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Personal Reflective Essay On Speak

505 Words3 Pages

Speak was a very inspirational book to me because of all the situations that Melinda overcame and even though at first she wasn’t very open, she later let herself speak the truth. The main focus of the book was letting yourself speak the truth and let someone help you during difficult times. It shows you not to endure all the pain but to talk about it. The book was written from her point of view and I think the author did good by putting it this way because we got to see how she thought of people and what she was feeling inside. At the beginning of the book it starts off by her having no friends because of something that happened in the past. She doesn’t talk a lot at the beginning because of the event. She also doesn’t speak to her parents …show more content…

The books also evolves around her in art class having an assignment to draw a tree and really express what your feeling through it. At first she really doesn’t know what to draw or how to express herself but then starts to have ideas and try to make it very well drawn and sculpted. The tree helps her a lot because it turns out she was very sad and she put her emotions on the tree she makes. As the book continues she starts to say she feels guilty and wants to leave because of what happened. The only person she really talks to is heather from Ohio and she’s the only friend that Melinda had and she actually shared a lot to her. Later on heather becomes friends with the “popular” crowd which hurts Melinda because she wanted at least one friend. We later find out that she was raped the year before and she didn’t know what to do so she called the cops that night to report the party and everybody got mad at her and she lost all her friends. She confronts the guy and then decides to speak and she tells everyone what really happened and since he had done it to many other girls, the girls helped her speak out and to not be afraid of saying what you believe. Someone should definitely read the book because of its inspirational story and you can relate to it because a

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In Laurie Halse Anderson’s novel, Speak, Melinda is a dynamic character whose behaviors, thoughts, and words change and reflect the theme of the novel, not to keep ones emotions bottled up. First, Melinda acts in a shy and quiet manner because she had got her friends into trouble when she called the cops at the party. However when Melinda begins to make her own choicesfor herself and not let her emotions get to her, she realizes she will not let other people make her own descions. This is evident when Anderson writes “I mean no I won`t help you” (Anderson 179). This shows how Melinda will not be walked on by her peers.

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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.

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Also, the closet her “safe place” she always used to hide what happened at the party from everyone else becomes a dangerous place. “It”, also known as Andy Evans the boy who rapes her at the party breaks into the closet and tries to sexually assault her again. Melinda realizes she can't let this happen again and therefore fights back with everything she has. She realizes that her closet is not safe anymore and that she can't hide from her trauma. And that she can't hide from this problem, and she needs to stand up and speak to the problem.

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A random students taps Melinda on the shoulder and asks if she’s the one who called the cops at the party hosted by Kyle Rodger. She nods people were making her feel guilty and horrible for what she did. The reason why she called the cops still remains a mystery but this explains why Melinda is isolated, and why Rachel stopped being friends with Melinda. whatever happened at the party traumatized her and haunts Melinda everyday.

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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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1 in 6 womenwoman will be or have been raped in the US, . With most victims being 18-30 years old. The book Speak (by Laurie Halse Anderson) is about a girl named Melinda that had something traumatic happen to her at a summer party. Due to her trauma she has a hard time making friends going into high school and with this Melinda is conflicted about her individuality and questions if she can trust any one with being herself . After spring break Melinda begins to care about herself again and tries to better herself and get over her trauma.

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I reach in for another piece of paper. Mr. Freeman shakes his head. "Ah-ah-ah," he says. "You just chose your destiny, you can't change that.” We see in the book that When she’s alone it’s difficult for her to, not draw a tree but one that looks good.

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The name of novel was Speak which was written by Laurie Halse Anderson. The novel goes around a teenager girl who named Melinda. She was a student of Merrywaether high school. Last summer, at one of her senior party, she was raped was and she called police for help. Her ex best friends stopped talking to her, because she was the only who called the police.

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The United States went through many events from 1940 to 1970. A lot of these events significantly changed the economy in the United States. These events led to changes in our economy, social structure and American culture as a whole. In the years between 1940 and 1970 America experienced an economic and technological boom because of increased production, increased government involvement and the change in working culture.

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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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The new Melinda sees that she needs to say something and she works up the courage to help her once-friend. This really shows Melinda development as a person. She is overcoming her pain and

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Consequently, Melinda’s character is one which most teens relate to. Friendship is very important aspect of high school. In high school friendships start to change and so do people. People feel like they have to be cool and popular in high school and that's when everything starts to change for Melinda.

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After Melinda admits to herself that she was raped, Melinda starts to realize that

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Another element in this novel is Melinda’s inner conflict, man vs. self. What Melinda has been through greatly affected her everyday life. She struggles with depression, dislikes her appearance, and feels ashamed of herself for something that isn 't her fault: “I want to confess everything, hand over the guilt and mistake and anger to someone else...even if I dump the memory, it will stay with me, staining me” (Anderson 51). Andy Evans, the senior who raped her, made her feel worthless. This situation is much like the one in the novel The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins.

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Art is way of expression. People can use actions and art or express themselves in ways other than speaking. In the book Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson, symbolism holds a big significance. The trees mentioned throughout the book symbolize Melinda’s changing “seasons” (her “growing” as a person). People, like trees, go through phases, they freeze in the winter, becoming nothing but lonely limbs without leaves covered with white slush.

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