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.
Speak The book I am responding to is called Speak written by Laurie Halse Anderson. This book is about a teenage girl named Melinda Sordino, who begins her high school year with a big secret. Over the summer she and her friends went to a party where Melinda was raped, she called the police, causing her friends and everyone at the party to reject her. Later Melinda befriends a girl named Heather, a new student at her school.
“Speak”, a book by Laurie Halse Anderson, holds place in Syracuse, New York, where Melinda Sordino experiences the tragedy of rape at an end-of-summer-party and attempts to recover from her trauma all throughout her first year of highschool. The commence of high school did not go too well. Everything was going swell before she knew she was getting bombarded by a guy. This became hard for her, talking about an experience like this was very hard to even talk about. It out her in a different stage to do anything to the point where you kind of give up on other things no matter how bad you want it.
In the book “Speak”, the main character went through some changes. From last year as an 8th grader she had a few best friends. This year, as a freshman in high school at Merryweather high school, she is starting the new year with no friends. The changes were caused by home and friend related events. Her identity was shaped negatively through these topics Melinda goes through changes because of her friend events.
In the book Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson a girl Melinda is stuck with a deep dark secret in her. Melinda has just entered high school and there is an incident that happened to her over the summer. Melinda ended up losing all her friends, and becoming depressed. This incident was a senior at her school raping Melinda at a party. Melinda’s friend Rachel had gotten her into a senior party in the summer.
How Symbolism is Expressed by Authors Symbolism helps the author display growth and development that they want the reader to understand and acknowledge. In Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, Melinda expresses symbolism and growth over the duration of the book that is expressed through writing from the author. One of the ways symbolism is expressed is through trees In the novel, Speak, the use of trees as a symbol reveals the growth of the main character, Melinda. At the beginning of the novel, Melinda’s character growth is nonexistent. Early on in the novel, Melinda shows no progress, “My last tree looked like it died from a fungal infection” (Anderson 92).
He then proceeds to try to do everything again but she silenced him and stands up for herself and screams no. Melinda talks about her tree she is making saying “My tree is definitely breathing; little shallow breaths like it shot up through the ground this morning …. Roots knob out of the ground and the crown reaches for the sun, tall and healthy. The new growth is the best part”(Halse Anderson 196). Her creating a new living tree that she finally likes is similar to her growth as a person.
In the book Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, Melinda gives a really good example of character development throughout the story. Melinda just starts her freshman year at high school. Over the summer her and her friends went to a party and Melinda gets raped by a boy named Andy Evans and ends up calling the police, she didn't tell anyone why she called the police, causing her friends and everyone at the party to reject her. Melinda’s only friend is a new girl named heather. Melinda gets depressed and starts expressing her pain through stuff like biting her lips and her nails, and not talking.
Melinda has to overcome the past and learn from her fears to thrive. In the book the tree symbolizes Melinda's growth, to overcome fears and to progress you need to learn from the past. To start, the journey of Melinda’s growth she chooses a topic for her art class that she will be working on all year. When Melinda pulls her topic out she is disappointed. “I plunge my hand into the bottom of the globe and fish out my paper.
As Virginia Woolf once said, “I am made and remade continually. Different people draw different words in me. Meaning that your identity is changed by the people you surround yourself with. In the novel “speak”, Melinda has been through a series of situations that has shaped who she is. Some of those situations that helped shape her identity include her home and school.
What inspired you to write "Speak," and how did you approach the delicate and powerful subject matter of sexual assault in a young adult novel? Laurie Halse Anderson's motivation to write 'Speak' is rooted in her acknowledgment of a lack of representation and the pressing need to address the profound issue that affects many young women – sexual assault. She is determined to shed light on the impact of silence and societal pressures faced by survivors while ensuring that the portrayal of such sensitive subject matter remains authentic and compassionate.
These two books have specific examples in which the two characters go through situations where they realize things they didn’t notice before. In the book Stand Tall, Tree goes through some events that lets him experience life’s journeys. The first example of life’s journeys is in the book, Stand Tall, by Joan Bauer, is that Tree learns emotionally that family matter most and there is always hope. For example, Tree’s two parents, who are divorced, gets together for a night.
Throughout the school year, Melinda’s tree goes through phases that reflect her emotions at the time. In the beginning of the story, Melinda thinks the project is too easy at first, thinking to herself, “How hard can it be to put a tree on a piece of paper?” (Anderson 32). However as Melinda tries to draw her tree, the more she begins to realize that she can’t. Similar to how she struggles with finding her voice, Melinda also has trouble drawing her tree.
Speak is a powerful and moving novel. The author allows us to follow along the journey of a young teenage girl who, despite all odds, overcomes the tragedies in her life. While Melinda is struggling to get through these obstacles, her art teacher has assigned her with the task of creating a tree that will allow her to express all of her pain and suffering. Melinda creates tree after tree, whether it’s drawn, painted, or a sculpture. I believe that the only way to fully pay tribute to this beautiful story is to take every motion that Melinda experiences throughout the entire book and express them in creating a tree.
In everything piece of literature, including movies, there tend to be hidden meanings. A purpose as to why the author wrote the book or directed the movie to be the way it is. As a result of this, one must learn to read between the lines and to explore the true explanation and understanding . In the book Speak, there are many hidden messages, one of them includes her searching for individuality and finding herself and being unique to her own nature. The author has added this theme because it can benefit the reader and enhance their learning as well as help them relate to the book on a deeper level.
