Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson, is a story about Melinda Sordino. Melinda was an incoming freshman at Merryweather High, and was entering ninth grade with no friends. During the first school assembly, the new girl in town, Heather, introduced herself to Melinda, sparking somewhat of a friendship. Melinda also came across her ex-best friend, Rachel. Rachel had mouthed the words “I hate you” to Melinda, even though all she wanted to do was to tell Rachel what really happened at the infamous summer party.
It is estimated that 1 in 6 women will be a victim of attempted or completed rape, however, only 16-40% of all rape is reported. In the realistic-fiction novel, Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson, 14-year-old Melinda becomes a victim of rape at a summer party and begins to hide from herself to avoid the past. Within the novel Anderson uses the mirror as a motif to show Melinda’s growth from hiding from herself to defending herself. After Melinda’s assault, she calls the police while watching herself in the reflection of a window. “I saw my face in the window over the kitchen sink and no words came out of my mouth” (Anderson 136).
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson is a book about a girl named Melinda Sordino. In the beginning of this book the audience meets Melinda as she is the main character and she describes her first day of high school starting with an assembly. Throughout the book you read about her life but she goes back to the past recalling of something that happened at the end of the summer; in a couple of instances she comes across someone that she refers to as “IT”. When reading you don't know who this “IT” is but it is developed over the story by her having flashbacks to that night or dropping a hint of what happened. During a seminar at the beginning of the book Melinda meets someone named Heather who is new and becomes her friend but ultimately leaves her
Did you know that only 310 out of every 1,000 sexual assaults are reported? Melinda was one of the 690 people that didn’t report her sexual assault. Speak was about this girl named Melinda and she had something happen to her right before school started and she didn’t tell anyone. Then as the school year progressed she wasn’t making any friends and even the only friend she had unfriended her. THen at the end she finally told someone.
The theme of self growth and isolation can be seen throughout the novel Speak (1999) by Laurie Halse Anderson, which follows the main protagonist, Melinda Sordino through her freshman year. When Melinda is first introduced, she mentions a secret that she is afraid to talk to anyone about. Melinda later reveals to the readers that she was raped by a high school senior at an end of summer party. Everyone at school acts hostile towards Melinda for calling the cops and ruining what was the best night of their lives, unbeknown to them, that night still haunts her dreams. This causes Melinda to become isolated from everyone, as they only see her as the freak who called the cops.
Symbolism is the practice of representing things by symbols, or of investing things with a symbolic meaning or character. In Speak, Laurie Halse Anderson uses literary devices to help the reader better understand Melinda’s personal changes and growth. Trees, lips, and coldness are all symbolically used to represent the changes of Melinda. Throughout the novel, trees play a big part in symbolizing Melinda. Melinda is constantly drawing and relating to trees in the book.
Strength and growth come only through continuous effort and struggle (Napoleon Hill). In the book Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, the tree is an important symbol of growth and courage through difficult times. The main character, Melinda, went through a series of unfathomable events over the summer that put her into a troublesome position. She was raped by a boy named Andy at a party while she was drunk. Scared and confused, she called the cops to come help her, resulting in her losing all her friends.
The book Speak is a book written by Laurie Halse Anderson, it is about a young girl named Melinda Sordino and is about a very serious and all too common issue: rape and depression. Rape is a serious problem, it can completely destroy a person, making them never the same again. Depression is always an uphill battle and is even worse when your friends turn their back on you and your family does not notice something is seriously wrong with you. Melinda was a young girl enjoying life until an older boy named Andy Evans took advantage of his size and raped her.
Every year over 63,000 teenagers are raped. After Rape incidents, many victims suffer from trauma and painful emotions. A similar situation occurs in the novel Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. In this story, Melinda Sordino, a high school freshman, is raped by an upperclassman. Many rape victims never recuperate from their attacks, but the strongest few do.
One will eventually come across the day where they are able to figure out who they truly are as a person. A discovery like this will lead to new chapters of life and start new beginnings. Although finding one 's identity can be difficult to understand and accept, it is crucial in life to discover oneself. In the novel Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, a teenage girl, who had to overcome and deal with an awful tragedy, takes readers on the long journey she walked before finding meaning and value in who she is as a person.
Laurie Halse Anderson uses literary elements such as imagery, symbolism, and conflict, in order to reveal the protagonist’s emotional growth throughout the the novel. In the novel, Anderson uses imagery to show Melinda’s mental state throughout the novel. For example, “I stumble from thorn bush to thornbush-my mother and father who hate each other, Rachel who hates me, a school that gags on me like I’m a hairball. And Heather” (Anderson 125).
Friendship is like a rollercoaster. There are ups and downs, but in the end you will always have fun. In the book Speak, The main character is shown as an outcast archetype. In most novels with the Hero’s Journey the main character is portrayed as a hero, making this book unique and unlike others. An outcast is a person who has been rejected by society or a social group.
One out of every six women has been sexually assaulted either completed (14.8%) or attempted (2.8%) in her entire lifetime. Imagine of the those women was a 15 year old girl attending high school, who had a lot to offer, but was periodically silenced, while battling a mental illness in a fictional novel called Speak. The novel speak and the articles we read outside of class have a lot in common including sexual assault stereotypes, sexual violence statistics, and mental illness. Next, I will compare the character Melinda with the four articles. During the book speak, the main character Melinda can be described as a “perfect victim”.
The Voice of Silence “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.
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.
