The Role Of Rape Victim In Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak

A Rip in Heaven by Jeanine Cummins is described as memoir written about murder and its aftermath. Throughout the book a third person point of view displayed the background stories of the victims of murder and assault, the children and family it effected, and the assailants themselves. A Rip in Heaven establishes a timeline of the events starting on a night in April with the extended family of the victims - Julie and Robin Kerry, and Thomas (Tom) Cummins. From that night on the Kerry and Cummins family were changed forever. Tom, Julie, and Robin snuck out to the Chain of Rocks Bridge, where Julie and Robin were forcibly raped and pushed off a bridge while Tom was assaulted and threatened to be shot if he didn’t jump by Marlin Gray, Daniel Winfrey, Reginald Clemmons, and Antonio Richardson. Tom survived the fall and was taken in by the St. Louis Police where he was interrogated and arrested. Shortly after Tom had been arrested, new evidence was found that led the detectives to Antonio Richardson, who eventually confessed leading the police to rest of the group involved in the assault. Throughout the rest of the book Cummins does her best to show the aftermath of the violent tragedy, including the trials and conviction of the attackers and the funerals of the

In schools across the world, children learn that, despite rampant injustice committed by a few, there is still good in the honorable majority of mankind and the promise of righteousness under the law. These children mature idolizing both superheroes in society and those existing on the big screen, teaching that right will trump wrong and that good will prevail over evil. Unfortunately, however, this is not an all-encompassing theme outside of the fictional realm. In Louise Erdrich’s The Round House, Geraldine Coutts, a rape victim on a Native American reservation, finds only injustice in the very judicial system that sought to protect her. As a result, her family is put on a path of vigilante justice while Geraldine attempts to recover, and just as she is unable to find closure through the traditional path of legal prosecution she does not recover from her rape through paternalistic sources of authority and power either.

In the book More God Less Crime the author focuses on a central topic of how faith based institution and individuals can aid in reducing crime in society. The book stresses that these new faith based policies can implement a life long lifestyle change. In our society today, there are many dangerous problems we face from false imprisonment to youth violence. Within the book in providing solutions such as rehabilitation that can eventually eradicate these problems that plague our society. By having a strong foundation of religion set in place it can help resolve unjust matters with the belief that morality is superior. By incorporating morality in inmates life 's and other members within the system, it enables them to lead a better life, by leaving their old ways behind. Furthermore, the book is divided into three sections which contain specific chapters catered to reducing crime and or explaining how it can be resolved.

Speak, a novel written by Laurie Halse Anderson, is a memorable story about a girl who overcomes a horrific experience, rape, and with it, injustice. Melinda, the main protagonist, has an emotional journey, and with the help of her art teacher, Mr. Freeman, survives through this excursion. As Mr. Freeman says, “‘Welcome to the journey’” (12). Mr. Freeman assists Melinda, by constantly questioning her emotional being, turning an art project into a pool of her feelings, and forcing Melinda to see the light in her heart. With Mr. Freeman lifting her emotional baggage, Melinda can finally be free and with that, experience happiness once again.

The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson is the tale of Hayley Kincain, a seventeen year old girl, and her incredibly unstable life with Andy, her father. Andy is a war veteran who suffers from Post-traumatic stress disorder, and is constantly assaulted by horrific memories of the past. Hayley’s mother perished in a car accident soon after Hayley was born, while Andy was still deployed in Iraq. Hayley was raised by her grandmother Barbara until Hayley was seven, at which point Barbara died and Andy returned home to care for Hayley. However, Andy’s past war experiences and the horrifying events that he had seen on the battlefield haunted him endlessly. Rather than living a traditional life in an ordinary home,

In the book “Speak” Laurie Halse Anderson writes about a young teen, Melinda Sordino, an outsider and a despised person who is entering high school. Melinda shutdown an end-of-summer party by calling the police, she was heavily intoxicated and she got raped. She has a troublesome time fitting in and finding her way through high school, while she is still hoping to make it out alive. Melinda’s ex-best friend Rachel and her other ex-friends will not talk or be friends with her anymore because after what she did. Melinda is concealing her secret about being raped from Rachel, her ex-friends, and her parents. She is depressed and will not speak when people are talking to her about important things such as; how she has bad grades, how she cuts

You ever thought of how your actions affect others? Or even if you indirectly have caused someone an awful day that you could have prevented? Or instead of a wonderful day? Well, “Speak” is a novel written by Laurie Halse Anderson that talks about a 15-year-old teen’s life throughout high school. Her name is Melinda Sordino who had suffered a sexual assault from a senior at her high school, Merryweather High School, in a summer party before entering school. This novel describes her emotional journey through school and how her relationships with others as her family, friends, teachers, and even herself have changed or influenced her actions. The theme of Speak is one choice or action can affect others. Andy Evans sexually assaulting Melinda causes her to become severely depressed, Mr. Freeman’s supportive art class helps Melinda heal and find herself, and Melinda’s “friends” influenced her to speak up.

“i live in a world where two truths coexist; where both hell and hope live in the palm of my hand”- alice sebold (lucky). In her life Alice Sebold has lived in between the horror and beauty of all things that complete the world we know and live in. Sebold has a gift for bringing the things of the damned and dark to life. Rape and its brutality followed her everywhere and haunts every piece of work she brings to life, she flourished despite her pain but remains followed by her demons.

Rape is something that many warn us about and tell us to be careful about. What many do not realize is that it can happen in a matter of seconds and there is nothing that can be done to stop it. Often it happens, but people find it difficult to report it because of the person who committed the crime, this was the case in the book Missoula by Jon Krakauer. The book begins with a woman, Allison Huguet, who was raped by a member of the football team in the University of Montana, Beau Donaldson. This case was not the first incident to happen in this city and the author does a great job in letting his readers be aware and know it has happened before. This city is known for their loyalty to the football team and the privileges that are given to some

“I have nothing. I say nothing. I am nothing.” (Anderson, 116) Rape is a horrible, violent, vicious crime. In Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson, Melinda fell victim to this brutal act before she even entered high school. Now she must fight the battles inside the walls of her school and in her own mind. Melinda’s attack left her broken, depressed, and silent. The act of speaking is an act of courage, and for Melinda, it is a difficult journey. She travels from self-doubt, shame, and silence to the end, where she not only speaks, but shouts. The title is juxtaposed with Melinda’s struggle to actually speak. The use of metaphor in the book reflects the many ways that Melinda feels about her ability to speak up.

I've read the book Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. The book is about the teenage girl Melinda, who has just started Merryweather High. She knew from the beginning that she wouldn't fit in, that she wouldn't be one of the popular girls. Every one hates her after what happened during summer, her previous friends don't want to know nothing about Melinda anymore and the rumours about her aren't so positive either. She will forever be the girl who called the police in the middle of the party and no one bothered to look up the reason behind the call.

There are people in our lives who have helped us grow. In the summer before freshman year in high school Melinda Sordino was raped at a party. After calling the police she was left without friends or dignity. She isolates herself not knowing what to do. In Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, Melinda grows in many ways throughout the book. There are specific people who helped her mature in a certain way. She slowly opens up over the course of the year with support from different people. There are several people in this novel who help Melinda find her “voice”.

Melinda is an outcast. Everyone, including her now ex-best friend, hates her after she calls the cops at a party. Why? She was raped. In the novel Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, the author depicts a frighteningly real story about the fictional character Melinda. Laurie Halse Anderson pours in so much care for the character that the reader cannot help but feel concern for her well-being. Melinda’s rough freshman school year is quite similar to the lives of those who are victims of sexual assault. The author is trying to get the point across that sexual assault is a terrible thing and that victims need to speak up. Having an anonymous way for women to report rape and for the attackers to be found guilty would promote an environment of safety

While reading the book Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, I made several connections to the real world. This journal response will explain those connections and how they relate to Speak and to my own life.

Nathaniel Hawthorne, a famous American author from the antebellum period, notices the emphasis on individual freedoms in the works by Ralph Waldo Emerson and other Transcendentalists during his residency in the Brook Farm’s community. In response to these ideas, Hawthorne writes The Scarlet Letter, a historical novel about Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale’s lives as they go through ignominy, penance, and deprecation from their Puritan community to express their strong love for each other. Their love, even though it is true, is not considered as holy nor pure because of Hester past marriage to Roger Chillingworth, and thus Hester gained the Scarlet Letter for being an adulterer. Hawthorne utilizes biblical allusions, such as the stories of