While reading the book Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, I made several connections to the real world. This journal response will explain those connections and how they relate to Speak and to my own life. The first connection I made was about the plot of the book, specifically the intrapersonal conflict that Melinda experiences. Melinda is sexually assaulted and must deal with the guilt and shame that she feels, even though it was not her fault. Because of this, she has a difficult time speaking out about the event that happened to her. The struggle that Melinda goes through and what she feels is similar to that of countless women who have been in the news lately. Recently, more women have come out and talked about their experiences with sexual …show more content…
Many of these women, much like Melinda, felt very guilty and shameful about what was done to them, and were scared to be judged by other people. They also were afraid that they would not be believed. This is something that happens to many women and girls in the world, and most are afraid to talk about it for a long time. Melinda, like some of the women of Hollywood who have been in the media recently, was too scared to talk about what had happened to her for a while. She eventually felt supported by others and shared her story with other girls at school. This caused many other girls to share that they had gone through the same thing, much like the “Me Too” …show more content…
The Beast is seen as a terrible and frightening monster. However, once Beauty gets to know him and his story better, she learns he is not as unpleasant as she originally though and finds that he has a good heart. Both of these stories demonstrate the theme of appearance vs. reality, when a person or situation appears to be one way but the reality is much different. This is relevant to myself and my life because often many people are not what they seem to be, whether a person seems unkind but really isn’t, or vice versa. This is also relevant to my life when I hear or read stories but the reality is much different. This book shows that things aren’t always exactly what they