemplated decisions in order to prevail. Well thought out choices are what make the future of a person. In time of crisis one must be able to think quickly, but also make the best choice. I Louise Erdrich's’ “The Leap” , she tells of a woman who was once an acrobat, during her blindfolded double act with her husband lightning stuck the circus tent. Louise wrote “ When her hands did not meet her husbands, My mother tore her blindfold away. As she swept past her husband on the wrong side, she could have grasped his ankle … and gone down clutching him. Instead she changed direction. Her body twisted toward a heavy wire and she managed to hang onto the braided metal’ (Endrich 342). This character made a clear, challenging decision, to surpass her husband and grab the wire. Through quick wit she was able to maintain both her life and the life of her unborn child. In Wallace's article “ Is survival Selfish she debates whether or not heroes should be considered foolish or if survivors should are selfish. She tells a story of a woman involved in a crash on landing, saying “ I remembered reading the account of one woman who was in an air liner crash on landing … nobody was moving toward the emergency exits even as the cabin began to fill with smoke. After realizing the people around her were too frozen to react she took direct action crawling over several rows of people to get to exit. She got out and survived” ( Wallace 318). This woman survived because she calculated her situation and decided to take action and get out. May people are too afraid to be the first to make the decision to hurry away from a dangerous situation, and that is what leaves them harmed or even dead. Making determining decisions in one of the main factors that will truly save a