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Comparing Voice In Speak And House On Mango Street

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In literature, there are characters who use their voice regularly and roaringly express their opinions, and others who do not. In the two main books we have focused on this semester, there are characters that fit both of these descriptions. Melinda from Speak and Mamacita from House on Mango Street have situations in their respective novels, such as Melinda’s rape and Mamacita’s language barrier, that renders them voiceless and “different”. Andy from Speak used victim-blaming and forced himself into denial so he would not have to take responsibility for his grave actions. Throughout Speak, there are various dilemmas where Melinda cannot find her voice. While at school one day, she thought to herself; “Nobody bothered to tell me that study …show more content…

Andy was on the other side of the spectrum. Andy attended a party with Melinda and her friends and asked her to come to his car. There, he raped her, leaving both mental and physical scars on Melinda that will last a lifetime. At the dawn of the next school year, Melinda tried to rekindle her relationship with her friends that Andy forced her to lose,he walked towards her table and said; "Fresh meat” (150). Melinda immediately got up from the table and left, obviously distraught. Not only was this comment outrageously insensitive, it showed how he viewed his actions. He was using his voice and overall popularity to make Melissa seem small. In the world today, people who report to the authorities that they were raped by professional athletes are seen as gold-diggers and liars. If Melinda got up from her lunch table and proceeded to tell authorities about what had happened at the party, she may not have been taken seriously due to the image that Andy was viewed in. Later in the novel, Andy confronted Melinda after she bravely told Rachel, his girlfriend, what he had done to her. He responded by saying this; "I never raped anybody. I don't have to. You wanted it just as bad as I did. But your feelings got hurt, so you start spreading lies, and now every girl in school is talking about me like I'm so kind of pervert” (327). While also victim-blaming Melinda, Andy also silenced her and ultimately said it was her fault and

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She started to hang out with the foreign exchange students and decided she wanted to be called Rachell. Rachel, wait no, Rachell starts dating the guy that had assaulted Melinda at the party, Andy Evans. One day in the library Rachell and Melinda had a bit of a conversation, although it ended up on paper since the librarian didn’t want there to be any noise. They did end up discussing the party and Melinda told Rachell what happened, although when she writes that it was Andy Rachell get mad and claims that Melinda is a

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Melinda is an outcast. Everyone, including her now ex-best friend, hates her after she calls the cops at a party. Why? She was raped. In the novel Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, the author depicts a frighteningly real story about the fictional character Melinda.

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To start, Andy Evans is a poorly written and poorly executed abuser. Many abusers are similar to Andy. They gain your trust and then crush it. Melinda is groomed and made to love Andy the night before being assaulted. Anderson shows the public's perception of Andy through Emily's statement, "Fact—he's

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At this party Melinda tried beer for the first time. Then she took another sip and then other cups. Melinda had become very drunk, and there is where Andy Evans was introduced and he started dancing with her. As they were dancing Andy convinced Melinda to go to the back with him and this is where Andy allegedly raped Melinda. He started raping

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This causes her to be unable to speak as normal and express herself only through self physical acts of hurting herself. However, through her pain, she begins to grow from a victim to a survivor and understands that the only way to go against evil is to speak out against it. Melinda in Speak is a high school freshman who is raped by Andy Evans who is a senior in high school. Due to him raping her she loses her ability to speak normally and say what she feels and how she feels. Melinda gains her confidence to speak in public freely again by the end of the story.

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Then, after heather 's word , she leaves Melinda alone without caring for her feelings. This action increases Melinda 's psychological anger. So, at the end of the novel, when heather returns back and asks Melinda for another help. Melinda refuses in a violent way and says "NO" to her. It 's clear that the friendship between heather and Melinda was based on interests

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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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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.

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After Melinda admits to herself that she was raped, Melinda starts to realize that

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