I feel writing does have the power to enact social change. When i was reading June Jordans poem, it really made me want to change, so i think it would motivate other people to want to change their ways also. It depends on the person i don't think the whole world would have a social change from reading this, but many people would take it into consideration and try to change at least. It talked about how badly people were treated in detail. They made it seem like they didn't care who died or what happened. People wouldn't really take a writing that serious. A bible on the other hand people take very seriously and can make a dramatic social change from it. Like i said it all depends on the person i think and how they view whats being read. Every person is different and has different thoughts on everything. If you want a Writing to motivate someone make it memorable and ask the question to yourself "does this motivate me to change?" because most likely if it does it will motivate other people.

Nicole Tomiselli
January 30, 2009
Mr. Fiorini
English

Desire for Freedom




Slavery affects people to this day. It doesn’t matter how much effort a slave puts into his/her work they always are disrespected in some sort of way.
Mercer was a slave. She was treated somewhat decently. Her master, Pryor whom she had two children with, Benjamin and Matthew cared for her enough that she could survive. Mercer also had another little girl named Willietta; her father was a runaway slave. They never seen him again, Mercer always wondered if he would ever sneak back just to see how they were doing. Her desire was to become free with her children, but she knew that Pryor would never let that happen. He wanted her with him. In a way I think he had feelings for Mercer, he cared for her way too much not to have any.
Her dream about being free was finally about to come true when Pryor invited her on a trip to Nicaragua. She thought that somehow she could escape and just wander off, but that did not happen. What happened was they made a stop at Philadelphia, and it is a free state. So when Mercer was waiting in a hotel room with Mattie and Etta an African American man named Tyree knocked on the door. She begged him to help her escape so he tried his best to help her out. While waiting to board onto the ship the Diligence Committee stopped Mercer and said if you want your freedom here’s your chance to be free. Pryor tried to convince Mercer to stay and said to the people she would never leave me. In a way she felt really bad and didn’t know what to do, but it was her once in a lifetime chance to be free and she took it. She stayed with Tyree’s family someplace no one knew where they were. Eventually Pryor would try to claim her back, but for now she felt safe and free spirited to do whatever she wanted to do. Tyree’s family became very close with Mercer over time. She felt comfortable with them. Mercer was disrespected because if Pryor really cared for her and wanted her to be happy he would of let her be free. Instead she had to gain her freedom in a way that didn’t make her feel very good. She was leaving her son Benjamin behind and would never be able to see him again. That is the one thing she regrets about becoming free. I think the title “The Price Of A Child” means that nothing in the world not even money would replace how she felt for leaving her baby boy behind.