The Lives of a Cell by Lewis Thomas

The Lives of a Cell, by American physician and essayist Lewis Thomas, is an informational and clarifying piece of work that explains the interdependence of living things. Lewis Thomas is known most for his contributions to biology through countless essays and writings that educate and allow for readers to understand difficult scientific theories, such as the topic covered in this essay. Beginning on page 358, Thomas writes about the vast yet simple Planet Earth, and starts by describing the individual importance of a cell and all of its miniature components. He emphasizes the fact that each organelle within a cell has its own purpose and role, and that they depend on each other in order to function properly as a whole.

Thomas also relates the importance of cells in humans to their equally significant role in plants. Using personification he covers the theory of evolution and how viruses in all living objects, “from plant to insect to mammal to me and back again” are “passing around heredity as though at a great party” (360). Towards the end of the essay Thomas struggles to figure out exactly what our planet is most like. He presents this question to the audience in a form of a hypophora and later comes to the mind-blowing realization that the Earth is just like one single, simple cell. Every little mechanism and element on the Earth helps contribute to its enormity and complexity.
            By comparing the intricate idea of Earth to a minuscule cell, Thomas is able to achieve the purpose of educating his audience. He provides a way for them to easily wrap their minds around a challenging subject and increase their understanding of the world. It is incredibly important to obtain as much knowledge on life as possible, and with the help of expert scientists like Lewis Thomas readers have the ability to gain this priceless information.

This picture represents how the Earth is just like one big cell. 

(http://magazine.jhsph.edu/2007/Spring/features/dna/)