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Laurie Halse Anderson Speak Analysis

241 Words1 Pages
Laurie Halse Anderson is the author of “Speak.” The main character is Melinda, and she goes to Merryweather High School. She has no friends, and her old friends are mad at her.She is an outcast at the school.The author wants Melinda to speak about her problems to somebody.
Throughout the book Melinda has problems with her family. For example, they don 't communicate with her and instead choose to just communicate by writing notes to one another. Also, her parents are disappointed with her grades. They also are constantly arguing with each other. Furthermore, she also has problems with her friends .A problem with Melinda 's friends is that she gets annoyed with Heather because she talks way too much. Also, most of her old friends don 't talk
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Speak, the story of Melinda Sordino, the girl without a voice. In speak the main protagonist, Melinda, has to go through high school with almost everyone in her school hating her because of a misunderstanding, she called the police on a summer party because she was sexually assaulted but never had the courage to say anything. Throughout the book the writer, Laurie Anderson uses trees to symbolize changes in Melinda’s life like (insert thing here), how Melinda needs to remove the “dead branches” from her life so she can move on and grow from her experiences, and how Melinda was finally able to “cut the dead branches” from her life and learn to speak up for herself. A good example of Melinda’s transformation is shown in this next quote. “He’s

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Also it’s showing that everyone does not think of her the same way. Melinda is also not blend in with everyone because she is wearing different clothes. In the end of the book, Rachel starts talking to Melinda again after she finds out Andy Evans raped her. Another part in the beginning of the book Heather starts making friends with Melinda but when Heather starts using her, Melinda stands up to her. Heather is super nice to Melida and invites her to do things, but when she meets the Martha’s she slowly started to leave Melinda behind until she needed something.

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Names are an important part of most books. Speak is no exception. The main character gives names to certain people giving the reader a different view on them. Not only Melinda give names to characters so does the author, Laurie Halse Anderson Name represents who they are as characters. There are many names used in the story.

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Heather from speak is not guilty of being a bad friend. This is evident when Heather is the only other person that is willing to accept Melinda and listen to what Melinda has to say. Heather sets a plan “[Heather] wants us to join five clubs, one for every day of the week” (Anderson 22). This represents friendly behaviour, as Heather is assisting Melinda in making new friends, while also boosting her own social rank.

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Melinda pushing those around her away is a direct result of her not acknowledging interpersonal conflicts due to the fact it’s easier for her to lose relationships than speak out. One day, while Melinda is eating lunch

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Through her silence she shields herself from the pain and judgement that speaking up might bring. However, when the story progresses she realizes that silence can also be suffocating and isolating. “In our society women are often conditioned to bear their griefs, burdens, and fears in a legacy of silence.” (Between Voice and Voicelessness: Transcating Silence in Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak, pg.1). Women are often socialized to keep their emotions and fears to themselves without openly sharing them.

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One will eventually come across the day where they are able to figure out who they truly are as a person. A discovery like this will lead to new chapters of life and start new beginnings. Although finding one 's identity can be difficult to understand and accept, it is crucial in life to discover oneself. In the novel Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, a teenage girl, who had to overcome and deal with an awful tragedy, takes readers on the long journey she walked before finding meaning and value in who she is as a person.

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Mrs. Sordino’s inability to show compassion towards Melinda and how she may be feeling greatly diminishes their relationship. These interactions cause a chain reaction of broken relationships throughout the book. For Melinda, this causes distrust and unwillingness to open up. After this, every time Mrs. Sordino attempts to ask Melinda about her life, Melinda does not respond. This is most likely caused by these types of interactions throughout the book.

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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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She get's harassed by a Popular group called the Marthas, they make fun of Melinda when she is introduced to them. They comment about her hair, body, and lips in a negative way. Also Rachele Melinda ex-friend hangs out with popular people and

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After the rape her grades drop which means her parents are not only disappointed but they are frustrated with her. (Link) Nevertheless, Melinda is going through other thoughts and feelings inside

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Speak Journal Response This journal is in response to the novel Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. As a coming-of-age contemporary novel, Speak discusses many sensitive issues that are still prominent even today. In this story, we explore the life of Melinda Sordino, a fourteen-year-old girl who is beginning high school right after experiencing an utterly traumatic event: rape. Melinda is left friendless, with no one to help and support her after what happened.

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The novel Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson, is about a girl named Melinda, who shows signs of depression throughout the story. She has no friends and is hated by people she doesn’t even know. This is because she called the cops at a party, where she was raped. Anderson includes literary elements to show how Melinda is depressed. Throughout the novel, she uses many different literary elements to show Melinda’s conflict.

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Melinda, in a lot of ways, starts out like that it the book. She becomes a shell of herself from before the party happened and because no one else was there, she is lonely and doesn't have anybody to go to and to make matters even worse, she’s covered by the reputation that she has formed. In the book, Laurie Halse Anderson uses symbolism to convey exactly what Melinda can't say. In the beginning of the book, Melinda starts high school carrying her emotional wounds with her after something happens mysterious to her at a party during the summer.

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