Martinez_TIB_Ego

1. What is the gift (both physical and symbolic) at the heart of the essay by
Miles Goodwin? Why was it given to him? And how did it affect his own
thinking and behavior?
The gift was compassion. Goodwin was just coming home from being
a hero, and he showed humility by being sensitive to the girls
compassion. This does not make him any less of a hero, if anything it
shows he is a true hero. The girl gave him compassion simply
because that was what she was raised to do. Goodwin was struck
because throughout the whole war he had forgotten what
compassion felt like.
2. When Hanson says there is an old answer for every problem, what is he
referring to and how does it help him in his lifes journey?
Hes referring to the fact that our ancestors have all done important
decisions to get to where we are now. Those decisions have been based of
human instinct. Hanson is stating that he should trust his gut if he
wants to get through life and get where he wants to get in life.

2. How is Jillettes philosophy about God stopping him from being solipsistic? Do
you agree or disagree with his thinking and why?
I agree with his statement, in order to be happy with ones self we
must make the world we live in as perfect as we can, because no
matter what we believe, we do not know if here is a god. My belief
for a god is very strong and I try to live everyday as morally correct
as I can.

3. Carl Sandburg tells us, I believe in humility, and then tells us a couple of
lines later, I believe in pride. How is this contradictory stance explained or
defended by the famous American poet? Or isnt it?
Hes contradicting himself because pride is one of the seven sins;
however, he isnt prideful of himself, hes prideful of what god has
created and of his freedom. I think theres no other way to explain to
explain this besides the way Sandburg did.
5. Write a 100 word summary of a current event or news item that connects to the
theme of Ego. Be sure to describe how the event or item supports the theme.
Currently the runner-up for governor in Wisconsin is Mary Burke. Mary
Burke was caught plagiarizing a speech she gave. When confronted she
didnt give a full answer. Mary had an ego in the sense that she strongly
believed her point of view, however, she didnt cite her sources and/or
change her speech using references. She was caught in the moment and
didnt realize what she was doing since she had such a strong belief of
what she was saying. That is when ego tends to take over, when we are
overly confident, and forget to get a sense of humility.