EXAMPLE OPENING PARAGRAPH FOR PROMPT ONE
Most people would agree that their lives have value; however, when we take a close look at the value of a human life, we realize that several different factors come into play. Life is what we know, and knowledge is value. Life offers tasks we can do to make ourselves and others happy. In life we have loved ones who help us see our lives as being valuable. Also, when we devote ourselves to the protection and care of others, we see a purpose to our lives, giving it another kind of value. Furthermore, we can’t ignore the dollar value of a human life, calculated when we want to know how much money a person earns and how much is needed to keep the person’s dependents maintaining a standard of living upon the breadwinner’s death. Finally, sometimes just seeing something that is beautiful is enough to show us life’s value. Because circumstances and perspectives change throughout one’s life, and because people are different and have different values, assigning value to life involves more than just numbers.
There may be times that people question the value of life, even to the point of seeing no value in it at all. For example, in Hamlet’s soliloquy he tells himself that his fear of death is the only reason he doesn’t end his life. Life’s only value to him at this moment is that he knows its certainty, and he does not know what will come to him once life is over. Hamlet feels as if he has no one or no reason to live for, so he thinks his life is worthless. On the other hand, Roger Ebert who, like Hamlet, has had very challenging experiences that many would consider horrible, is able to see other things that make life worth living. True, Ebert does not have the pressure Hamlet has to avenge his father’s death, and Ebert is an older man who has had many years to develop a more mature outlook on life. Hamlet’s youth and the pressure put upon him by his father’s ghost might excuse him for having suicidal thoughts, and therefore the comparison between him and Ebert may not be a fair one.
Roger Ebert valued his life so much for a couple of reasons: his work in life being a movie critic not only paid the bills, but was something he truly loved to do; he also loved his wife and she loved him, and having this person made him value his life even more. After he was diagnosed with cancer, his life changed dramatically. Nevertheless, this did not stop him from enjoying and valuing his life. After losing his voice he found a way to continue to do what he loved and share his movie reviews. He started a blog so his fans could read his reviews, since he could no longer be on television. Furthermore, he also wrote about many other topics, such as his struggles living with cancer, his general outlook on life, and even one of his other passions, cooking. The cancer required several operations that ultimately led to the loss of much of his face and a drastic change in his appearance after reconstructive surgery. His beloved wife Chaz was with him and provided support throughout this hardship, and in Chris Jones’s interview Ebert makes it clear how much he loved her for it. This relationship shows how much value to our lives our loved ones bring.
Another example of how relationships bring value to our lives can be found in the story of William Jones and his adopted son Aaron.