“It is easier not to say anything. Shut your trap, button your lip, can it. All that crap you hear on TV about communication and expressing feelings is a lie. Nobody really wants to hear what you have to say.” (Pg 9). Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson is about a girl named Melinda Sordino , a girl who was raped her freshman year. Three things that helped her finally “ Speak” were , art class , symbolism of trees, and finally accepting it .
To Melinda Sordino , the only safe place was the art room , and when she gave her own grades , this was the only class with an “A”. "You did a good job with that Cubist sketch," he says. I don't know what to say. We pass a dead dog. It doesn't have a collar. "I'm seeing a lot of growth in your work. You are learning more than you know.". In this class , Melinda made a sculpture out of turkey bones, and it showed how she felt . This class was the first time she could express herself, and come closer to accepting what happened.
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However , all they have to do it cut off one limb , so it can be healthy again. The tree is like Melinda , once they remove the dead part , will have healthy girl. Melinda’s dad says "He's not chopping it down. He's saving it. Those branches were long dead from disease. All plants are like that. By cutting off the damage, you make it possible for the tree to grow again. You watch--by the end of summer, this tree will be the strongest on the block " (187). This made Melinda realize that she must cut off and face her dead part , or she will never