The Will to Live

Personal Response

Title: The Will To Live

Author: Patrick Barkham

Text Type: News Paper Article

The article The Will To Live made me realise that mans greatest desire, is the desire to live. Through reading this article I had a greater understanding of what Aron Ralston went through in his avoidable but tragic disaster on Blue John Canyon. I realised that when people are faced with a life or death situation they will go to extreme lengths if it means survival. Ralston sacrificed his arm in order to survive, I can only imagine how difficult this must have been and the excruciating pain this would have caused. However, Ralston's will to survive outweighed these factors. One section of the article explained the brutality of the sacrifice of his arm, as I read this I cringed and felt shocked. The description created a vivid image of what he went through. 'When I'm trying to rip my arm out from the rock, I feel it bend and it stops me- “that's it! I can use the boulder to break my bones!” It was this moment that led to Ralston deliberately snapping the bones in his arm by hurling himself furiously against the bolder, finally enabling him to cut through his limb with a blunt knife.' Although I admire Ralston for the determination he had which allowed him to survive, I don't feel that he should be looked at as a hero. The article portrayed Ralston as a confident man and I believe that he was overconfident, which over ruled his common sense. The article tells us he was 'carrying a small rucksack with just one litre of water, two burritos and a few chunks of chocolate.' It also tells us 'most foolishly of all, he had not told anyone where he was going.' I felt that this was completely irresponsible