Atul Gawande: Crimson Tide

[Skip Breadcrumb Navigation]

Home

Student Resources

Possibilities for Writing

This activity contains 3 questions.

Why does Gawande mention the example of burn patients in the course of this essay? Why does he include the brief story of how he felt when wearing mirrored sunglasses? What other examples of blushing, besides that of Christine Drury, does Gawande include? What do those examples contribute to her story and to the essay overall?

To create paragraphs in your essay response, type at the beginning of the paragraph, and at the end.

Explain Gawande’s comment that a blush “is at once physiology and psychology.” You may wish to look at his final paragraph and at Drury’s remark that “surgery isn’t the end of it.” What implications for human identity do these comments bear?

To create paragraphs in your essay response, type at the beginning of the paragraph, and at the end.

Choose another human response (laughing, crying, becoming nauseous, feeling pain, for example) that can be considered from both physical and psychological perspectives. Do some research on both aspects, and also consider your own experience, observations, and reading. Then write an essay in which you explain your thinking about the subject.

To create paragraphs in your essay response, type at the beginning of the paragraph, and at the end.

The Submit Answers for Grading feature requires scripting to function. Your browser either does not support scripting or you have turned scripting off.

So, the Submit Answers for Grading button below will not work.

The following Submit Answers for Grading button is provided in its place and will clear your answers:
The Clear Answers and Start Over feature requires scripting to function. Your browser either does not support scripting or you have turned scripting off.

So, the Clear Answers and Start Over button below will not work.

The following Clear Answers button is provided in its place and will clear your answers: