The Will to Live

     The will to survive is an instinct that none can escape from. It affects every living thing at some point in time and can change the views and actions of even the most obdurate of people. Good examples of the zeal to survive are found in both the story of the Titanic as well as in The Call of the Wild by Jack London.
     The story of the Titanic  is one that is commonly known amongst most people. However, few really realize how the ill-fated ship shows a good example of a human being overtaken by the will to survive. In the movie, there are many different people shown as the ship is going down. Many of them, normally perfectly nice people, resorted to fighting and killing others in order to save themselves and get a spot on the lifeboats. These are very obvious examples of how how the will to survive affects humans. However there were a few that didn't fight to escape death but instead accepted and embraced it. Most would assume that this is because they had given up and no longer had a zeal to survive. I don't believe that this is so. There is a point in every beings life where it is time to die. As confusing as it may sound, death is an ever-existing part of life. They merely accepted that is was no longer their destiny to live and accepted fate. Every person was affected by the will to survive.
     The Call of the Wild is also a good example of the zeal to survive. However, this shows more of how the will to survive affects the animal kingdom. Buck, the main character, is put into many situations where the only options are kill or be killed. He always chose to kill. One such example would be when he was in the final fight with Spitz, his rival. Spitz was winning at first but Buck refused to give up. His will to survive was greater than the temptation to give up. In the end, because he refused to give up, Buck lived and defeated Spitz. Spitz also had a great will to survive, growling and fighting until he physically could not any longer.
     The will to survive affects every living being in the world. None can escape it and most don't want to. It is the instinct that saves our lives in a dangerous situation and guides us when lost. This one little instinct has the power to control the actions of every living thing. So the question is not if it would affect you in a sticky situation. The ultimate question is : How far would it make you go to save your life?