2/11/15

Literary Essay: 6th Grade
Unit 2


Kindness, confidence, and trust are three traits that you might here the most often. Occasionally you might add in bravery or kindness, but how often do you hear fearlessness? “The Mark of the Dragonfly” written by Jaleigh Johnson reflects all these traits but mostly demonstrates the power of fearlessness. This is the story of a young girl named Piper. She is a scrapper on her planet, which on earth is equal to a begger. But, one day when a girl shows up in her house with the “mark of the dragonfly” a legendary mark only given to the people closest to the king printed on her arm, Piper must use this trait to decide if she should help this helpless girl or leave her to rot on the streets. Fearlessness is a word you may not hear every day, but in mark of the dragonfly fearlessness is the only way to survive.

Early in the story, Piper (the main character,) sees a little girl struggling and helpless in the reck of a Caravan. She takes pity on the girl and helps the little girl into her shack. Unsure of what is going on Piper goes back to the reck to investigate.  When she discovers nothing there she goes back to the house to find the girl wide awake. She discovers the girls name is Anna and that she has completely torn apart Pipers house. Piper has to explain to the girl that she is nice, and that takes fearlessness.