Melinda's Social Life In Speak By Laurie Halse Anderson

In the article, Editorial: Program helps guide victims of assaults on road to recovery, by the Janesville Gazette, The Sexual Assault Recovery Program says only between 5 percent and 20 percent of victims report the attacks. In the novel Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson, Melinda is the main character in the novel and is affected by sexual assault herself. Melinda is one of the 5 to 20 percent who stay silent after she was sexually assaulted by who Melinda calls “IT”, Andy Evans. Anderson uses trees as motifs to support the theme of how Melinda’s social life is as the school year progresses.
In the beginning of the book, the motif of trees is used to support what Melinda’s life is like after what happened at the party. When Melinda is choosing her art project, she is quite confused on how simple and basic her topic is. Melinda says “He stops at my table. I plunge my

When Melinda attempts to carve her project, she doesn’t like the way it turns out. Melinda says “But when I try to carve it, it looks like a dead tree, toothpicks, a child's drawing. I can't bring it to life. I'd love to give it up. Quit. But I can't think of anything else to do, so I keep chipping away at it”(Anderson 78). This response shows that her art project is failing miserably. This also is the same for many aspects of her life at the time. Her social life, family life, and academics are all dying just like her tree. Then, when she tries to restart her tree sculpture, she describes her old tree like old things in her life. “I start a new linoleum block. My last tree looked like it had died from some fungal infection—not the effect I wanted at all”(Anderson 92). This quote shows how her old tree looked horrible, but she has a chance to make it better. This is the same thing that happens in Melinda’s life. She had things really bad at first, and now has a chance for a rebirth, or a new