Speak was written in 1999 by Laurie Halse Anderson. The book is about Melinda, a freshman just starting high school. Melinda starts school off with no friends, she lost the ones she had over the summer. A traumatic event causes Melinda to shut everyone out, and not speak to anyone. Growing up usually takes time, but Melinda is rushed into maturity too soon and must help others do the same.
There are specific people who helped her mature in a certain way. She slowly opens up over the course of the year with support from different people. There are several people in this novel who help Melinda find her “voice”. Mr. Freeman, for example, was an important part of Melinda’s growth. He is Melinda’s art teacher who came off as weird at first
“Speak,” is a novel by Laurie Halse Anderson. The setting is in Syracuse, New York in the early 2000’s. Melinda Sordino is the narrator of the story and is a freshman at Merryweather High School. During the summer before her freshman year, she goes to a party with her close friends filled with alcohol and music. At the party, she drinks many beers and becomes intoxicated.
Melinda`s behavior reflcets the theme because she has come to the realization that keeping her feelings bottled up will not
Melinda’s character develops tremendously over the course of the book. In the beginning of the book, she says, “ I have entered high school with the wrong hair, the wrong clothes, the wrong attitude. And I don’t have anyone to sit with. I am an outcast” (Anderson, 4). At the start, Melinda had lost all of her friends after she busted a party last summer, but nobody knows that a senior boy at the party raped her.
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
In the novel Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson the main character, Melinda, often turns to nature to provide an inspiring story for her feelings of hopelessness to fall back on. Though it is not always blatantly stated, while Melinda comes to terms with the fact that she has been raped nature provides parallels to Melinda's life, symbolizing changing sentiments as they occur. This symbolism manifests in Melinda's interests, the seasons, and her art project. Melinda often mentions plant seeds throughout the story. Melinda's first mention of them is in Biology class when the class dissects apples.
But the reports I’ve been getting…well, what can we say?’” (Anderson 114). This meeting makes it clear that Melinda was previously an attentive student but as her mental health struggles got worse, her school life deteriorated as well. The principal states that last year—before her
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.
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.
According to a graph in the” RAINN” article, 15% of sexual assaults occur in an open public place. In the book “Speak” Melinda got raped during a friend's party at the end of summer. I read the book “Speak” and articles RAINN, PTSD, Lady Gaga, and The Perfect Victim. They all explain how the victim was affected, how the victim copes with being raped, and the relationships the victim had with people after they were raped. The first similarity i see is how the victim was affected after being raped.
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.
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).
In the novel Speak, the author explores the effects of trauma and the power of finding one's voice. The main character, Melinda, experiences significant character development throughout the story. Initially withdrawn and silenced, Melinda slowly grows into a courageous and resilient young woman, as she learns to confront her past and face the challenges of depression. Throughout her book Speak, Laurie Halse Anderson dives deep into the theme of character development which is shown through a rape victim, showing her transformation from a broken and voiceless teenager to a survivor who reclaims her identity and speaks her truth.
Speak a Long Year with No Friends Laurie Halse Anderson wrote the novel Speak in 1999. The novel Speak was about a girl, named Melinda, who went to a party over the summer and she ended up calling the cops for a reason no one knew about. Once she went to school, she had no friends there, because everyone was mad that she had called the cops. In the novel, Speak, Melinda went a long time without telling her secret, and as a result was very depressed.
