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Reality In Speak

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It is Not What it Seems
“I have entered high school with the wrong hair, wrong clothes, the wrong attitude. And I don’t have anyone to sit with” (Anderson 4). In the novel Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, there are many themes. Appearance versus reality is an important theme in the novel and is true in people and life, it is not always just present in books. Appearance versus reality is when something in the story seems one way but is not actually that way. Melinda Sordino has a rough life and is way different on the inside than she looks and seems to be on the outside, Melinda herself is an example of appearance versus reality. There are multiple times that the theme appearance versus reality shows up in the novel they are: the couch, Melinda …show more content…

Everyone thinks that Melinda called the cops to get the people at the party in trouble, but that is not the case. The reason Melinda calls the cops is because Melinda was raped that night at the party. The rape is also the reason Melinda is so broken. To everyone else it seems as if Melinda wanted to cause problems and get people caught and in trouble but Melinda was truly raped and needed help. She had no intentions to get others in trouble even though that is how it seems in the novel. Everyone hates her now and thinks that she is a snitch. In reality she is hurt and was the night of the party so she called 911 for help. She never got help because people got mad at her so she ran away from the party as fast as she could. The 911 call and the rape are what is making her freshman year abysmal. Melinda appears to be a snitch, but in reality she is just afraid, broken, and scared to tell everyone what really happened. “I just want to sleep. A coma would be nice. Or amnesia. Anything, just to get rid of this, these thoughts, whispers in my mind. Did he rape my head, too?” (Anderson …show more content…

The couch was a pretty obvious one, Melinda was a huge example, and lastly the 911 call that Melinda made. It is important to notice the different themes in books and appearance versus reality is a big one. It helps you dig deeper into the stories that you read. The next time you read a book, are you going to look for the different themes in the book? Especially appearance versus reality.

Works Cited
Hoyt-Disick, Gabrielle. "Speak Part 1, Chapter 6: Home. Work.." LitCharts. LitCharts LLC, 4
Sep 2015. Web. 20 Feb 2017.
Hoyt-Disick, Gabrielle. "Speak Quotes." LitCharts. LitCharts LLC, 4 Sep 2015. Web. 23 Feb
2017.
Hoyt-Disick, Gabrielle. "Speak Quotes." LitCharts. LitCharts LLC, 4 Sep 2015. Web. 20 Feb 2017.
Hoyt-Disick, Gabrielle. "Speak Quotes." LitCharts. LitCharts LLC, 4 Sep 2015. Web. 23 Feb
2017.
Anderson, Laurie Halse (. Speak. New York: Square Fish, 2011.

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