Influencing Change

Many literary works have been known to influence change throughout society, some for the better, and some for the worst.  An example of a piece of literary that has influenced change in society is the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird”.  This book was written by Harper Lee, published in 1960.  The novel “To Kill a Mockingbird is solely written around the issues rape and racial inequality.  I believe it helped influence change in society for many different reasons.  

One reason I believe this novel influenced change in society around the time it was published because a lot of people read it and were simply touched. How these two young characters, Jem and his little sister Scout, had such a heartwarming view on people of a different race.  Throughout the novel they treat their maid, Calpurnia with the utmost respect.  I think that by these two young children being able to look past what others can’t, proves a very powerful point.  This novel has been read all over in many public schools because of the beautiful change that it had on society.

Another reason this novel has influenced change in society over the years is because it shows what people of different race go through on a daily basis.  As a person who has read the book,  I was very bothered by what African American people go through and what they have gone through in history.  They were never given a fair chance in court.  They were always blamed for stuff they didn’t do and they were expected to take the fall for it.  This fact of history saddens me deeply because everyone deserves to be treated equal, as this novel helps people to understand.  

The last, and most important reason I believe this novel has helped shape society for the better is because it shows people finally standing up and fighting for people who are not treated fairly because of their race.  One of the characters Atticus Finch, who was a lawyer defending a man of different race who had been treated unfairly by the court of law.  Atticus knew he would never win this case mainly for the reason of his client's skin tone, but he proceeded with the trial anyway to prove a point.  To prove the point of the justice system being wrong in falsely accusing a man and just expecting him to live with it and go to jail for some other man’s wrongdoing.  

This novel has a terrible ending, but I believe it also helped influence change in society.  Atticus lost the case, and his client Tom Robinson was sentenced to prison.  Knowing he was never getting out of there, he attempted to break out, knowing what would happen.  As he began to climb the fence, without warning he was shot more than 16 times.  This is the first time that this measure has been taken so harshly, and the reason is very clear, because he is black and they thought he deserved it.  As harsh as that sounds, this story did help better society’s ways when it comes to racism and inequality by giving examples of what the world has come to.  

The Trade Off

Everyone has wanted to trade places with a cartoon character once in their life.  It would give you a chance to be someone that you’re not.  If I got the chance to be a cartoon character I would choose Kim Possible.  There are many reasons I would want to be Kim Possible.  One of them is because she is a strong independent woman who takes care of herself.  Another reason is because her life is very eventful and interesting.  Lastly, because she is well liked by everyone and would be very fun to trade places with and endure in many adventures.

One of my main reasons for wanting to switch places with Kim Possible is because of how she always saves herself and others from bad situations.  She is a strong independent  girl who goes on many spy adventures and saves people.  Kim does not need anyone else to save her.  I think it would be very interesting to trade places with someone as adventurous and dangerous as Kim Possible.  I feel like it would be fun to play the hero for a little while.  She and her friend Ron have a unique relationship that I would love to share with someone.  There are many amazing qualities to being Kim Possible and I have many other reasons for wanting to trade off with her.

Another reason I would want to trade off with Kim Possible is because  I think it would be very interesting to go on all the adventures her and Ron have.  If I were Kim Possible my life would never be a dull moment and I would make loads of new and unforgettable memories.  Kim Possible was my favorite character growing up and I’ve always had dreams of being her.  I would just like to be given the chance to be someone that I’ve always looked up to as a child.  I always thought it would be fun to play with all of her interesting gadgets and spy tools.  

Lastly, I would love to trade places with Kim Possible because people look up to her and she is well liked by everyone.  She has friends that would stand by her through anything and I think it would be very important to have people like that in a person’s life.  Kim Possible is a very trustworthy, and a dependable person.  She is a model of what I would look for in a best friend and person to be around.  Kim Possible is a funny, lovable, full of life teenager who would be very fun to switch places with.

I think it would be very beneficial for myself to switch places with Kim, just to see what it is like to be someone different.  Being yourself is very important and you should always want to be yourself, but I think everyone should get the chance to go outside of themselves.  They should pick their favorite person and get the chance to play, in my case, the hero.  

Dear Diary

Dear Diary

Today marks the day that my young cousin Patroclus was killed by a blade meant for me.  My reason for not going out to fight was because I knew King Agamemnon needed me.  I wanted to spite him the best I could because I hated him with every ounce of my being.  When I explained to Patroclus that we were sitting this battle out, he was furious.  He thought I was being selfish and needed to get this over with and be the hero.  I guess he brought it upon himself to be the hero, he dressed in my armour and set out to finish what I would not.  

When I woke that morning to my second in command, Eudoros calling for me, I knew something was gravely wrong.  I was standing there, wide eyed,  waiting for a reason as to why Eudoros continued with the battle without my command, when finally I got my answer.  As he said those heart wrenching words “He’s dead, my Lord, Prince Hector cut his throat” my legs began to weaken and my eyes started to water.  I knew from that moment on what I must do, I must revenge my young cousin whom I loved very much.  Prince Hector must die.

Time seemed to slow as I was preparing for my battle with Hector.  But I did not let the grief slow me.  I had allowed hatred  to take over and carry me through battle.  As I prepared  my chariot, ignoring all pleas and requests to stop, I was ready for a man to man war with Prince Hector.  Patroclus was too young to fight in a war meant for me, I tried to tell him he was not ready to fight.  He proved me right as he left his throat exposed when fighting, and Hector, like any soldier would, seen the opportunity and did not miss.  

I know I should be a reasonable man and realize that Prince Hector thought he was killing me, but that does not change the fact that Patroclus is dead, and I am forced to live without him.  As I approach the walls of Troy I know Prince Hector was waiting for me.  I stand at the wall roaring for Hector to come out at fight, knowing we will fight to the death.  As Hector and I fought, I managed to do the thing he did not, hit my planned target.  King Priam and the rest of Hector’s family watched as he fell.  I tied him to the back of my chariot and made my journey back to the beach.   

I went to sleep that night feeling as though I have proudly avenged my cousin.  I was awakened  by the figure of a man.  I watched him as he knelt down and kissed my hands, standing up and revealing his face, it was King Priam.   As he explained to me he kissed my hands to experience what it was like to kiss the hands that murdered his first son, I immediately regretted what I had done.  Knowing I could not take back what I had done, I decided to give King Priam his son's remains so they could be properly put to rest and prepared for the afterlife.  Along with Hector’s body, King Priam’s niece was also returned to him.  

5 Worst

People these days are always on the road, and are always eating out.  They eat out at fast food restaurants mainly because they need something that fits into their busy schedule.  Even though it is bad for you, it is very convenient, and that’s why they are very popular to the public.  The five worst restaurants to eat at are:

1. McDonald’s
2. Taco Bell
3. Burger King
4. Wendy’s
5. KFC    

1. Mcdonald's is a very popular fast food restaurant across the globe.  It feeds 64 million people everyday, and is the largest distributor of toys.  Mcdonald’s menu have a little bit of everything for everybody.  There are also a lot of reasons why Mcdonald’s is one of the worst fast food places to eat at.  It is said to have the most grease and the use of excessive preservatives is harmful for your health which McDonald's seems to overlook because they gain more and more profit from these dangerous products.  Mcdonald’s uses a gross amount of sodium, oil and grease.  It requires tremendous amount of physical activity to burn calories after eating just one meal from Mcdonald’s.  It is a huge problem as to why obesity exists.

2. Taco Bell seems like a very family famous restaurant.  Actually Taco Bell is yet another fast food place that is a big problem.  There has been many tests and investigations done on Taco Bell’s beef to see if it was actually 100%  real.  There has been many complaints about large amounts of grease used is their meals. Taco Bell is a very popular but many people struggle with their weight because of it.

3. Burger King is a famous restaurant that was functioning for 60 years.  It has been a big hit in it’s day and continues to be.  Like many other fast food places, it promises fresh food everyday, but it’s preparation shows otherwise.  100% beef patties are said to be used but many people put that up for debate.  There are many different meals on the menu of Burger King and I assume why it is so popular.  It seems that the most successful places to eat are often the worst for our bodies.  Burger King has been proven not to serve fresh everyday but people still enjoy to eat there because of it’s fast service, tasty food and good prices.

4. Wendy’s is a fast food place that is more popular for all kinds of people mainly because it sells more variety of things.  On the menu there are not just burgers and fries, but salads and chicken and ice cream that is a really big hit.  But this restaurant struggles with the same thing many others struggle with, and that is non fresh food.  There have been many complaints about this but yet, people still continue to eat there.  The ice cream is something that really puts wendy’s on top.
5. KFC is and has been for a long time, a very famous chicken place.  It is well liked by people of all ages and there's something for everyone there.  There has been the problem with the chicken being so greasy and there have been some reports of feathers on the chicken.  There also have been assumptions that the chickens they kill have been not fed correctly and have lived a sad and terrible life.     

Three Grammar Writing Exercises

Part One
The team won its game. Did you win yours, too?
They left their books there.
I hear you're about to graduate.
It's nice that they're friendly.
Although I get a lot of colds, I feel all right now.
Who's prettier than you?
Are you tired? I'm out of  breath, too.
Run back and forth from here to there.
 You're about to  lose your book.
Everyone will accept the prize except you.
Do you know whether or not he will give me the prize?
Many people choose to live in large cities.
Is the doctor through with my exam?
What affect does the school principal have on you?
What did he advise you to do? Did you take his advice?
There are a lot of your friends in the boat.
I will buy a book by Ray Bradbury.

Part Two

Part Three

The Time Capsule

Five items I would include in a time capsule are:
1.Photo album
2.Plant seeds
3.Diary or journal
4.Old signed yearbook
5.Kindle or e-book

If my community decided to make a time capsule that would be open in 2116, 100 years later I would put in a photo album. I would choose this as one of the five things I want to share with the future because it would share all of our memories and pictures of things that could be different or gone in 2116. Some things you could put in the photo album are pictures of the land, schools, sports, animals, fashion, cars, popular people and places such as restaurants and popular spots. This would help people of the future become more familiar with our past and history.

Another thing I would include in a time capsule would be a couple different packs of seeds. People could take these plant seeds and learn first hand what plants were like 100 years back. A lot could change in that many years, and they might not have the abundant amount of plants that we did, so this would be very important to share with them. They can watch the plant grow and observe any plants that are new to them. This will give them a taste of what life was like back in our time of 2016. Because odds are, they won’t have the wildlife that we have at the rate we are going.

Something else I would put in a time capsule would be a diary or journal of someone to explain how life was like and some of the challenges they faced. By putting this in the time capsule it will allow someone to be able to connect with a old life and to have a story be passed on through time. This will be just like reading a really interesting and knowledge filled novel such as the diary of Anne Frank. This should be shared with people of the future because I think they would enjoy to read what life was like from someone who had a very interesting story to tell.


A thing I think would be important to place in a time capsule would be an old signed yearbook. I think this would be good for a time capsule because you can see what schools were like back 100 years. You could read what people wrote in the yearbook about the school, teachers and students. The people 100 years from now can compare our school to their new one and learn some history of what our life was like very day. I think this would be a very good thing to put in the capsule mainly because I know things in the school systems have changed a lot over the years already, so I can’t imagine how much it will change in 100 years.


The last thing I would put in a time capsule that would open in 100 years would be a kindle or an e-book. This would be filled with all of our best selling books and you can even save some music on one. This will share some of authors and artists best creations. People from the future can take a step back in time and read some of our most treasured books and best hits. This will allow our past to never be forgotten and to live on. This will serve a great purpose to a lot of people who enjoy music and reading. I know from my perspective, I love to read and listen to music and I would really enjoy sharing my music and books with other people I think would enjoy it.




Dear people of the future,

My name is Darian Donovan, I was born in 1999. I live in the small community of Renous, which is just inside of Miramichi. I go to Blackville High school and I am currently in grade 10. I live in a household of six people in total. My mother Lillian, my father Kyle, my older sister DeAnna and my two younger brothers Denver and Drake.

I am writing this letter to you today to make sure you are aware of some important things about our generation. In this point in time grades kindergarten to grade twelve go to school seven hours a day. We have to get up for school at eight thirty every morning from Monday to Friday. We get the weekends off to do as we please. At Blackville High there are many after school activities offered to students such as soccer, volleyball, basketball, drama, choir, and much more. There is a lot of debate on the dress code issue with a lot of people. The majority of people don’t consider it fair. This has been an ongoing fight between many staff and parents. I simply argue the side of “if you can dress how you want in college, than school should be the same”. However, I understand it is just enforced to keep us in line and everything functioning correctly. Another problem our generation seems to be dealing with is our economy being damaged. There is so much pollution and harsh things being done to our earth now, I’d be scared to see what your earth looks 100 years from now. For your sake I hope the earth is in good shape and society gets all straightened out.

Pluto The Planet

After a long orbit around the sun, Pluto the Planet goes to visit his neighbor Neptune.

When Pluto arrived at Neptune’s house, he had a bunch of older friends over from school.

As soon as Pluto gets to the room and sits down on the bed all of Neptune’s friends roll their eyes.

“Hey guys!” Said Pluto.

“Aren’t you a little small to be playing these video games?” Snickered Saturn.

“Yeah, who invited him??” Asked Mars.

Neptune takes Pluto to the side to talk.

“Listen Pluto… I think you should go home” Muttered Neptune.

“I don’t understand, I come over to play these games all the time” Pled Pluto.

“Yeah but my friends don’t really like dwarf planets...sorry” Confessed Neptune.

“Oh… okay” Pluto said quietly as he headed home.

In the distance, he spotted something. He decided to go check it out.

When Pluto got closer, he realized it wasn’t a something, but a someone.

“Hi, I’m Pluto” he greeted.

“Hey, I’m Eris, a dwarf planet” He claimed.

“Woah! I am too” Declared Pluto.

“Want to come hang out with my friends and I?’’ Insisted Eris.

“Sure! I’d love to” Decided Pluto.

From that day on Pluto hung out with his new friends. They accepted him for who he was.
Pluto couldn’t be happier with his new friends.