In her essay, "On Immortality" Susan McCarthy addresses the idea of immortality and raises important questions about its practicality. McCarthy argues that immortality may not be practical or beneficial to humanity. She incorporates the most common appeals seen in literature in her essay including emotional, ethical, and logical appeals. An important part of McCarthy's argument is the emotional appeal. By incorporating figurative language, the strong emotional ties that infertility and cancer have, and scientific findings McCarthy presents a strong case for the impracticality of immortality.
"On Immortality" contains many instances of figurative language. One such instance is a metaphor found within the essay that provides a clear example as to why immortality would be complicated. "It's like a car... if you keep replacing the parts the car could last forever."
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(McCarthy 546).This metaphor works well to raise an element of doubt. The reader can compare this to their own general knowledge of automobiles. For instance, a car owner that has trouble can send their car to the repair shop and have the parts replaced, but eventually the repair costs become greater than that of buying a new vehicle. However, since this metaphorical car is their body and they simply can not go purchase a new one, this metaphor causes the reader to feel that the costs of the body part replacements may come to outweigh the benefits of immortality. Another effective use of the emotional appeal in McCarthy's essay, are the strong emotional ties that cancer and infertility carry.
She states that immortality may come with certain "trade-offs" (McCarthy 546). This word choice builds suspense for the possible outcomes and puts the reader on edge. Later, the author reveals these trade-offs in the statement, "Cancer obviously could be a downside, as could altered fertility (McCarthy 546)." This startling information elicits strong emotions from the reader and furthers the doubt that immortality has practical applications. McCarthy furthers this doubt with statements from Professor Hayflick on a study that proves that cells cannot divide forever. After a period of time, the cells will cease to replicate and the cells that do continue to divide are cancer cells (McCarthy 547). This elicits strong emotions from the reader, especially if they have had cancer or have seen a loved one fight against the disease. This brings into question whether the quality of life that an immortal one would be if after fifteen years or so they would develop
cancer. The final emotional appeal utilized in McCarthy's essay are the emotions from viewing immortality from an evolutionary standpoint. According to her viewpoint on evolution, the shorter life that you live and the more children you have the more successful you are ( McCarthy 548). If we expand on this idea, the longer we live without having children, the less successful you are in terms of evolution. McCarthy utilizes this to build upon the earlier mention of infertility as a possible side effect of immortality. So, not only would you be unable to have children, but you would also be stalling the evolutionary process. If the reader is in favor of immorality, this argument may dredge up negative feelings about this. The sadness and wariness are coupled with a sense that an immortal human will not be contributing to future generations. McCarthy then cements this standpoint by providing readers with another possibility. She theorizes that if immortality could be effectively applied, it may not last long. According to Professor Hayflick, there is a possibility that evolution would favor another species if they were not immortal. So, even if we were able to look past the downside and scientists could propose a solution to all of the problems that an immoral life would cause, this victory may be short lived because another species could quite conceivably wipe humans out over time (McCarthy 550). This conclusion leaves readers with a sense of hopelessness for immortality. Through the incorporation of the emotional appeal throughout the essay, McCarthy presented a strong case against immortality. By appealing to the reader's emotions, she provides support for the impracticality of immortality. She utilizes the reader's knowledge of automobiles to raise doubt about the practicality early in her essay. After McCarthy raises this element of doubt she uses the strong emotions that are tied to cancer and infertility by leading readers to the conclusion that these outcomes are possible and need to be weighed against the possible benefits of immortality. Her final use of emotional appeal comes when she builds upon earlier ideas, explaining that an infertile immortal being would be less useful in terms of evolution and that this may cause evolution to favor another species if humans would become immortal. These arguments effectively cause the reader to doubt the practicality and applicability of immortality, as McCarthy had intended and lead the reader to the conclusion that it is an avenue best left unexplored.
ILofHL Pages 56-86 Summary The book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot is the result of years of research done by Skloot on an African American woman with cervical cancer named Henrietta Lacks. Cells from Lacks’ tumor are taken and experimented on without her knowledge. These cells, known as HeLa cells, are the first immortal human cells ever grown. The topic of HeLa cells is at the center of abundantly controversial debates.
Out all of the figurative language used in the book, I chose three. The first one I used is found on page 2, “The Sun was climbing over the trees of city college and soon the black asphalt would shimmer with vapers.” This figurative language is personification because it is giving human-like traits to the sun. The meaning of quote is that the sun represents hope or a new day and the vapors of the onions represents the dreadful things that might happen; so basically, a hope versus evil scenario. It is significant to the book because the city is apparently cursed with onions that leaves vapor wherever a bad situation occurred. The whole hope vs evil is what really makes the book come to alive to. Next we will talk about the other figurative
Mortality, the subject of death, has been a curious topic to scholars, writers, and the common man. Each with their own opinion and beliefs. My personal belief is that one should accept mortality for what it is and not go against it.
Death. Only two things are certain in life, death, and taxes. As the Human condition is concerned death is directly related to mortality. Mortality is in a sense the focus of all human existence. In most cases, the human mind inadvertently neglects this concept. In the true depth of mortality is hidden behind a shroud of humor. In the inquisitive, the brain creates a logical fallacy to cope with the concept. The basis of the human condition is mortality. The main points of the human condition are birth, growth, emotionality, aspiration, conflict, and mortality. Birth, growth, and aspiration all stem from the concept of mortality.
One of the only truly inevitable things in life is death. While there are ways to prolong the time before death, there is no escaping it, as the main characters of “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall” and “A Good Man is Hard to Find” knew all too well. Both of these elderly women expected their deaths in some way, and while they may have been initially resistant, they eventually came to accept their fate. When comparing the characters of Granny Weatherall and the grandmother from “A Good Man is Hard to Find”, similar elements such as religion, death, and a less than ideal relationship with their family can be found.
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is a non-fictional novel dedicated to describing the life and experiences of a woman by the name of Henrietta Lacks who’s cervical cells became famous for a multitude of reasons. Henrietta was an African American woman born in the 1920’s who developed an aggressive form of cervical cancer and was treated by doctors at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Her infamous story began when doctors began treating Henrietta with radium and took tissue samples from her cervix without her knowing. Cancer researchers began testing Henrietta’s cells (labeled HeLa) and found that they, unlike many other human cells, multiplied at rapid rates and almost seemed to be “immortal” or never-ending. These cells were shared, sold, and researched
"A Cell 's Life: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks." Issues in Science and Technology 26.4 (2010): 87. Academic OneFile. Web. 11 Nov. 2016.
The progression of the sun is used as a metaphor in the comparison of time’s effect on life, decay, and death, in order to show that through procrastination and neglect to live in the moment, the “sooner that his race be run, and nearer he’s to setting” (Herrick). Once again, the necessity for believing and participating in the concept of carpe diem perpetuates itself through the model of young love. Comparing this idea with the overarching theme of time’s inevitable passage, the speaker declares in the final stanza that “having lost but once your prime, you may forever tarry” (Herrick). With a focus on the physical, the entire process of decay here becomes a much more tangible subject to concentrate on, instead of a purely emotional outlook on
Poetry is a part of literature that writers used to inform, educate, warn, or entertain the society. Although the field has developed over the years, the authenticity of poetry remains in its ability to produce a meaning using metaphors and allusions. In most cases, poems are a puzzle that the reader has to solve by applying rhetoric analysis to extract the meaning. Accordingly, poems are interesting pieces that activate the mind and explore the reader’s critical and analytical skills. In the poem “There are Delicacies,” Earle Birney utilizes a figurative language to express the theme and perfect the poem. Specifically, the poem addresses the frangibility of the human life by equating it to the flimsy of a watch. Precisely, the poet argues that a human life is short, and, therefore, everyone should complete his duties in perfection because once he or she dies, the chance is unavailable forever.
Also, our thoughts and experiences are continually impacting our genes and future generations. He proves that what we do with our genome is just as important as the genes we inherit. We can not only prolong life but be in control of what goes on in our body. Our ancestors passed down their rare genetic expressions to make the most of them and to add our touches on them from the way we choose to live. Hopefully, before it is too late, we possess the power to shape our genetic inheritance and live while facing the truth about our genes. Our genes do not determine our destiny, we do. Given the opportunity, it is of great importance to transform our lives based on prior knowledge and experiences. Our decisions will forever be changing the course of our
Personal immortality seems to be a paradox that many people address and distinguish in different ways. Through outlets such as religion, science, or personal belief this topic is often argued and habitually facilitates strong arguments. Weirob and Miller explicitly explain their dualist/physicalist outlooks on personal immortality as they have a conversation at the hospital where Weirob slowly succumbs to her injuries received in a motorcycle accident. As Weirob patiently awaits death, Miller explains how due to Weirobs realist view on life he will not try to “comfort [her] with the prospect of life after death” (Perry, pg. 65). Due to Weirobs state of unavoidable demise she asks Miller to entertain her with the argument for life after death,
For my final project I chose to compare two works of art from ancient Mesopotamia. A visual work of art and a literary one. The visual work of art I chose was the Statuettes of Worshipers which were created around 2900 to 2350 BCE at the Square Temple at Eshnunna, a city in ancient Mesopotamia. The literary artwork I have chosen is the Epic of Gilgamesh written roughly around 2800 BCE by author or authors unknown. It was set in Uruk, another city in ancient Mesopotamia. Both of these works of art share a common theme; the theme of immortality. It is my hopes that within this paper I can accurately show how each of these works of art express this theme, and how it relates to modern society.
“Bernard Williams is a distinguished twentieth-century english moral philosopher” (Jacobsen, p. 104). His perception of death and desire varies greatly from Lucretius who was a Roman follower of the ancient atomism and defended the views of Epicurus who like Lucretius, declared that death is a bad thing for people. On the contrary, Williams asserts that death gives meaning to life and that immorality might not be such a good thing and rather he believes that it is to be undesirable. The reasons as to why Williams thinks that a person’s death is a bad thing is due to the fact that when a person dies they are no longer able to fulfill/satisfy the desires we had when we were alive.
“Death, the end of life: the time when someone or something dies” (Merriam-Webster, 2014). The definition of death is quite simple, the end of life is inescapable. I chose to write about death and impermanence because it is something we all must inevitably face. People often deal with death in a number of different ways. Although it is something that we must eventually face, it can be hard to come to terms with because the idea can be hard to grasp. Some of us fear it, others are able to accept it, either way we all must eventually face it. In this essay I will look at two different literary works about death and impermanence and compare and contrast the different elements of the point of view, theme, setting, and symbolism. The comparison of these particular works will offer a deeper look into words written by the authors and the feelings that they experiencing at that particular time.
The concept of human mortality and how it is dealt with is dependent upon one’s society or culture. For it is the society that has great impact on the individual’s beliefs. Hence, it is also possible for other cultures to influence the people of a different culture on such comprehensions. The primary and traditional way men and women have made dying a less depressing and disturbing idea is though religion. Various religions offer the comforting conception of death as a begining for another life or perhaps a continuation for the former.