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Essay On Choices In Tom Godwin's The Cold Equation

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“It was the law, and there could be no appeal.” The Cold Equation written by Tom Godwin illustrates the devastating outcome of following the law. The main character Marilyn was just a regular girl, who wanted to see her brother Gerry. Marilyn makes a choice that affects everyone. Hard choices have awful resolutions. Choices can affect people differently: they can change lives or the outcome of the choice can be unfair. Hard choices can change life harshly and negatively. Considering this, the choice Marilyn made about getting on the ship ended in a negative way. This is true, as Marilyn acknowledges, “ when I hid on this ship, I got into something I didn’t know anything about and now I have to pay for it” (18). To pay for the choice she made, she had to perish. The one act had changed her life and her families. The decision Marilyn had made, had an awful resolution. Even more, Marilyn's consequence is about to change her life. …show more content…

In all honesty, as Marilyn interprets, “ how did it happen to me so terribly quickly?” (18). Marilyn interprets that she is going to die early in her life. The outcome of Marilyn’s choice is not fair, in her eyes. The choice she made changed her life negatively and unfairly. When Marilyn states that life is unfair, it is life or death for her. The resolution of Marilyn being on the spaceship was awful and unbearable. In like manner, the unfairness in this story isn’t like a child saying it’s not fair over a piece of candy; it is life or death. It is true, as Marilyn expresses, “ I didn’t do anything to die for… I didn’t do anything…” (27). Marilyn is stating that it wasn’t fair she had to die for something she didn’t do. She is so baffled to why she has to leave her lovely life for something she didn’t deserve to die for. All in all, hard choices can change a life dramatically and can result in an awful, unfair

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