Speak Similarities Between Halse Anderson

In the book, Speak, written by Lauren Halse Anderson, different parts of the story can both be correlated and contrasted to events at Glen A. Wilson High School and my own personal experiences. The setting of Merryweather High, the people involved in the story, and Melinda, herself, all can be related to what I have encountered in my life. However, as much as they may be similar, there are also vast amounts of differences. As much as Merryweather High is a typical high school setting, here at Glen A. Wilson, it is both typical and not at the same time. Also, the characters involved in such a story can be compared to those I have met in my life, yet, I have seen some of these made-up personalities only in books or movies. Melinda’s story is

Merryweather High is located in Syracuse, New York. This location is most significant because of the weather, in which Melinda is very tuned in to. Her journey back to life after being raped is reflected in the seasons. Melinda grows more and more brittle, fragile, and cold through the long Syracuse winter. But when spring and summer come, she thaws and grows, just like a tree. Unlike Merryweather High, Glen A. Wilson High School is located in the lovely city of Hacienda Heights, California, where the sun shines bright and rain is scarce. Having the sun out literally brightens everyone’s day, so being sad on a sunny day is quite infrequent for me. I believe that weather do indeed impact one’s mood and how they feel on a day-to-day basis, so Melinda’s mood changing with the weather is possible. One difference between the high schools are the structure of them. Merryweather High was set indoors with halls and lockers while Wilson is out in the open and lockers are nonexistent. The main thing about how Merryweather High and Wilson are different is that there is no active bullying around the school and there are no segregated clans or friend groups. If there is a fight, the fight is managed right away. And no one here is really friendless. Another thing, the time periods reflect some similarities and differences as well, since the story took place in 1990 while it is being compared to the 2015-2016 school year of the twenty-first century. Merryweather High gave out demerits to students for being late to a class, but Wilson does not. However, the pep rallies in both schools are just as hyped now as they were then. Setting plays a great part in character development, so that changed how people acted in Merryweather