Isabel Allende writes, "... writing is an act of hope, a sort of communion with our fellow men. The writer of good will carries a lamp to illuminate the dark corners. Only that, nothing morea tiny beam of light to show some hidden aspect of reality, to help decipher and understand it and thus to initiate, if possible, a change in the conscience of some readers" (598).

In a well-developed paragraph (at least 150 words), respond to the following:

How is your research project an act of hope? What kind of change in conscience do you hope to initiate? What was the last text (of any kind) that you read that made you feel this way