Text #3—“What Is a Life Worth?”
Prereading
Activity 17:MakingPredictionsand AskingQuestions
Thearticle“WhatIs a LifeWorth?”comesfromtheFebruary12,2002, issueofTimemagazine. This article includes the following subtitle: “To compensate families of the victims of Sept. 11, the government has invented a way to measure blood and loss in cash. A look at the wrenching calculus.”
- Whatpredictionscanyoumakeaboutthearticle’scontentfrom thissubtitle?
- Whatconnectionsdoyouthinkyoumight see betweenthis articleandtheprevioustwotextsyouhaveread?
Activity 18:Understanding KeyVocabulary
Below,youwillfindthreegroupingsofvocabularywordstakenfrom“What Is a Life Worth?” Thefirstgroupconsistsofwordsrelated tothelegalandfinancial aspectsofthearticle.Thesecondlist containstermsthatconveyinformationwithparticularemotional connotations.Thefinalsetofwordsismadeupoftermsthatareusedtodescribetheworkingsofthegovernmentalplanto compensate 9/11 family victims. Working byyourself orwitha partner,lookovereachlist,andprovide a briefdefinitionforthe wordsyoudonotknowwell.Pay particularattentiontothewaysin whichthewordsconnecttooneanother(e.g.,peoplelitigate, orsue, becausetheywantsomebodytocompensate themfora loss).
Financialandlegalterms
compensate (subtitle): makeupfora loss
disparity(¶ 2): unfairness, unevenness
valuation(¶ 3): determinationofa monetaryvalue
litigation(¶ 5): legalaction;suing
commodify(¶ 7): turnsomethingintoanobjectofmonetaryvalue
discretion(¶ 9): judgment
liability(¶ 10): debtordisadvantage
beneficiary(¶ 22): recipientofa benefit,usuallymonetary
tort(¶ 23): a civillawsuit toremedya wrongfulact
allocation(¶ 28): distribution,especiallyofmoney
Emotion-ladenwords
squeamish(¶ 2): easilyoffended
garish(¶ 2): offensivelybright andshowy
gall(¶ 10): impudence;insolence
traumatize (¶ 11): toinflict stressorpainuponsomeone
callous(¶ 11): uncaring, cold
inconsolable(¶ 13): incapableofbeingcomforted
indignant(¶ 13): fullofangeroveraninjustice
balk(¶ 21): resist;refusetoproceed
deteriorate(¶ 17): degenerate;graduallyfallapart
Descriptive terms
rhetorical(¶ 12): relatedtotheeffectiveuseoflanguage
Rorschachtest(¶ 11): aninkblot testthatrevealsa person’sparticular viewpoint
artillery(¶ 12): heavyammunitionusedagainstanenemy
analogy(¶ 12): a comparisonintended toillustratecommon
elementsbetweenseeminglydifferentitems
solidarity(¶ 17): unitybasedona commoninterest
orchestrated (¶ 18): carefully arrangedtoachievea particulareffect
concoct(¶ 12): toputtogether fromvariousmaterials
mechanism(¶ 21): technique forachieving a specificresult
Reading
Activity 19:Readingfor Understanding/Annotating
Asyouread“WhatIs a LifeWorth?”forthefirsttime,lookforthe mainissuesandthevariousstancespeopletakeinresponsetothose issues.Be suretoalsolookforconnectionstotheideaofvaluing life andtowhatwaspreviouslysaidaboutvaluing lifebyShakespeare andEbert.
Choosetwohighlighterorpencilcolorsandrevisitthetextofthearticle on9/11.Thetwocolorswillbeusedtomarktwodifferentaspectsofthe article.Withthefirstcolor,highlightthewords,phrases,andsentences fromthearticlethatdescribevaluinglifeinlegalandfinancial terms. Withthesecondcolor,highlightthewords,phrases,andsentencesthat describevaluinglifeinhumanandemotionalterms.
- Howis“life”definedinthistext?Forexample,does“life” refertoa humanbody,a soul,humanexperience,existence,orquality oflife?
- Doesthisdefinitionincludea person’spersonallifeandprofessional orworkinglife?
Postreading
Activity 20:Summarizing
(NOTE: USE SUMMARY TEMPLATE) Usingthesectionsyouhighlightedintheprevious step,writea full summaryofthearticle’sdescriptionsofhowlifeisvaluedand people’sresponsestothatvaluingoflife.Yoursummaryshould includeonlythemostimportantideasandmustbelimitedtosix sentences.Ifyourteacherallows,youmaywanttoworkonthis summarywitha partner.
Activity 21: Summary Responses
Witha partner,readthesummaryyouwroteintheprevious step. Oneofyoushouldreadthesummaryfromtheperspective of Hamlet;theothershouldtakeonthepersonaofEbert.Discusswith yourpartnerhoweachwouldprobablyreacttothewaythat“What Is a Life Worth?” describesthevalueoflife.(Theanswerstothe questions willvarydependinguponwhateachsummaryhassaid aboutthearticle.)
•WouldHamletagreewithanyoftheideaspresentedinthe article?Ifso,whichones?
•WouldEbertagreewithanyoftheideasinthearticle?Ifso, whichones?
•WouldEbertandHamletagreeatallinthewaytheymight interpretthisarticle’sideas?Ifso, how?
Activity 22:Thinking Critically
Theprevious twotexts(thesoliloquyandtheinterview)bothprovide verypersonalapproachestotheideaofvaluing life.Thecurrenttext,though, isanarticlefroma respectednational newsmagazine. Thefollowingquestions willhelpyouworkthroughsomeofthe implicationsofthetext’sstructure andfeaturesontheinterpretation andunderstandingofthetext.
- Mostnewsarticlessuchas “WhatIs a LifeWorth?”trytotakean objective, unbiasedapproach.Wouldyouagreethatthistextis unbiased,ordoyouthinkitfavorsoneperspective?Explainyour answer.
- WhatkindsofevidencedoesRipley,theauthorofthearticle,use togetacrossthekeyideasandissuesassociatedwiththe compensationof9/11 victims andtheirfamilies?Areanyspecific typesofevidencemorecompellingtoyouas a reader?Less compelling?
- Compare how this article uses both logic and emotion to makeanimpact onthereader?
- Now comparetheway logicandemotionsareused in this article against byShakespeare and Ebert.