Students in Mrs. Katie McIlvanie’s seventh-grade ELA class recently wrote paragraphs in response to the question “What can cause a sudden change in someone’s life?” Prior to writing their responses, they studied three texts sharing the common theme of transformation or change: an informative article titled “At the Crossroads,” Robert Frost’s poem “The Road Not Taken,” and Israel Horovitz’s dramatic version of Charles Dickens’s “A Christmas Carol.” Students were required to use any one or all three of these texts to provide text evidence in support of their response to the prompt. 

By William Richardson

Parents: Tamara and Gaines Richardson

Many things can cause a change in someone’s life but one big one is a choice or decision. First of all, in the poem The Road Not Taken, the author writes, “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” This tells us that making a choice (taking the less traveled road) has changed his life (and that has made all the difference). When he took the less traveled road, it made all the difference, which proves that choices can change your life. In addition, in the beginning of A Christmas Carol, the main character, Scrooge, is described as “A tight fisted hand at the grindstone and solitary as an oyster… He carried his own low temperature always about with him.” No one really liked him, but after he was shown the consequences of his actions, he made a decision to change his attitude and that made everyone like him more. Scrooge’s decision to be kinder changed his life. At the end of the story he was described as “The father of a long, long line of brilliant laughs… He was so fluttered and so glowing with his good intentions.” This is a big change from how he was in the beginning, so his decision to become a better person made a huge impact on his life. Finally, in the article “At the Crossroads,” Nick Kleckner decided he wanted to make a change in his life. The article says, “Nick was in a rut. His life felt repetitive and boring. It lacked a higher purpose.” So he dropped everything he had and decided to walk across the country. This decision made a huge change in his life because he didn’t have all the stuff he used to have, so he had to get used to not having things. Ultimately, a choice or decision can change your life; choosing to take a different path, deciding to be kinder, and choosing to walk across the country can all significantly change your life. 

By Skye Dickson

Parents: Katie and Mark Dickson

When you read a story or look at a person’s life you may wonder why they changed it. Most of the time it is because a new opportunity arose. To prove this, three texts, The Christmas Carol, The Road Not Taken, and “At the Crossroads,” show this theme. To start with, in the beginning of The Christmas Carol, Scrooge is sad, lonely and very grouchy. For example, it says in the text, “They owe me money and I will collect it. I’ll have them jailed if I have to.” After this, a ghost named Jacob Marley visits him one night and tells him of three spirits that will attempt to help him change his fate. After these spirits come, the next day, which is Christmas Day, Scrooge is very kind. For example, the text states, “Good. There you go then…. this is for the turkey … and this is for the taxi.” This simply explains, when Scrooge was given the opportunity, which the ghosts supplied, he ran with it. Scrooge took the opportunity that was given by the ghosts and made his life better by being more generous and positive. Furthermore, in the text “At the Crossroads,” a man named Nick Kleckner had a very boring, standard life. In the text it states, “Nick Kleckner was working as a cab driver and an electrician. By society standards he should have been happy, but he wasn’t.” So, Nick went on an incredible journey across the country. It has now changed his life. The text states, “The experience taught him a valuable lesson: if you share what you have, and help others as much as possible, you will never be stranded.” This story shares the same theme as The Christmas Carol because in the article, Hobo Nick was bored of his own life and an opportunity arose to go on this journey. After he went on this journey he realized that he had to differentiate his life from others; this is how he changed his life. That once in a lifetime chance can affect a person’s whole life; now he goes on these journeys a lot. Finally, the poem The Road Not Taken brings up the issue of being okay to be different from other people. The poem says “[having] perhaps the better claim, because it was grassy and wanted wear; I took the one less traveled by, and that made all the fference.” The opportunity that the person in this poem is faced with is an example of a major decision or, again, an opportunity that the person was given. To make a choice that is a popular choice or one that isn’t so popular. As it says in the poem, the narrator took the less traveled path or choice, and it made this person’s life a lot better and a lot more worth living. In conclusion, when you read a story or look at a person’s life, you may wonder why they changed it. Most of the time it is because an opportunity arose. The three texts The Christmas Carol, “The Road Not Taken” and “At the Crossroads” all suggest this. After reading this, I hope you ask yourself, “If an opportunity arose, would I take it to change my life?”