Literature occupies an important place in our society, as it is a source of inspiration, entertainment and knowledge. However, it can also give us a new perspective and teach us lessons we have never been exposed to before. After reading the book Moon of the Crusted Snow I learned that altruism is an important guiding principle for the functioning of our society. Many of us, including myself, consider it the basis of our existence. Altruism has the ability to eliminate suffering, improve the lives of others, and create an environment where everyone has the power to thrive. To a large extent, literature teaches us the necessity and benefits of altruism in our day and age. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay In the book Moon of the Crusted Snow we see many examples of selflessness demonstrated by the protagonist, Evan Whitesky. Living on a First Nations reserve in the north, when their community loses power and communication with the outside world, Evan steps in to help his community. Evan helped his community by volunteering his time to distribute rations, clear snow-covered streets, and care for the elderly in their homes. Evan's selfless acts lead to the survival of his family and community. His dedicated community service helped others overcome difficult situations. His actions demonstrated the need for selflessness because without it his community would not have survived. During the discussion, some group members said that altruism hurts the community rather than helps it. They highlighted the decision made by the community leader, Terry, to allow an outsider, Scott, into the community. Scott was a selfish person who exploited community members for his own personal survival. He threatened them with weapons so that they would follow his orders; this made me wonder if altruism had more positive than negative impacts on the Evans community. The community managed to survive with Scott. However, they would not have been able to survive without Evan's selflessness. In this case, altruism was necessary for the community to survive and without it it would be worse off. During my preparation for the novel discussion, for Moon of the Crusted Snow, I reflected on how the author demonstrates the necessity of altruism for a society to succeed. The author writes, "Their ancestors were displaced from their original homeland in the South and the whites who forced them here never intended for them to survive." The author shows that the First Nations community, which has altruism rooted in its culture, managed to survive, while the rest of society, rooted in selfishness, collapsed. This symbolism continues in the lives of the characters. Scott, who came from the city, was a selfish and unselfish person, while Evan, who lived on the reservation, was an altruistic person. At the end of the novel, we see that Scott died because of his selfishness while Evan lived because of selflessness. The author demonstrated the necessity of altruism for the community to function. If everyone only thought about themselves they wouldn't have survived. The essay, written by David Suzuki, titled “The monster that threatens the Earth is us” showed the true need for altruism if humanity is to survive in the future. His essay brought to light the issue of climate change and how we must help fight it. In the essay David Suzuki writes: “we are fighting to keep the planet livable for our children”. The actions we take now, to help the planet, will all be acts of.