Summary Of Laurence Gonzales Miraculous Survivors

On a talk show, Mattie discusses the controversy topic of deportation of immigrants. She tells a story about pair of immigrants who were discovered deadkilled after deportation. "Then the TV showed both Mattie and the interview man talking without sound, and another man's voice told us that the immigration and naturalization service had returned to illegal aliens, a woman and her son, to her native El Salvador last week, and that Mattie claimed that had been taken into custody when they stepped off the plane in san Salvador and later were found dead in a ditch" (Kingsolver 105-106). This shows how America doesn’t care about what happens to illegal immigrants after they’ve been deported. This is another example of how immigrants suffer due to the ignorance of Americans. Lou Ann has invited several people, including Estevan to a dinner party. During the party, Estevan tells a ‘Wild Indian Story’, “If you go visit hell… people sit, like us. Only they are dying of starvation…you can go visit heaven...you see a room like the first one… but these people are all happy and fat" (Kingsolver 107-108). The story is supposed to be a metaphor to represent how immigrants suffer in the same system as Whites who benefit in the system. Due to this, a lot of privileged Americans do not see how the immigrants are suffering. Taylor was walking through a room that used to hold a family on immigrants.

When we are faced with a moral dilemma, our illusion clashes with reality causing us to learn more about our true self. It is then that we become unable to sustain our illusions, and therefore lose a part of our perceived identity. Through On the Rainy River, Tim O’Brien reflects upon his illusion of courage, and his clash with reality, which caused him to realize his “secret reservoir of courage” didn’t hold much. Upon his realization, Tim lost a significant part of his perceived identity- his courage.

In the novel The Year We Disappeared, Cylin and John Busby want the readers to understand that no matter what someone is going through, things will become better if they cooperate with what they’re going through. To illustrate, John Busby is in the hospital and he is struggling to live under his current conditions, but he believes he can survive. To show, John says, “I’d lost about thirty pounds or so but was building up strength every day, walking the halls with my IV pole, keeping my mind sharp” (40). This proves how even though John was practically living through Hell everyday, he kept his mind set positive and was determined to get back on his feet and cooperate with what he was going through, so that he could be his normal self again.

Michael J. Fox said, “One’s dignity may be assaulted, vandalized, and cruelly mocked, but it can never be taken away unless it is surrendered.” In Laura Hillenbrand’s novel Unbroken, the author tells the story of the main character Louie’s life. Growing up, Louie always had a strong mind. He became a well known track star and with the pressure of running, he never gives up what he was passionate about. Louie Zamperini suffers through a difficult time as a POW, yet he is able to gain back his dignity by having stubborn optimism and a tenacious will to survive.

In the novel, Zeitoun by Dave Eggers, the main character, Abdulrahman Zeitoun, is an immigrant of Syria who stays in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and is arrested due to the suspicion of looting, but really is arrested because of his race and how he looks. Zeitoun’s faith and loyalty to his community and home is tested through the many obstacles of Hurricane Katrina and including his religion, racism, and his very own dignity. The author, Dave Eggers who is also the speaker in novel, proves all examples of Zeitoun’s challenges credibly in the text.

Even when the weight of the world is coming down and doubt is setting in, there still are powers to help carry on. Louie Zamperini, a famous Olympic athlete, was dragged down to a low level when he was captured by Japanese forces and suffered under horrendous conditions in the many POW camps he stayed at. Throughout all of life’s trials, he survived, due to his strong resilience and agency. He wanted to live, and even though he may have wanted to give up, he had plenty of things to live for. In Unbroken, Laura Hillenbrand uses both internal and external conflict to show the theme that people can stand up against enemies even when the odds seem stacked up against them.

People sometimes have tough ordeals. Some may act negatively toward the problem, but the people that act positively toward the problem are able to see hope in places where they wouldn’t expect it to be in. People have been through cruelty, yet they continue to stay positive. People still have the positivity to cling onto their last hope, or even continue to think positively when there is no hope at all. People like Anne Frank, in Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl, continue to stay positive throughout the horrible ordeals that have happened. Some of the Japanese in Dear Miss Breed: True Stories of the Japanese American Incarceration During World War II and a Librarian Who Made a Difference have continued to stay hopeful while in internment

Adversity reveals strength in people, like in Louis Zamperini and Malala Yousafzai. Louis Zamperini was an Olympic athlete that was later stranded in a raft for 47 days, then captured in a japanese POW camp in World War II. During all of his hardships

In the book Deep Survival by Laurence Gonzales, it talks about some people who survived in the most extreme conditions like stranded on a mountain, or falling into big waterfalls or being lost in a stranded place where no man has ever set foot on. The story I’m going to talk about is about Joe Simpson, he was a survivor that really inspired me. The tactics he used were, patterns, make short term goals and to laugh at anything he can. The main tactic I’m going to focus on is making short term goals because this goal can help us at Cardigan and it is a very successful method. Making short term goals can lead us to success really easily because if you accomplish a small goal you'll feel very satisfied and want to keep doing it again and again.

The 21st century for America so far includes two major disasters, 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina. David Eggers documents the Zeitoun’s struggles during Hurricane Katrina in his book Zeitoun. Choosing specific details, Egger’s purpose is to juxtapose Zeitoun’s humanity before and during Katrina to the cruelty Zeitoun was given after, and how Americans should reflect on those disparities.

There is an abundance of survival characteristics to choose from, some of which we may not even consider, and the individuals from this unit have shown many. I believe that Melinda Murphy and Cole Matthews showed determination to survive life threatening situations. Melinda fought breast cancer like a mercenary, and Cole Matthews strived to live through a severe bear mauling.

After reading “Miraculous Survivors: Why they live while others die.”, I definitely feel that the title is appropriate. Gonzales continuously references different, real-life tales of survival: each time showing showing what each person had in common. Gonzales even goes as far as to explicitly state what each survivor has in common. “The first thing that people do when something bad happens is to be in denial,” Gonzales says. “People who make good survivors tend to get through that phase quickly. They accept the evidence of their senses.” (CNN) I believe that this is completely true. In a life-or-death situation, you will likely die if you cannot accept the events that has taken place and strive to the solve situation you have been placed

In Martha Stout’s essay “When I Woke Up Tuesday Morning, It Was Friday”, she discusses how a person who has suffered a traumatic experience is most likely to dissociate their individual self from that situation and block it from their mind completely. This form of a solution allows the person to forget the experience and not feel the pain. In “Immune to Reality” Daniel Gilbert describes how every human being contains a psychological immune system, which works to shield us from horrible experiences that threaten our happiness. When experiencing a traumatic event, the psychological immune system responds by “cooking up the facts”, meaning taking the facts of the situation and turning the negative aspects of it into positive views. At first

Has anyone lived a life without misfortune? Doubtable; even the person with what could be described as the ideal life deals with some form of adversity. The novel, Speak, and the short story, The Third and Final Continent, both use plot as a way to convey themes of hardship. Moreover, these texts both use symbolism in order to develop their themes as well. The Art of Resilience and Speak utilize characterization as a method of developing their respective themes. Speak, The Third and Final Continent, and The Art of Resilience each deal with the theme that all people must learn to cope with adverse situations.

How would you react to being trapped, fighting for survival, in a post apocalyptic society? Coupland takes an interesting look at this and presents many other underlying ideas that build up the basics of human nature, such as, competition, control and survival of the fittest. The relatable main character showcases the darker, bitter, side that is contained in the fabric in all of us, but in a satirical comedic tone. He does so in a way where the even the structure of the writing is how you might expect an average persons’ thought process of events.