Analysis Of Speak By Laurie Halse Anderson

Freedom of speech and other freedoms guaranteed to American citizens by the First Amendment protect our right to information and expression of opinions, which can be infringed upon when books are banned. Book banning refers to the practice of forbidding the use of certain books in school libraries or curricula. Due to this practice, many books have been banned in the United States. One victim of book banning is Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson which was banned in all K-12 grades in 2022 due to its perceived political viewpoint, alleged bias against male students, depiction of rape, use of profanity, and portrayal of suicidal ideation. While Speak does display sensitive and mature topics such as sexual assault and self-harm, which should be restricted for

This is likely due to fear of being shut down and falsely accused of lying, like what happened in Speak when she told Rachel about being raped by Andy Evans and was called a liar. Despite rape being such a heinous crime, accusations of lying are not just in fiction and not just in private, it also happens in court. “There were 35 prosecutions of women for lying about rape in a 17 month period,” Longstaff, The rape victims prosecuted for "false" rape allegations, these women were in fact not lying. Moreover, these examples prove the lack of awareness of rape not just in the general population but, also in people who are trained to put criminals behind bars but instead put victims in their place which causes fear in victims to ever speak up about their experiences. Having literature like Speak in general education could elevate awareness of rape and create a safe space for victims to tell their stories without reprimand. Yet, instead of truly worrying about children’s education, legislation like “Senate Bill 377” is more worried about limiting knowledge of how the world truly is, instead of enhancing the education for young