Crow Lake and Proof Comparative Essay

Self Sacrifice In Its Finest Forms Self-sacrifice is something that one witnesses everyday, be it through the media, literature, or in ones own life. A prime example of selflessness is recognized in the novel series The Hunger Games written by Suzanne Collins. The Hunger Games is an event where one boy and one girl from each district are chosen to fight to death for their survival. When the protagonist Katniss’ little sister is chosen to be district twelve’s representative, Katniss doesn’t have a second thought when she volunteers herself to take her sister’s place. Katniss knows that she will most likely die, but by sacrificing herself to protect her sister she is demonstrating the strongest example of altruism. The action of self-sacrifice is usually motivated by the hardship one observes in their own surroundings and is viewed by others as a courageous act. In the novels Crow Lake by Mary Lawson and Proof by David Auburn, self-sacrifice is the main theme of the plot. Luke from Crow Lake and Catherine from Proof both show exemplary actions related to this topic, as both give up considerable amounts to provide for their family, including their education as well as their social lives. Luke looks after his siblings to provide a better future for them while Catherine takes care of her father to provide a comfortable end. When the time came for both Luke and Catherine to choose whether or not to move forward with their lives or make that hard decision to give up everything to care for the ones they love, both decide that their family was more important. Both give up education as well as their social lives even though they have the option to continue their lives and not take on this huge responsibility. Luke Morrison, the eldest child, makes the decision to give up teacher’s college to keep his family together, “I’ m not going to teacher’s college. I’m staying here. The four of us are staying here. We’ll have the money I would have used to go to college”