Essay On Symbolism In The Book Speak

In the novel, “Speak” by Laurie Halse Anderson, there is a young high school girl that

Children in the age range thirteen to fifteen are often transitioning through a critical time of their lives. They frequently look to others as a cicerone on how they themselves should act. In the novel, Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, Melinda Sordino calls the cops on an end-of-summer party at which she was raped. The novel depicts Melinda’s excursion as to how she copes with the heart-wrenching events that have affected her momentously as well as creating “[a] frightening and sobering look at the cruelty and viciousness that pervade much of contemporary high school life.” (Kirkus Reviews, Pointer Review). The tragic event along with the rejection of her friends took a rather large toll on Melinda Sordino, in which, at one point, she stops

Painting is like keeping a diary on canvas. Art expresses ones feelings in ways words cannot. This is true for protagonist Melinda Sordino in the Laurie Halse Anderson novel about teenage rape, Speak. Anderson uses trees, mainly Melinda’s paintings and sculptures of trees, to chronicle Melinda’s growth in the novel. Instead of Melinda saying exactly how she felt all the time in the book, Anderson uses Melinda’s paintings to keep a diary of her emotions. With the trees, any reader can see Melinda transition from feeling lifeless with no hope and nothing keeping her going to accepting herself and having hope for the future.

Depression isn’t typically something that is capable of being physically seen. Those who have it might show signs, but it requires a lot for someone to look into them, and discover what that person is going through. In the novel Speak written by Laurie Halse Anderson, symbolism is used to develop an unspoken theme of depression. This is done so through the janitor’s closet, the turkey sculpture, and the constant mentioning of trees.

In the book Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, the protagonist, Melinda, is assigned to create a tree a million different ways all year. In doing so she finds ways to convey her emotions through her drawings. There are many different types of trees in the world. A tree that shows symbolism and draws emotion out of me would have to be a weeping willow tree. The weeping willow tree is elegant, girly, but has a tragically beautiful side to it. I am like a weeping willow in many ways, I come off light but friendly and girly, but I also have my sadness and secrets that I show but not in distinct ways.

What is symbolism? It is the use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities. What I will be talking about in this essay is how symbolism was used in the book “Night” by Eliezer Wiesel. While there are many different versions of symbolism in the story I will only be focusing on three that I think are the best to talk about. Those three include the yellow stars the Jews had to wear, the spoon and knife Eliezer got from his father, and the title of the book.

Writers from all over the world use symbolism to enhance their stories and create something so beautiful in each of their pieces. In To Kill a Mockingbird and Night, symbolism was so effective because it provided depth to the text, allowed the reader to break through the surface layer of the story, and gave readers the freedom of interpreting the story in different ways.

We can all agree that everybody has had or has physcological effects in their high school lives. In the novel Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson the main character Melinda was raped by Andy Evans which resulted in many emotional and physical impacts. As a result of being raped, Melinda encountered psychological effects of being anti-social and self blaming. She also developed self-destructive effects such as her cutting her wrist.

When teachers provide enough care for their students, they are capable of helping even the emotionally distressed. When their students perceive that they are being cared for, they gain a sense of trust for these teachers and would be compelled to speak about what is truly bothering them. An example of this is clearly represented through the novel Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. The ninth-grade protagonist, Melinda Sordino, had luckily enrolled herself into an art class with a truly altruistic teacher by the name of Mr. Freeman. Melinda had become more demure and wan after she was raped over the summer by an errant student in the twelfth grade identified as Andy Evans. Due to this traumatic event, she had also developed pessimistic views of

After going through an intense experience, most people are going to be left in shock. In the novel Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, a girl entering her freshman year in high school named Melinda had called the police at a party she attended after being sexually assaulted by an older student. Throughout the novel Melinda had felt as if she had lost her ability to speak but ends up finding her way through written words to help her regain her ability to speak.

"Forgiving is not forgetting. It's letting go of the hurt". What this quote means is that instead of holding onto something that has hurt us, we should let it go so that we are able to move on and not have pain burden us for the rest of our lives. In the novel Speak written by Laurie Halse Anderson, we are introduced to the main character, Melinda Sordino. Melinda busted an end-of-summer-party by calling the cops due to something mortifying that happened to her. Due to her inability to tell anyone what happened she loses the ability to speak and she starts distancing herself from her family and friends. Throughout the book, there are symbolic items that help us know how Melinda is feeling and they also represent the stages Melinda went through

Symbolism is a strong method used by authors to get a message across to the readers. In Me Talk Pretty One Day, David Sedaris uses symbolism to define his purpose. Symbolism acts as a way to show David’s insecurities and how he feels as he accomplishes them.

(AGG) Why would authors include symbolism in their books? (BS-1) The use of a major symbol in Under the Persimmon Tree by Suzanne Fisher Staples is seen when Najmah gets her first haircut after her family is killed and her home is destroyed.(BS-2) Other than using the haircut to show Najmah’s reaction to important events, Staples also includes stars as another symbolic idea. (BS-3) The author uses the stars again and a second haircut to demonstrate Najmah’s development and growth. (TS) Suzanne Fisher Staples uses symbolism to help readers better understand the development of a main character Najmah, and how she reacts to each significant event.

Symbolism is the use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities, a literary device which authors employ to create meaning in their stories. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is set in the Jazz Age, a period of great social change that is very much symbolized throughout the novel. Fitzgerald’s self-obsessed and ignorant characters perfectly encapture the moral corruption of the era. In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald employs the billboard, the green light, and the valley of ashes as symbols to advance the plot of the novel as well as to elevate the quality of the novel.

Melinda stays on the sidelines, partly because she is an outcast and partly because she chooses to isolate herself from everyone else. Her isolation is in part due to her depression over her assault. She completely shuts herself out from everyone around her, her peers, her teachers, and her parents. Over the course of the novel, she realizes that she needs her friends and family to help her cope with her assault. Therefore, she starts to open up and interact more with others. In the end, she realizes that isolating herself was not helping her. During adolescence it is difficult to find the people that you fit in with, this is very difficult because not everyone will feel like they are apart of these cliques. This is a very troubling time for teens, finding the group where you belong is difficult. Some are lucky and find it right away, while others go their entire high school years as an outcast.