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Winston Churchill
"If you cannot read all of your books, at any rate handle, or as it were fondle them—peer into them, let them fall open where they will, read from the first sentence that arrests the eye, set them back on the shelves with your own hands, arrange them on your own plan so that you at least know where they are. Let them be your friends; let them at any rate be your acquaintance.”
In my opinion, Barton’s actions were justifiable. I think this because he had the choice of letting the girl live and end up with him dying, along with her and the 6 people he was taking the vaccination to, or essentially murdering her and in the end he would live, along with the 6 people that were sick. However, he did try to find a way to let her live without killing himself and the six other people. He called his boss and explained the situation, and was told that there was nothing they could do, so he had to follow what was told to him by his boss. He did try to make her dying a little bit easier for her by letting her write the letters to her brother and parents, and for letting her call her brother to tell him what would happen and what she did.
ReplyDeleteI do think that this was murder, because it is wrong legally and morally to kill someone, whether you are told to or not.
In my opinion Barton’s actions were not only justifiable but logical. In this situation he had no other choice but to accept the inevitable and go though with killing the girl. If he had not done so, he would have died along with the girl and the six people he was bringing medicine to. He did the right thing by trying his best to save her life by trying to save fuel and calling his boss to see if there was anything at all he could do. When he found out that was impossible, he prolong the deed as long as possible to help the girl.
ReplyDeleteIn this situation, I do not believe that his act can be considered murder. If he had not pulled the trigger for Marilyn’s death, she would have had only moments to live anyway. I believe that it is also not murder because Marilyn came to terms with her death and then realized her death had to come.
Clara*
In my opinion, Barton's actions were justifiable but also reasonable for this situation. For example, Barton only had one mission and that was to deliver the serum to Group One on Woden. Although Marilyn was a stowaway Barton still felt sympathy for the young girl, but when he thought about it he couldn't risk the life of six others as well as his own. Even though Barton knew there was nothing he could do he still made attempts to save Marilyn's life. Barton did carry out with a good deed though; he let Marilyn write letters to her parents and brother, Gerry. And also let her talk on the communicator to Gerry before her time was up.
ReplyDeleteIn this position, I believe the acts that Barton took cannot be considered murder. For example he let Marilyn fulfill her wishes and let her speak one last time to her family. The acts Marilyn chose resulted in her own death. Barton did no wrong; he was essentially saving the lives of six others including his own.
-Melissa
Dustie-
ReplyDeleteI do agree with your oppinion on how Barton’s actions were justifiable, do to the fact that he had no choice but to let her die one way or another. If he had not sent her into space then she along with six men and himself would have died. However, I do disagree with the fact that you said he had “murdered” her. It may be morally wrong to kill someone in someone else’s eyes, but it was not illegal to kill her. In fact in the fronteer of space, it is the law that he actually saw though with killing her and did not let her live. I do see your point, and agree that it is in general wrong to kill someone but in this circomstance he had no choice, and therefore I belive he can be excused.
Clara*
Clara,
ReplyDeleteI strongly agree with you. The actions Marilyn took resulted in her own death. She was the one who decided to stowaway, without knowing the consequences. Barton was only left with two choices; killing eight people, or one. Even though the way Barton went seems inhumane, he was following though with his mission, and that was to deliver the serum to Group One on Woden. If Barton had let the girl stay on board eight people would have died instead of just one.
-Melissa
In my opinion I agree with the fact that Barton's actions were justifiable. Barton was in a tough situation that he had to solve on his own. The biggest decision that Barton had to overcome was killing the young girl. His two choices were either killing Marilyn or sacraficing his and six other people's lives while in the process or delivering serum to Woden. Although this was a tough decision Barton managed to overcome the situation. I don't think that Barton's actions can be considered murder; simply because of the fact that if he had let Marilyn stay on the ship he was risking his and six other people's lives. Therefore, his decision to kill Marilyn was not considered murder due to the facts.
ReplyDeleteBreann :)
Melissa,
ReplyDeleteI understand where you are getting with the fact that Barton had six others to take care of instead of Marilyn. It was Marilyn's choice to stowaway on the ship and she had to pay the price one way or another. I am all the way with you on the fact that Barton's choice was not considered murder because his mission was to save the lives of six others before saving the life of a young girl that he had just met. Barton was only doing the right thing by staying dedicated to the mission that was set for him. I mean really, save the girl? or save yourself and six other people? Like you said if Marilyn would of stayed on the ship eight people would of died altogether.
Bree :)
I think that Barton’s decisions were justifiable because it was either kill the girl and save his life plus six other people or kill eight people. It’s like the saying, “kill one save a thousand.” When he had to make the choice of killing the little I think that it would be considered murder but in a way that he had to do it, I think that if he didn’t have to kill her then he wouldn’t of done it. He tried to make her dying by letting her write letters to her family and by letting her talk to her brother. He even tried to talk his boss/commander to let him let the girl live, but he wouldn’t allow it. The girl had messed up the balance of the ship by adding her weight onto the ship that is another reason that the captain had him get rid of her, but by letting her go the ship will be back into balance and Barton and the six other people will live but Marilyn will not live, therefore he will save more people than having eight people die.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion that Barton killing Marilyn is a form of murder but she did not know what exactly that sign meant on the door. If the sign said, “Enter and you will die” then that would have explained it a lot better and then she would have realized that she might have not gone onto the EDS, then Barton wouldn’t of been put into the position to make the choice to kill the little girl.
Breann,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you completely because, if Barton would of kept the little girl alive the he would of killed him, Marilyn and the six other people. I think he made the right decision by “letting her go” to be able to deliver the serum to Woden. When he did “murder” her he saved the lives of seven people instead of killing eight people. Even after he called his boss to see if there was anything they could have done. Legally that is considered murder but it was kind of her fault.
Alora*
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI believe that Barton did the right thing because it was only his purpose to bring a serum to Woden to save the lives of the six workers, and it was not of his knowledge at the time that there was a stowaway on the ship. He did try to do everything to save her life such as contacting the Stardust, but under the Space Laws, she had to be ejected regardless of gender. Although she was a civilian of Earth and she might not of clearly understood what the sign stated there was no factor that gave her a reason to enter an area that is restricted to unauthorized personnel. I do not think that Barton should be considered a murderer because he was just following the space laws that were set beforehand, plus he had no choice but to do it to save other people’s lives that were the whole reason that the ship was sent out in the first place. If he had kept Marilyn on the ship, he would have caused more death than necessary. (Eight instead of one.) I believe that it was Marilyn’s fault because she disobeyed a sign that clearly said “no unauthorized personnel” so she is the only one to blame because she disobeyed the ships rules and the repercussion was the loss of her life, which was stated in the space laws. Even though she didn’t know what she was getting her self into, the laws had to be followed with some leeway for human emotions, which gave Marilyn some extra time to live before she had to be ejected into the deep cold void of space.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteBy analyzing all of the information Barton’s actions were most definitely justifiable. They may not have been the most accepted actions by others but were required. As Barton had said many times throughout the story it was either sacrifice, lack thereof a better word, one life to save several, or end many lives as a result of trying to save one. Barton only had enough fuel to get him to point A safely by calculating his weight the cargo and the distance, any more weight and the fuel supplies would be depleted before he reached his destination. That is where the space frontier codes come in, any pilot of an EDS had to eject any stow away on board, no matter who. Also if the girl was hired to work on the space frontier she should have been informed or taught about all of the rules or laws just like if you were to move to another country. She did not know how things worked and what the re-precaution would be for that action.
ReplyDeleteBarton’s actions could be justified as murder on earth, yet according to the space frontier it is just a regulation. The concept of ejecting a single person into space can be considered murder but in this case the girl had done this willingly. The death of one person means very little if anything to them. Also she did not follow the regulations and had to face the consequences. This concept can be related to the times back in the 21st century when the laws of different countries on this subject would respond differently.
Donny,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. Barton didn't need to deal with all that extra baggage. He only had the one purpose which he was doing well until the girl came into the equation. I also agree that Barton just had to follow through with protocol. Now you are right on the money when you are talking about Barton’s actions not being considered murder. If Mary hadn’t snuck on board of the EDS none of this would have became this long depressing ordeal.
In my opinion, Barton’s actions are justifiable in the short story Cold Equations. For one, he had only two options: kill one girl, or let everyone that he was trying to help be blown up including himself and the girl. A physical law of space stated: h amount of fuel will not power an EDS with a mass of m plus x safely to its destination. The girl was x. He had no idea that he would have to face a young, ignorant youth who only wanted to see her brother. Also, The strict laws of space that he followed did not allow for any missteps – if you took a misstep you died, plain and simple.
ReplyDeleteFollowing my previous line of thought, I believe Barton’s last action was not murder. One example is he did not act in cold blood. Barton did everything in his power to help the young girl; he waited until the very last moment to toss the girl out into space, he helped the girl talk with her brother, and he allowed her to write her family letters. Another reason his action was not murder is because he was subject to the brutal laws of space, as was the girl, and everyone else in their path. On earth, people must either kill or do another great crime to deserve death, but in space the laws are much more strict. He did not murder the young girl, he merely carried out the inevitable punishment that the girl had set by taking that first step onto the EDS.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteCody,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you entirely. I'm glad you brought up the point that it shouldn't be murder because she was a willing participant in the ejection. This fact I think adds and unseen element into even the earths laws. Sacrafice basicly. But the main point is that they weren't going by Earth's Laws, they were going by the Space laws, which are entirely different in basicly every way. Also, there would have not been this problem if she haden't of snuck on the EDS anyway.
I think that the actions Barton took in "Cold Equations" are justifiable. He only had two options: kill the girl, or kill eight people (himself being one of them). I believe he made the right decision only killing the little girl because he had a mission of delivering medicine to six other people. If he would have let her stay on the ship, many lives would have been taken away. I feel that his actions could be considered murder but they could also not be. The law of the space says any stowaways must get off the ship at once. Marilyn saw the sign before even entering the ship, she knew it was wrong. Then again, laws on earth are different from the ones in space. What Barton did would be considered murder, so it could go either way.
ReplyDeleteBreann,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you completely. Barton had to make an extremely difficult decision and he handled the situation very well. Taking the life of the one young girl saved many others.
I also agree that his actions can not be considered murder due to the fact that she read the sign and knew there would be consequences if she got caught. It was there plain and simple on the sign.
Alora,
ReplyDeleteI think you are right in the fact that Barton's decision was justifiable. However, I do not think that what he did was murder. For one, Barton had no choice but to send the girl to her death. If the girl had been allowed to live it would definitely have been murder. I believe this because not only would many lives be taken unnecessarily, but also not all the victims would have been able to come to grips with their deaths. As I stated in my previous answer: He did not murder the young girl, he merely carried out the inevitable punishment that the girl had set by taking that first step onto the EDS.
I do believe that Barton did the right thing when he shot the little girl into deep space. First off she should have know that what she was doing would have led to her death. Next thing is if he let her stay on board the ship wouldn't have enough fuel to make it there in back which would cause it to crash and damage the precious cargo that will be used to save six mens lives. So in this case if they crash it will cause the end of 8 lives which include his, hers, and the six other men. This is why he decided to only end one persons life other than 8.
ReplyDeleteI also think that it would not be considered murder because first thing she was a stowaway and he was under commands to kill all stowaways no matter the situation. It would also not be considered murder because she was willing to sacrifice her life in order to save others, and they are also in no mans land of space where there are no laws against murder. Plus he did not eject her immediately into space he allowed her to speak with her brother and then he waited till the very last minute to eject her. When he went through with this action he felt horrible about what he had done even though he did everything in his power to keep her alive.
Clara,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you in this situation because when you think about it, he never killed Marilyn, it was the conditions of space that did even though he is the one that ejected her, and she did come to terms with her death and accept it in order so that 7 other men could live and see their families again. Plus she would have only a few moments to live if she stayed on because eventually the EDS ship would have crashed and killed her, Barton, and the six other men.
*Chris*
I believe that Barton’s actions were perfectly accurate in the order of the law. Meaning that they are in space, in the frontier of space, and the EDS ships only carry enough fuel for the pilot and the cargo that the EDS was carrying. The law of the frontier, being that it is different from earth is, there is no jail time and no fine for stowing away on an EDS. If caught on an EDS you shall be sent to death, plain and simple. Marilyne may have not known the law but you can’t do anything about it because of limited time and fuel. The frontier laws are the only laws of the frontier and the one important one is stowing away on an EDS, and punishment was death. Barton couldn’t have murdered her because she broke the laws; she still didn’t know the law of the frontier but that’s tough luck. If you take this conversation to a human standpoint on earth then they would consider her to be murdered by Barton; and the punishment would probably be death row or any form of punishent lower than death row.
ReplyDeleteMy opinion in the story Cold Equations. He had to decide over kill one or eight. I think it was not murder because he did not kill her on porpoise. He did it for her good because she was going die in the long run. If he did not kill her he would have died and would have killed the people he was taking medicine to because they were sick. This girl was not the person he was to take care of he had to take care of six other people. Barton did the right thing because he saved lives in the long run
ReplyDeleteFarmer
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you because that was the law. But if it was on earth he would have been to jail or even death. Yeah she didn’t know the law but I would think she would have seen the sign telling her not to enter. If you think about it she would have had to seen the sign because she tried to hide from him.
I believe that, Barton’s action were justifiable because he had the opportunity of saving eight peoples lives were more important that one person. Even though she wasn’t suppose to be on that EDS, she sighed up for her own death by accidentally jumping on. I felt that it wasn’t Barton’s fault because of the girl jumping on. I also believe that Barton’s decisions were not murder because he saved the lives of eight other people. But if they were on earth the story would have ended differently. It would have been murder for both because in space there was no understanding effecting the punishment of Barton because they feel that its like enter at your own risk. So the moral of it is that I do believe that Barton’s actions were justifiable and it wasn’t murder.
ReplyDeletejace
ReplyDeleteI agree with your apion because of the kill one save eight option. Also the she axadentaly got on the EDS. If he would have let her live then the other eight people would have died.
barton's actions were justifiable because like he said if he was to let her stay on the EDS both of them and all of the five or six people on the planet would have died. the guys on the planet would have died because they wouldnt have gotten the sirum and the EDS would have crashed because the gas supply would have depleted and crashed. his final aaction would not have been considered murder because he was saving the guys on the planet and himself, had he let the girl stay on the EDS she would have murdered all of the people on the planet and herself and barton because she would have been selfish an took all of their lives because she didnt think of her actions and the consequences of her actions. so everything barton did was justifiable
ReplyDeleteWeston said,
ReplyDeleteI believe the actions that Barton made in the story of “Cold Equations” can be justifiable. He has to decisions: kill everyone on the ship, or kill one little girl. His decision was to kill the little and I agree with him. If he didn’t get rid of her, there would have been 8 deaths instead of one. From the United States, what Barton did could have been murder. But the fact that he was not in the United States, but instead space, I believe it was not considered murder. Marilyn knew the consequence when she entered the ship. So it depends on what laws they are going to overtake for punishment for her action.
Weston said,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Alisa because, one death is better then several people dying. I also like how you said that what he did could be considered murder, but also could be following the law.
I think that Barton’s actions were justifiable if the girl was not hiding on the ship in the first place she would have never died. But she was there wasn’t much the Barton could do he called the captain and they couldn’t do nothing he tried everything he could possibly do with out killing the others, but in the end he had to let her go, so I think he did the right thing to save the rest. Also I would say that what he did was murder because he basically much killed her from cutting the fuel off to her which eventually cost to death, but from one death saves seven lives.
ReplyDeleteweston,
ReplyDeletei think that what weston said about the murder was very Reasonable and logical. so i think that he backed it up well.
Hayden Fleming
ReplyDeleteAfter I read the story “Cold Equations” I found that Barton’s action towards saving 8 sickly people was a better choice then killing everyone. Marylyn snuck on the ship, instead of killing all 10 people. Barton made the decision to make the 18 year old girl that snuck on, to die. Barton’s job as the driver of the ship was to deliver serum to sickly people. He made the right choice to do his job and save 8 people, then make everyone die.