The Voice In Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak

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. 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 open my mouth to breathe, to scream, and his hand covers it. In my head,

Even in the depths of her darkness, there is something telling her that she can not stay silent. This thing is what drives her to tell Rachel about IT. “I

Melinda is in pain, the kind that makes your heart ache and your soul bleed. She is in so much pain that she cannot speak. The longer she holds on to her wounds, the harder it becomes to heal them. “It is getting harder to talk. My throat is always sore, my lips raw.” (Anderson, 50) It is not just hard for Melinda to speak, it is excruciating. “My throat squeezes shut, as if two hands of black fingernails are clamped on my windpipe.” (Anderson, 28) Melinda is in a perpetual state of suffocation. Even with those that she should trust, she cannot speak. She feels like no one will believe her. “Would you listen? Would you believe me? Fat chance.” (Anderson, 114) She has no one. Her friends are nonexistent, her parents don’t care, and she is just another student to school faculty. Melinda’s truth cannot escape the icy silence of her isolation from those who might