Melinda As A Dynamic Character In Speak By Laurie Halse Anderson

Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson, is a fictional story placed in Merrywether High School in Syracuse, New York about the life of a social outcast and rape victim, Melinda Sordino. Throughout the story, Melinda struggles to cope with the fact that she was raped by Andy Evans at a high school party. Melinda can be classified as both a round and dynamic character. A round character is classified as a character with varying emotions and feelings— someone whom the audience can understand and hear the internal thoughts of. Melinda certainly fits this description. In the book, she was depicted as having a wide range of emotions— from longing for friends to hatred in herself and her current situation. Melinda also showed a very dry sense of humor

Melinda is a dynamic character as she meets the sole requirement— going through substantial character change. At the beginning of the book, Melinda was a social outcast. She had no friends, nothing to look forward to everyday, and fear of interacting with her former friends and classmates. As the story progressed, Melinda changed gradually. She found solace in art class and drawing trees. She learned to place trust in a few special friends including the art teacher, Mr. Freeman. At the end of the book, Melinda does several things to indicate that she has changed. First, she befriended Rachael and told her about the evil of Andy Evans. Second, she resisted another rape attempt from Andy. Finally, she gained popularity and new friends along the way. Overall, Melinda changed vastly throughout the book as evidenced by her newfound courage. Laurie Halse Anderson likely decided to make Melinda Sordino a round and dynamic character because of the format of the story— a personal narrative following Melinda’s life. If Melinda wasn’t a round character, there would be no point in having the narrative in her point of view. If she wasn’t dynamic, there would be little to no point of writing the book about