“Once more into the fray
Into the last fight I’ll ever know
Live or die on this day
Live or die on this day”
Today, I watched a movie today called “The Grey”. The poem above was a huge part of the movie that I honestly didn’t understand until the very end.
The movie, starring Liam Neeson, started with his and his coworkers plane crashing in freezing, cold Alaska. If that wasn’t bad enough, the men come under attack by vicious wolves who begin to pick them off one by one. The group of men came to many tough choices of whether to leave the wreckage to find help or to stay and possibly be attacked and killed by the wolves while waiting to be found.
The argument throughout the whole movie was whether or not to take chances. And believe it or not, the poem brought about the idea that life can’t be lived without taking chances. I definitely believe that life isn’t worth living without taking chances. You will always wonder, “what if?” I know people may say that some chances shouldn’t be taken because of consequences, like how they did in the movie, but either way in the end they die.
So live or die. It’s all about the way you choose to do so. If you choose to live, make the choices that will allow you to live life to the fullest and make the most of it. And if you die or choose to die, choose to die in a way that was worth the fight.
Carolyn Graham 
I agree that life should not be lived without taking risks! But, the whole idea of a predestined life to me, seems to depends on one’s values of worship. I think that is a matter of faith rather than a rational belief. The choices that we do make are of course elements that affect our lives. We can choose to go to school or not, and ultimately it affects our choices of choosing to apply at the top lawfirm or McDonalds! Choices matter!!
I do think that choices influence your future. Sometimes you have to take some big chances in order to be successful; that’s just a part of life. The whole predestination thing on the other hand is more based on how you worship and your ideologies.
Hello, Carolyn!
I saw this movie in the theater, and I really liked it! However, the end made me crazy because it ended like an independent film! I really wanted to know what happened, but I imagine that he survived.
Now on to your analysis. You say that the argument “was whether or not to take chances.” Would you say then that the argument of the movie is that people SHOULD take chances? Or ultimately, would you say that the film argues that you shouldn’t take chances?
Also, what are the rhetorical strategies that are used in the film to persuade the audience that the argument is valid? There is an appeal to pathos in the movie as he struggles with his survival, right? What else do you see at work in the film?
Carolyn, I appreciate your ideas on the film and how it affected you. Well done!