2010 – 4th Grade 3rd Place Winner

Aurora Schermbeck, Texas.

Is the Pen Mightier than the Sword?

think that the pen is mightier than the sword, because during the Revolutionary War the Declaration of Independence was mightier than the British army.

“Sticks and stones can break my bones but words can never hurt me” I think that is not true, because words can hurt as much or even more than the sword. And sometimes a pen can be a sword when a person writes or says something mean about someone else.

Lots of other people think that the pen is mightier than the sword such as Edward Bulwer-Lytton when he wrote his play Richelieu in which a character says, “Under the rule of men entirely great, the pen is mightier than the sword.” Euripides wrote “The tongue is mightier than the blade,” but if I was a sword I might think I was mightier and if I was a pen I might think I was mightier.

Today the Pentagon represents the sword and the Institute of Peace represents the pen, but hardly anyone knows about the Institute of Peace. I want to change that. I believe that people should know about the pen as well as the sword. I believe that the world should have more peace and less war.

I conclude by saying that even thought the pen is almost always mightier than the sword, it is worthless if no one listens or reads.

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