Survival Lord Of The Flies Persuasive Essay

In reality and literature, people find themselves in life-or-death situations. In these high-stress circumstances, their judgments can have disastrous outcomes. However, holding someone accountable is not always justifiable. If the survival of one person depends on the death of another, should they be punished for prioritizing themselves? Society expects citizens to uphold moral and legal norms in all circumstances, but extreme pressure and imminent danger can lead to the tradeoff of rational thought. Whether it's a battle for survival in a hostile environment like Mars or a chilling hunt on an isolated island, the pressure to make snap judgments can be unbearable. It’s ignorant to believe someone in such a situation could be held responsible …show more content…
Such as in the Martian by Andy Weir. The main character Mark Watney was left abandoned on Mars by his whole crew. His commander had to make an impossible choice, do they try to save him or leave him? The commander made the decision to leave Mark as she assumed he was dead and if they stayed any longer the whole crew could pass away. The commander feels tremendous guilt about this when they come to find out that Mark survived. “I left him behind. In a barren, unreachable, godforsaken wasteland” (Wier Chapter 12) Though commander Lewis was right to consider Mark’s fate an outcome of her actions, she and her crew were in a life-or-death situation where this decision could determine their fate. Should she have been held responsible for putting Mark Watney’s life in danger and failing to save him? Some say yes because she is the commander and therefore has to be able to protect everyone under her command. However, she had to consider her whole crew, not just Mark. If they had stayed, they could’ve died. Another thing is, it all happened so fast that the commander did not have enough time to make a rash decision. Although she tried to save him, it was no use. Her actions were fueled by the need to inevitably survive, but in doing so she sacrificed Mark. To hold her accountable would be to say that she should’ve found a way to get Mark in a situation where it was almost impossible to do

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