Character Analysis: Speak By Laurie Halse Anderson

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The main character of the book Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, Melinda, has a traumatic past. As a result, she is now suffering from the mental disorder depression. She has most of the major symptoms, three of which are self esteem issues or dysmorphia, withdrawal from friends and family, and lack of motivation or enthusiasm. These are all normal emotions that everyone experiences sometimes. But when a person feels like this every single day, there are bigger problems. Melinda 's first symptom, self esteem issues, appears frequently in the book. One notable example is on page 34, when she bluntly tells her friend Heather that she doesn 't think very highly of herself. The text says, "Heather asks why I don 't think they would let us in