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Mrs. Tatum
17 December 2019
Argument Essay
siblings or classmates, the effect it has on an individual is evident. However, the idea of
competition and pitting people against one another can be a controversial topic with a variety of
opinions. Alfie Kohn, a critic of competition, argues that the environment that is created by
competition is inevitably unhealthy and toxic, but I believe that under the right conditions,
For some, competition can encourage and ignite a desire to become better at something
and perfect their craft. In classes at my school such as AP English Language and Spanish there
are many intelligent and gifted students. While this could give me an opportunity to sulk and
complain, this in fact has the opposite effect. During this semester I have worked hard to
improve my grades and skills by using the successes of my classmates to encourage and push me
forward. This effect of competition helps form students into hard-working individuals and they
learn that not everything in life comes easy. Through the use of healthy competition, this can
give the opportunity for everyone to improve. While Kohn may argue that while one succeeds
another has to fail, this could not be further from the truth. Similar to my classes, just because
one student does well, does not mean that the rest of the students can not put forth more effort to
people. In the book, the Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan, the mothers place unhealthy amounts of
pressure on their daughters and would often pit them against each other. However, this is a case
where the line needs to be drawn between healthy and unhealthy competition. When under stable
and good conditions some may be able to thrive with healthy competition. But it can be easy to
go overboard and get caught up in trying to better than everybody. In order for competition to
remain healthy it is important to remember that competition is not simply about being the best,
Although it may seem brutal, competition is just another part of life that people can use to
their advantage. It is easy to get caught up in the toxic side of competition; however, if people
use this as an opportunity to improve and focus on their development and growth, then