Compare and Contrast Essay
Johnson 1
Sheena Johnson
Professor L. Johnson
English 111/Paper#3
10 November 2011
The Relation Between Men’s Lifestyle’s and Longevity
Natalie Angier is the author of the essay I chose from The McGraw – Hill Reader. She graduated in 1978 from Barnard College, and then went on to work as a magazine staff writer for Discover and Time. In 1990 Angier became a writer for The New York Times. A year later she won a Pulitzer Prize for her work as a Times science correspondent. She also received the Lewis Thomas Award and was one of seven journalists to receive four stars in the Forbes Media Guide. In this essay, “Why Men Don’t Last: Self – Destruction as a Way of Life,” Angier considers the differences between men and women as it relates to the marked difference in life expectancy between the genders. It was first published in 1999 in The New York Times. Angier starts the essay by comparing her father’s habits to other men’s. He was very physically fit and active, ate healthy, and took good care of his personal hygiene. It seemed that on the outside he had everything together, but on the inside he was miserable. He was constantly angry and used violence to release his aggression. He didn’t believe in going to a doctor, and eventually died at 51 from a cancer that could have easily been cured. The author suggests that most men are this same way. Men in general exercise more and take better care of their health than women do. They are less likely to be obese and have less than half the depression rate as seen in women. Women are much more likely than men to express suicidal thoughts or to attempt suicide. But despite these facts, men die much faster than women do and their average life span is seven years shorter. And although women attempt suicide more often, men in the U.S. die four times more from the act every year. Whether it is a need to feel masculine or show off, men exhibit more reckless and self – destructive behavior. As a
Sheena Johnson
Professor L. Johnson
English 111/Paper#3
10 November 2011
The Relation Between Men’s Lifestyle’s and Longevity
Natalie Angier is the author of the essay I chose from The McGraw – Hill Reader. She graduated in 1978 from Barnard College, and then went on to work as a magazine staff writer for Discover and Time. In 1990 Angier became a writer for The New York Times. A year later she won a Pulitzer Prize for her work as a Times science correspondent. She also received the Lewis Thomas Award and was one of seven journalists to receive four stars in the Forbes Media Guide. In this essay, “Why Men Don’t Last: Self – Destruction as a Way of Life,” Angier considers the differences between men and women as it relates to the marked difference in life expectancy between the genders. It was first published in 1999 in The New York Times. Angier starts the essay by comparing her father’s habits to other men’s. He was very physically fit and active, ate healthy, and took good care of his personal hygiene. It seemed that on the outside he had everything together, but on the inside he was miserable. He was constantly angry and used violence to release his aggression. He didn’t believe in going to a doctor, and eventually died at 51 from a cancer that could have easily been cured. The author suggests that most men are this same way. Men in general exercise more and take better care of their health than women do. They are less likely to be obese and have less than half the depression rate as seen in women. Women are much more likely than men to express suicidal thoughts or to attempt suicide. But despite these facts, men die much faster than women do and their average life span is seven years shorter. And although women attempt suicide more often, men in the U.S. die four times more from the act every year. Whether it is a need to feel masculine or show off, men exhibit more reckless and self – destructive behavior. As a