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Characters In Speak By Laurie Halse Anderson

909 Words4 Pages

Have you ever needed somebody to help you achieve your desires? .In the novel Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, the main character has a hard time speaking. Melinda stated the mood in the novel by saying “…me with an S maybe, S for silent, for stupid, for scared, S for silly, for shame”(Anderson 101).Throughout the school year Melinda relies on her attacker, friends, and a trusted teacher to speak up. She almost swore herself to complete silence, because of a dramatic experience that she had the summer before her freshman year of high school.
“NO I DON’T WANT TO!”(Anderson 135). Throughout the entire novel Melinda’s Attacker has stalked her like a wolf stalks a rabbit. He is known as IT for the majority of the story. IT has been in Melinda’s …show more content…

Her name was heather and she moved from Ohio. Heather was very outgoing person. She tried for the first part of the school year to get Melinda involved in clubs or anything for that matter. Heather is obsessed with trying to become popular. When Heather joined the Marthas she slowly distant herself from Melinda. Eventually she drops Melinda as a friend and said that she was too depressed and needed help. This Melinda even more depressed and feel more alone. When prom came around Heather went to Melinda’s house and begged her to help with prom preparations. Heather offered to help redo Melinda’s room. Melinda finally stood up for what she believed and said no to Heather. She also told Heather “… That’s not what I mean, I mean no, won’t help you.”(Anderson 179). This was one of the first times that she stood up for what she wanted. After her fight with Heather, Melinda had a confidence boost and felt strong and powerful. Towards the middle of the novel she was getting more positive feedback from her friend Ivy. She was in Melinda’s art class. She was the first of Melinda’s old friends to open back up to her since the party. As the year was winding down they started to become closer. Around spring time Melinda saw Ivy drawing at the mall and decided to join her. Ivy slowly started to open up and forgive Melinda for calling the cops. In the fourth marking period Melinda showed Ivy the thread about Andy that she

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There are people in our lives who have helped us grow. In the summer before freshman year in high school Melinda Sordino was raped at a party. After calling the police she was left without friends or dignity. She isolates herself not knowing what to do. In Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, Melinda grows in many ways throughout the book.

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Throughout the book, Melinda has problems with her family. For example, her family is mad because she is not achieving academic grade levels. Furthermore, she also has issues with her friends. She called the cops and her friends get mad.

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As the story progresses, Melinda has the time to contemplate over what happened, but with no support, she still cannot speak. Later into the story, Melinda finds out that Rachel is in a relationship with Andy, her rapist. She talks to Rachel via

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Additionally, Melinda standing up to Heather and asking her mom to redecorate shows how she is speaking up and finding her voice. Finally, the motif is shown again when Melinda is stuck in the closet with Andy and she says, “No. A sound explodes from me. “NNNOOO!!!” (Anderson 194).

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Write an essay using plot developments in Speak to clearly analyze the psychological and self-destructive effects of Melinda being raped by Andy Evans. Tired is what Melinda is. All she ever is, tired. Tired of people, tired of school, tired of life, but she wasn’t always. She used to have hopes, dreams, goals, aspirations, desires, ambitions, a will to live even.

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At 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).

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