jack
As Koskoosh sits alone by the fire, he is transported to an event in his youth where he observes an old moose stalked, worn down, and killed by a pack of wolves. The moose is aged and slow; he has been left behind by the herd. Still, the moose struggles valiantly to escape his killers. Although no longer youthful and spry, the beast values what he has left and wants to continue on. Koskoosh is left behind in a similar fashion by his tribe. As he ponders his past and hedges away his unpromising future, death beckons. "the familiar, long-drawn howl broke the void, and it was close at hand." The fate of the old moose reflects his own fate as Koskoosh tries unsuccessfully to fight the pack, recogn
Dumped in nursing homes, rehab or VA hospitals, or sometimes their own homes, they wait by the phone, hoping for the visit, the attention-longing for the bone. Is our way of dealing with our elderly more humane than the way of Koskoosh's tribe? Not necessarily. I believe that people should take better care of themselves, plan ahead, save money and make arrangements for that day in the future when they can no longer care for themselves. They may calculate dispassionately the value in dollars and cents of the elderly one's estate, and bemoan the dwindling total as the years drag on. "Was it not the law of life?" As people age in our culture, they frequently become more weak and dependent, less able to produce and are less valued, less respected. Offspring may argue over who will shoulder the burden of the hapless elder. Whether a loaded gun is set aside or reserved space in an assisted living facility would depend on the individual's finances and how digilently they have prepared for the inevitable. I really don't think things have changed so much since the abandonment of elderly Koskoosh Jack London writes about in this essay, "The Law of Life. They may be looked upon as burdens. izes the futility of resistance and surrenders to the inevitable. " Old Americans are routinely abandoned in varied institutions, devalued as their ability to produce and remain independent disappears.
Common topics in this essay:
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Life Americans,
Jack London,
law life,
care themselves,
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Acceptance Essays
