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Corruption In Speak By Laurie Halse Anderson

583 Words3 Pages

Imagine being the most hated person at school, losing all your friends and your loved ones. Imagine having your voice and confidence taken away from you, how would you feel?
This is the life of highschool freshman, Melinda Sordino, the protagonist in Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, drastically transforms after recently attending a summer party where she was sexually abused by senior, Andy Evans. During this party, she attempts to call the cops to get some help, which resulted in many complications in Melinda's life later on. Students in MerryWeather High don't know why she called the cops, she keeps it untold. For this reason, people start to hate Melinda including her closest friends. Melinda loses her voice as she becomes an outcast and struggles to strive her way to peace. However, Though Melinda is speechless in the beginning, she was able to …show more content…

Melinda is isolated from everybody at school, this affected her ability to speak openly about her pain with the strong animosity held upon her. At a pep rally, Melinda is publicly humiliated about the party by a group of students sitting behind her. “‘You’re Melinda Sordino?’ I turn around. She blows a black bubble and sucks it back into her mouth. I nod. Heather waves to a sophomore she knows across the gym. The girl pokes me harder. ‘Aren’t you the one who called the cops at Kyle Rodgers' party at the end of the summer?’ [...] Another girl chimes in. ‘My brother got arrested at that party. He got fired because of the arrest. I can’t believe you did that. Asshole’” (Anderson 27). Melinda avoids talking about her assault as she is struggling with feelings of guilt, shame and fear, fear of being judged or not believed if she tells someone about what happened to her. Melinda is haunted by the memory of her rape which contributes to her decision to keep her assault a secret. Therefore,with Melindas

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