The story of the Donner party is a story filled with courageous people who faced many hardships in a struggle to survive. They were intrepid to a point, but they were also very foolish in some aspects of their existence. The fact that they were inexperienced when it came to travel and the great out doors is the best example of their foolishness. Why would anyone venture out in the wilderness with very little knowledge of how to survive in the cold? They left at a very bad time of the year as well. They lost a lot of their supplies when their animals weren't properly secured and they ran away. They had no sense of tracking so they couldn't track down their lost animals to retrieve their lost goods. For anyone to survive in the severe weather conditions as well as facing starvation and malnutrition they must be fearless. To put themselves in that situation as well as some of the other things they did were very stupid. The Donner story is used in almost every story about the journey people traveled trying to get to the west. To resort to cannibalism for survival is by far the worst thing anyone could ever do. To actually defile the sacredness of someone's dead body is just so horrible to think about. To cut off pieces of their body and chew on the meat of your fallen comrades is just too disgusting to imagine. The fact that someone could be able to do it is by far the worst act anyone could ever commit to a deceased loved one. I would rather of learned about how they all died from starvation and from the harsh weather conditions instead of having learned about how they mutilated their loved ones and feasted on their limbs. How could you live on knowing that the only thing that kept you alive was the flesh of loved ones? How can you look into the mirror in the morning to see your face knowing that the only reason you owe your existence to is the deceased loved ones you defiled and ate.