Value of Life

Value of Life Essay Is the glass half empty or half full? The age old question of whether you view life itself as predominantly negative or positive. In Hamlet's Soliloquy, written by Shakespeare, Hamlet questions whether suffering through life is worth the pride. In It's Not About the Bike, written by Lance Armstrong, his excitement for life is hard to miss. While Hamlet is correct in the fact that, yes, times can be painstakingly hard; Armstrong's point of view is one I would hope sticks to people the most.No matter your situation, there is always a brighter side to turn to. During Hamlet's Soliloquy, Hamlet argues with himself over whether or not life is worth living entirely. â€Å"To be or not to be- that is the question†(1). Hamlet is in a time of panic, where he is facing several devastating problems. In the moment, Hamlet has no high standard for how life will turn out eventually. â€Å"For in that sleep of death what dreams may come when we have shuffled off of this mortal coil†(11). Hamlet's conclusion is that the only thing worse than life itself is the unknown afterlife.In Lance Armstrong's novel, It's not About the Bike: My Journey back to life, Armstrong is not unwilling to share he is enthralled to be alive despite his hard comings. â€Å"The truth is Cancer was the best things that ever happened to me†(17). It is obvious that the troubles, no matter how big, won't keep Lance Armstrong down. Armstrong admits that he had â€Å"shameful episodes† he says â€Å"I had to ask myself, ‘If I live who is it I intend to be? â€Å"(15). Lance Armstrong's inspiration for living was that he was going to strive to be a better person when he got through his life-threatening illness.During my life, I've been faced with thousands upon thousands of issues to work against, just like the rest of the world's population. Personally, When reading Hamlet's soliloquy, I agreed with a few of his points. Thriving through life is â€Å" taking arms against the sea of troubles†(3). There will be life-threatening and not so life-threatening problems to deal with no matter your age, race, personality, attractiveness, or any other variable. The worst part about life is that problems will continue to come throughout your lifetime, asHamlet illustrates. However we as a people cannot simply give up on something we were born into merely because it gets difficult. Shakespeare's character, Hamlet, had such low of view of life that it was hard not be somewhat depressed while reading the short soliloquy. Yet, after reading Lance Armstrong's excerpt of It's Not About the Bike, the value of life was clear to be pretty high. The journey through life is literally going to be the hardest thing you ever do, but regardless of the troubles you have, it's also going to be the best thing you go through. Value of Life Vivionna Correa Mrs. Hansen English 12 25 September 2012 What Is a Human’s Life Worth? Think of the moments that you wanted to give up, what kept you going? Generation after generation, societies change as time goes on. Maybe not so much the society itself, but the people in it do. Many of us Americans have different opinions. The value of life now differs depending on the different kinds of experiences people go through. As awful as it sounds, our society has placed a dollar amount on life.However, society should determine value to a human life by the way that we have overcome obstacles, a human’s health, and by the personality trait that they have acquired. â€Å"The concept of assigning a price tag to a life has always made people intensely squeamish. After all, isn’t it degrading to presume that money can make a family whole again? † (Ripley 1). After the tragedies of September 11, 2002 the federal government started a federal fund to help the victims and families who has suffered a loss.Meaning that the government will pay for the loss of the death that a family has had to face. The government thinks that a person who makes more money, compared to one who does not but loves their job, will have more to offer meaning that they will be worth more. Many of us Americans have had to face numerous amounts of obstacles. The good thing is that no matter what mistake would occur in our life’s, it would be something that we would be able to learn from easily. Life should be valued by how someone has overcome an obstacle.There are many obstacles that people have had to face in their lifetime, for instance insecurities, people telling them what they can or cannot do, and even their own family or relationship problems that they have had to overcome. â€Å"I saw more beauty and triumph and truth, in a single day that I ever did in a bike race. † (Armstrong 3). Health will play an immense role in everyone’s life. Lance Arm strong survived a long battle with cancer, and after this he came out with a whole new outlook on life. This comes to show on how life can end very quickly no matter what the circumstances.It will take people a majority of time in order to realize this, until they have been in a near death experience in which we realize on how important it is to treat our bodies well and stay healthy. How does the government know if the person who has past away, has a true genuine personality? A human’s value should be based on what that person had done and is willing to do for others. Usually the upper class society has the stereotype of being snobby, while the lower class society has the stereotype of being generous towards other people.An example of this would be a volunteer who loves their job and helps organizations in order to help others, other than themselves. Rather than someone who needed to get paid in order to make money and highly dislike what they are doing. Without a story ther e would not be a meaning behind someone’s life. Everyone has come from a different background and a different story to tell. Society should assign value to a human’s life by how we have told the tale to others about the life that our loved ones have lived. They should not assign value by how much income they have made, how well known they are, nor how much longer they have to live.Every human being is worth something more to their close relationships that they have encountered with. Value should not mean money for people, it should mean the importance that they have made in the world and other people’s life’s, not just their own. Works cited Armstrong, Lance, with Sally Jenkins. Excerpt from It’s Not about the Bike: My Journey Back to Life. New York: Putnam, 20001-5 The Life and Health Insurance Foundation for Education. â€Å"The Human Life Value Calculator. † LIFE. http://www. lifeline. org/build/human_life_value_calculator/index. php? pt= lfhlvc&m=l Ripley, Amanda. â€Å"What Is a Life Worth? † Time 11 Feb. 2002: 22-27