Pessimistic Views Of Teachers In Speak By Laurie Halse Anderson
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 …show more content…
For example, the art piece she made with turkey bones, a Barbie doll head, culinary utensils, and tape had evinced her emotional distress. Mr. Freeman had seen these sensibilities within Melinda's artwork as well by saying that "[it] has meaning. Pain" (65). Melinda has an idea in her head of what she wants her tree to look like, which also symbolizes herself, "a strong old oak tree with a wide scarred trunk and thousands of leaves reaching to the sun" (78). Melinda can create this tree only if she becomes like this tree as a person by surrendering into acceptance of the atrocious offense committed against her and the scars that came with it. Furthermore, Melinda had admitted that she could “[feel] the wind blow and hear the mockingbird whistling on the way back to her nest. But when [she tries] to carve it, it looks like a dead tree, toothpicks, a child’s drawing. [She cannot] bring it to life” (78). She wistfully imagines confessing her distress, but she remains reluctant and retreats from transitioning into speaking again. There are many moments within the novel where Anderson uses symbolism to illustrate Melinda's desire to refurbish her life as this one, but it is hard for Melinda to do so without the choice of acknowledging what happened. Art helped Melinda to
How Does Laurie Hal Have Ptsd In Speak
1196 Words | 5 PagesThe novel “Speak”, written by Laurie Halse Anderson first published in the year 1999, deals with Melinda, an “outcast” (p. 4), who experiences her first year of high school while simultaneously trying to cope with the aftermath of sexual abuse during a party, which consists mainly of her not being able to speak. Since we are all aware of the fact that Melinda’s traumatic event led to a certain degree of dehumanization for her, the following words intend to focus on and elaborate Melinda’s struggle in school; how she views her teachers, her marks, her periods and to some degree also her peers and classmates. Starting right at the beginning Melinda enters her high school life with a healthy amount of prejudice. Probably having heard or
Book Reports On Speak By Laurie Halse Anderson
872 Words | 4 PagesAnd now to the main character, Melinda
The Motifs In Melinda's Tree By Laurie Halse-Anderson
729 Words | 3 PagesTree?” (page 12) This proves that when Melinda was first introduced to her tree, she didn’t want to see it. She didn’t want to see that she was like the tree. She was first introduced at the
Laurie Halse Anderson Speak Analysis
634 Words | 3 PagesWhen assigned the word “tree” in her art class, she started to use art to express herself. The first tree was dark and gloomy because to show how she felt inside at the time, the second tree was more of a fake looking tree because of one of her only “friends”, Heather, had started to hang around the “Marthas”, whom were considered fake in Melinda’s mind. When it came to her last drawing, the tree become more real and gave off a stronger feel to it, this was because she had started talking to a girl named Ivy and for the first time since the night of the party that started it all she said something to her ex-friend, Rachel, giving her a lot of confidence. Drawing the trees really helped Melinda in ways not even she noticed. It helped her express herself without forcing her to do anything out of her comfort zone, like
Laurie Halse Character Analysis
1048 Words | 5 PagesHe plays an affective role in helping Melinda to overcome her anger. As he encourages her to express her pain through art by saying that the powerful art comes when people use it to express their emotions. During art class, Melinda uses bones of turkey to make a sculpture. Mr.
Character Analysis Of Melinda In Speak By Laurie Halse Anderson
236 Words | 1 PagesIn “Speak” by Laurie Halse Anderson, the main character is Melinda. The author wants melinda to speak about her problem. The main character is Melinda, the people there is in the story is her ex best friend named Rachel, a new girl Heather and two teachers named Mr. Neck and Mr. Freeman. The place the story takes place is in school, Things there is in the story is the subjects like art, biology, spanish, english, algebra, and social studies. The main character’s day did not turn out great on the first day of high school.
Depression In Speak By Laurie Halse Anderson
1222 Words | 5 PagesAfter randomly selecting a piece of paper that has the word “tree” printed on it, Mr. Freeman states that she had just chosen her destiny. At first, she expresses her confusion as to why something so simple could be so important, but throughout the book her interpretation of trees changes in order to portray a theme of depression. For instance, when Melinda first began painting trees they all appeared to be “nearly dead, but not totally,” and some had even “been hit by lightning” (Anderson 30). The idea that Mr. Freeman presented that the tree is supposed to represent Melinda along with the fact that they’re on the verge of death shows us how she is really feeling on the inside.
Family Relationships In Speak By Laurie Halse Anderson
632 Words | 3 PagesMelinda faced the trauma of being raped by herself for way to long and it is shown by the way she took care of herself and the way she never talked. If her family had noticed or invested more time into getting to know her they would have noticed their daughter falling into a deep dark hole that is depression. She says many times in the book “i am outcast” which tells the readers that she knows that she is not handling things well, she is this way because she was not close to anybody so chose to be
The Transformation Of Ruby Bridges In The House On Mango Street
201 Words | 1 PagesOvercoming the traumatic experiences she had gone through as a
Examples Of Character Development In Speak By Laurie Halse Anderson
755 Words | 4 PagesAt the end of the story she finally found her voice and was able to stand up for herself. In the beginning, Melinda didn't talk to anyone, barely even to her parents. She says, “I have tried so hard to forget every second of that stupid party and here I am in the middle of a hostile crowd that hates me for what I had to do. I can't tell them what really happened” (Anderson, 28).
Symbolism In Laurie Halse Anderson's 'Speak'
805 Words | 4 PagesBut after the rape, Melinda is not happy with anything in her life and she is always stressed out. This is represented when she states, “But when I try to carve it, it looks like a dead tree, toothpicks, a child’s drawing. I can’t bring it to life. I’d love to give it up” (78). Melinda has changed dramatically, and this is represented by the tree she sees versus the tree she tries to make.
Melinda's Growth In Speak By Laurie Halse Anderson
844 Words | 4 PagesDuring the time that Melinda is working on her artwork she has been talking to old friends trying to fix her relationships. “My last tree looked like it had died from some fungal infection - not the effect I wanted at all. ”(92). Melinda is already starting to grow in many ways, in her artwork, and her personal life. Her artwork is improving and she is learning to make her tree have meaning behind it.
Speak By Laurie Halse Anderson Analysis
734 Words | 3 PagesThe novel Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson, is about a girl named Melinda, who shows signs of depression throughout the story. She has no friends and is hated by people she doesn’t even know. This is because she called the cops at a party, where she was raped. Anderson includes literary elements to show how Melinda is depressed. Throughout the novel, she uses many different literary elements to show Melinda’s conflict.
Essay On Symbolism In The Book Speak
1197 Words | 5 PagesArt is way of expression. People can use actions and art or express themselves in ways other than speaking. In the book Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson, symbolism holds a big significance. The trees mentioned throughout the book symbolize Melinda’s changing “seasons” (her “growing” as a person). People, like trees, go through phases, they freeze in the winter, becoming nothing but lonely limbs without leaves covered with white slush.
Social Reputation In Speak By Laurie Halse Anderson
197 Words | 1 PagesSpeak by Laurie Halse Anderson is a novel regarding Melinda Sordino, a 14 year old girl, who gets raped at the end of summer party. Melinda ends up calling the police, causing all of her friends to absolutely despise her. The story begins as Melinda arrives to her first day of 9th grade friendless, receiving dirty looks from everyone in the halls. Her once happy personality, entirely transforms into the opposite. “I cry to let everything out” Initially, Melinda befriends Heather, a new girl to the school, but later Heather realizes that Melinda being her friend ruins her social reputation.
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