Reflection On Speak By Laurie Halse Anderson
Double Entry Journal “Scar it, give it a twisted branch – perfect trees don’t exist. Nothing is perfect. Flaws are interesting. Be the tree” (pg. 177)
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.
High school. It's a scary thought. Being prepared for things can be hard. Especially the changes that happened within one's identity. Imagine something terrible happened the summer before high school.
This book is fiction and drama, called “Speak” by Laurie Halse Anderson, the protagonist name is Melinda, she is a freshman, she is not the same person she was and she doesn 't talk anymore. The antagonist is Andy who is an narcissistic senior who is used to get away with everything. Then there is Heather she is the new girl who becomes Milinda friend. The problem is that Melinda is hiding something that she isn 't telling everyone, she is not the same person she used to be.
Due to her inability to tell anyone what happened she loses the ability to speak and she starts distancing herself from her family and friends. Throughout the book, there are symbolic items that help us know how Melinda is feeling and they also represent the stages Melinda went through
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 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.
The second marking period in "Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson was a crucial time for Melinda as she faced significant events that profoundly influenced her emotions and interactions with others, as well as her growing urge to speak up. To begin, in the chapter “First Amendment”, Mr. Neck, the social studies teacher decides to start a debate about immigration. He starts to talk about how America should have closed the borders in the 1900s, blaming immigrants for his son’s inability to get a job, and generally being xenophobic overall. Most students disagreed but didn’t have the courage to speak up, except for David Petrakis. David challenges Mr. Neck’s views and calls the tone of the lesson racist and intolerant.
These issues connect to Melindas as her ex-friends and support system acted as her life line, and when she lost them, she began to spiral into a fit of different issues. Melinda’s problems are amplified by her environment and the people within it. When Melinda first arrives at school, she is shunned by classmates and friends, as even her closest friends have turned on her after an incident over the summer. This animosity reaches its peak when Melinda approaches Rachel, and she replies, “Her eyes meet mine for a second. I hate you for not being able
Speak Journal Response This journal is in response to the novel Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. As a coming-of-age contemporary novel, Speak discusses many sensitive issues that are still prominent even today. In this story, we explore the life of Melinda Sordino, a fourteen-year-old girl who is beginning high school right after experiencing an utterly traumatic event: rape. Melinda is left friendless, with no one to help and support her after what happened.
Isolation is when one is set apart from others and is virtually alone. In Laurie Anderson’s Speak, the protagonist, Melinda, isolates herself and is further isolated from others. Isolation can be seen through three symbols: lips, mirrors and a closet. Melinda thinks no one cares about what she has to say, resulting in silence. After the incident in the summer, Melinda cannot bare to look at herself.
Isolation & Loneliness Teaches In the novel Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, the main character, Melinda goes through a phase of isolation and silence as a way to cope with the trauma of surviving sexual assault. “The Seventh Man” is a short story by Haruki Murakami where the main character is the narrator who tells his story of loneliness, fear and trauma after seeing his closest childhood friends drown. Macbeth is the main character in the play, The Tragedy of Macbeth. In the play, Macbeth goes through isolation after losing the trust of many for murderous crimes.
Freedom of speech and other freedoms guaranteed to American citizens by the First Amendment protect our right to information and expression of opinions, which can be infringed upon when books are banned. Book banning refers to the practice of forbidding the use of certain books in school libraries or curricula. Due to this practice, many books have been banned in the United States. One victim of book banning is Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson which was banned in all K-12 grades in 2022 due to its perceived political viewpoint, alleged bias against male students, depiction of rape, use of profanity, and portrayal of suicidal ideation. While Speak does display sensitive and mature topics such as sexual assault and self-harm, which should be restricted for
With dynamic characters, with a personal plot, a meaningful theme, and twist at the end, Speak by Laurie Anderson is an enjoyable read for a mature teenage audience. The novel includes a depressed and unhappy student that keeps the reader's interest. Melinda, the protagonist, states, “I see a few friends, people I used to think were my friends,” (Anderson 8). This informs that Melinda has lost
Melinda, in a lot of ways, starts out like that it the book. She becomes a shell of herself from before the party happened and because no one else was there, she is lonely and doesn't have anybody to go to and to make matters even worse, she’s covered by the reputation that she has formed. In the book, Laurie Halse Anderson uses symbolism to convey exactly what Melinda can't say. In the beginning of the book, Melinda starts high school carrying her emotional wounds with her after something happens mysterious to her at a party during the summer.
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