Analysis Of Melinda Sordino's Speak

In the novel Speak, young Melinda Sordino begins her freshman year at Merryweather High School in Syracuse, New York, with a heavy secret weighing on her. The story known by the public is that over the summer, she and her friends made an appearance at a party at which Melinda wound up calling the police, leading to social rejection by everyone at the party along with those who heard about it. Melinda’s only companion at school is Heather, a new girl who is constantly developing a new scheme to work her way up the social pyramid, and is always trying to get Melinda involved. Melinda, however, has little interest in gaining popularity, and would prefer to just skip classes and hole up in a cleared out, tastefully decorated janitor’s closet that she uses to avoid awkward interactions with her former friends and the teachers she dislikes.

When walking through the school hallways, Melinda occasionally spies IT, which is the name she has chosen to give senior Andy Evans, and she slowly begins to come to terms with what he did to her. When she lays eyes on him in passing, Melinda is forced to relive her initial experience with him. As the school year progresses, she grows steadily more despondent and even ditches whole days of school, where she just wanders outside alone in the cold. Her family and school guidance counselor try to take action and get her to open up about her lousy academic performance, but Melinda does not speak to them. Finally, after many long months of silence and self-harm, Melinda admits to herself that Andy Evans raped her at that party last summer. Once she faces the fact that she was raped, Melinda begins her slow recovery from the trauma of the event. Worried about Andy Evans’ intentions for her former best friend, Rachel, Melinda finally speaks up and tells Rachel what happened to