Importance of Rugby Team Story - Essay Example

The main conception of thought from this tragic event was, ‘What would anyone do if they found themselves in a similar situation?’ Personally, I ask myself, ‘What would I have done?’ The following literature will continue forward in the way of a personal reflection on how I personally would have perceived my situation and what I might have done. 

Rugby Team Story

I’ve been very familiar with this true story for years and in fact, I’ve read the book and watched the movie that came out in 1993. I must say, reading and contemplating on it yet again gives me the chills because it was such a graphic and gory situation which makes it all the scarier. It would have to have been a very traumatic and horrific type of experience to go through and one that would never be forgettable, not to me personally anyway. I believe I would have spent night after night after being rescued with delirious dreams and in those dreams, I would have been probably trapped in the Andes yet again. I personally feel that if I had been among the survivors my mentality would not have been very different from their own. Human beings are endowed with a natural instinct of survival no matter the environmental or psychological factors involved. I do believe that when it would have come down to the issue of eating other human beings for survival, I would have at first been hesitant to do so.

This isn’t simply because of the moral dilemma but rather the fear of how it would have psychologically affected me. Also, the mere thought of eating raw, human meat (frozen or not) just brings about a gagging reflex which I’m sure I would have experienced. I don’t even know if I could have kept the food down, especially if the dead bodies would have been not far from me, and to know who I was eating. It is really appalling to have to think about but it is understandable that it had to be done. In the end, I believe I would have done whatever was necessary to guarantee my own survival, just as anyone would have.

That would have been my motivation, to stay alive just so I could hopefully see my loved ones again. I do believe that probably would have been my main focus of thought instead of dwelling on all the negative aspects of the situation. The truth is, no one wants to die and if you can do something to sustain yourself you’re going to do it, even before considering the consequences of your actions afterwards. I do know I would have done all I could have for others that were injured, even if that would have meant simply holding someone’s hand or if I would have had to lie in order to keep them more calm and comfortable then I would have done so though I am not one prone to tell lies. I do believe there are times in our lives when a lie is far better than the truth and much more compassionate.

As far as going and searching for other bodies for food, I probably would not have necessarily been in search of food but rather searching for living survivors. My goal would have been to find them alive having resorted to the same means as the other survivors down by the plane had done. Sometimes a person is forced to improvise with things that they would not even normally consider to do. Since I have a fear of heights I do not believe I could have done the three-day climb, I probably would have fallen to my death so I would have stayed behind and held out hope that there was going to be a rescue. In the end, I would have tried my best to tidy up and prepare for being rescued just as those left by the plane did. I think the idea of covering up the other bodies would have entered my mind as well for no one would want anyone else to know the reason that they survived was due to eating dead human bodies, no matter how severe the circumstances. I do believe that I probably would have been traumatized for the rest of my life due to the accident. I don’t think I would have ever been able to move past it and have a completely normal life.

I truly don’t believe any of the survivors have ever forgotten the event nor some of them have adjusted correctly from the experience. It would take a long time in therapy for me personally to be able to find some way of readjusting to the world and finding a place to continue living. I do believe that the love the survivors have for one another and that their loved ones also give them is the strength that has guided them all these years. I think love would have been the only answer for me as well and it would have been the one thing that would have allowed me to continue with my sanity, though I know I would have been haunted by dreams forever. Love is a very powerful healing potion as I’m sure all of those who survived that crash in 1972 have come to realize. Read More