A Person's Identity In Speak By Laurie Halse Anderson
Klaire Kulas
Speak Essay
A person 's identity can be affected by many things, loss, pain, and the people around them. These things could not be more evident, in Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. Melinda is a 15 year old girl who has experienced a series of traumatizing events, that cause her to change completely as a person. The summer before her freshman year she was raped. Drunk, dazed and violated she called the police on the huge party she was at. She soon developed a case of post traumatic stress disorder. Melinda became closed off and stopped talking. She never told anyone about her rape. All of her old friends rejected her after the call to the police. Desperate for friends, Melinda meets Heather. Heather craves popularity that Melinda can far from provide. Heather, like so many other abandons Melinda. Rachel her ex best friend became someone totally different, she even started dating Andy Evans. The boy who raped Melinda. Things get progressively worse for Melinda before she decides she needs to tell
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In contrast, when Melinda decided to tell Rachel about Andy raping her, it is a turning point in her life. “Rachel writes in a heavy hand. WHO DID IT??? I turn the page. Andy Evans” (184). This moment is a huge turning point in Melinda 's life. This marks the moment when she finally speaks up about what happened. This event shows so much about who Melinda was and is becoming. Prior to telling Rachel, Melinda decides to send Rachel a note warning her about Andy. “I groan and rip out a piece of notebook paper. I write her a note... ‘Andy Evans will use you. He is not what her pretends to be’”(152). This shows the contrast between the old Melinda and the new one. The old Melinda knew she had to try to protect Rachel but she was afraid, so she sent an anonymous letter. The new Melinda sees that she needs to say something and she works up the courage to help her once-friend. This really shows Melinda development as a person. She is overcoming her pain and
Self Growth And Isolation In Speak By Laurie Halse Anderson
439 Words | 2 PagesThe 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.
Summary Of Speak By Laurie Halse Anderson
1138 Words | 5 PagesMelinda feels disturbed by the sexuality of her high school peers, really because she is a victim of sexual violence and yet, she always blamed herself. She feels like if she was doing what she was supposed to, the whole "Rape" thing wouldnt have never happened so she blames herself. She also blames herself because she does not feel ready for this next phase of life. "It happened. There is no avoiding it, no forgetting.
Speak By Laurie Halse Anderson Symbolism
689 Words | 3 PagesThe most compelling evidence is on page 45 where it says, “I hide in the bathroom until I know Heather’s bus has left. The salt in my tears feels good when it stings my lips. I wash my face in the sink until there is nothing left of it, no eyes, no nose, no mouth. A slick Nothing.” This evidence shows how Melinda is feeling.
Speak: Speak By Laurie Halse Anderson
1448 Words | 6 PagesShe is deeply conflicted about whether to talk about what happened at the party that caused her to call the police. The climax is when Melinda is finally motivated to speak and warns Rachel about Andy. Rachel doesn't seem to believe her at first, but Melinda's anonymous warning probably prepares Rachel to ward off Andy at the prom, which she does. The falling action is we don't learn what happens to Andy, but the secret is out, and he's hopefully being dealt with.
Speak By Laurie Halse Anderson
997 Words | 4 PagesMelinda's internal conflict between speaking out about her assault and denying its reality is a central theme in the novel. On the night of a party she was invited to, she had too much to drink. She stumbled into a forest, unaware of the people and her surroundings. Andy Evans, a senior, took advantage of her drunken state and sexually assaulted her. The trauma from the night caused her to be in a state of denial and shock.
Speak Laurie Halse Anderson Character Analysis
1150 Words | 5 PagesOn a seemingly emotional high after attending a high school party as a rising freshman, Melinda’s world got turned upside down when she was taken advantage of by a popular senior jock. Along with the pain of the trauma itself, Melinda was reminded of her terrible ordeal each time she came in contact with Andy: “I want to throw up and I can smell him and I run and he remembers and he knows. He whispers in my ear” (Anderson 86). When Andy encroached on her sanctuary in the art room and destroyed her work, Melinda shut down and locked herself in her closet, where she “stuffed [her] mouth with old fabric and screamed until there were no sounds left under [her] skin” (Anderson 162). While interactions with others could incite her anxiety and feelings of depression, continued encounters with her rapist further aggravated Melinda.
Summary Of Speak By Laurie Halse Anderson
1074 Words | 5 PagesOn the day after prom, which Andy and Rachel went to together, we find out Rachel broke up with Andy because he wouldn’t stop groping her. Andy finds out that Melinda told Rachel that he raped her, he traps Melinda in a closet and attempts to hurt again. This time Melinda is able to shout no and breaks a mirror, holding a glass shard to Andy’s neck. The lacrosse team finds the two and Melinda finally gets help and everyone understands her
Use Of Figurative Language In Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak
644 Words | 3 Pages" Speak also states on page 161 " I am a deer in headlights of a tractor, is he going to hurt me again? He couldn't in school... why am I so afraid. " These examples from the text show all the problems Melinda had, for instance what Andy did to her,
The Seasons Of Melinda In Speak By Laurie Halse Anderson
892 Words | 4 PagesThe Seasons of Melinda Ever notice when the seasons change, people change? In the novel Speak, author Laurie Halse Anderson explores the idea of change. The book is about a high school freshman named Melinda Sordino, who has been raped and is trying to get over it. Melinda faced lots of challenges, including losing friends, dealing with school, confronting her rapist, and learning how to communicate with her dysfunctional family.
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 PagesAfter Melinda admits to herself that she was raped, Melinda starts to realize that
Finding Identity In Speak By Laurie Halse Anderson
308 Words | 2 PagesOne 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.
Inherently Evil People In The Glass Castle By Jeannette Walls
735 Words | 3 PagesDifferent pens, different handwriting…” (Anderson 186) There are many different girls who have written how awful Andy is and how he has mistreated them as well. This shows that what Andy did to Melinda wasn’t in any way a mistake or an accident, it was just something he does to girls. While there may be an explanation for his evil behavior, something that impacted him and made him this way, this quote clearly shows that he has a pattern of evil behavior and it 's just who he is.
Essay On Symbolism In The Book Speak
1197 Words | 5 PagesMelinda, in a lot of ways, starts out like that it the book. She becomes a shell of herself from before the party happened and because no one else was there, she is lonely and doesn't have anybody to go to and to make matters even worse, she’s covered by the reputation that she has formed. In the book, Laurie Halse Anderson uses symbolism to convey exactly what Melinda can't say. In the beginning of the book, Melinda starts high school carrying her emotional wounds with her after something happens mysterious to her at a party during the summer.
Speak Journal Response To Speak By Laurie Halse Anderson
1218 Words | 5 PagesShe feels ashamed and blames herself for not being a good enough wife for Tom, just as Melinda feels guilty as though the rape was her fault, even if it really wasn’t. It is later revealed that in reality, it was actually Tom who had done all those atrocious things. He would lie to Rachel, blaming her for all the things he had done, just to make her feel guilty, weak, and worthless. Just how Andy had made Melinda feel after he raped her. With this connection, I can better understand Melinda’s character through Rachel’s in The Girl on the Train, which I read and enjoyed before I read
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