Resilience Theme

The subject matter of change is integrated throughout the following chosen texts; The Art of Resilience by Hara Estroff Marano, Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, and The Third and Final Continent by Jhumpa Lahiri. The Art of Resilience focuses on changing to better your way of life. Along with the document of Hara Estroff Marano, Speak focuses on an extremely similar concept. However, The Third and Final Continent centers on the topic of learning to react and handle different types of change. The Art of Resilience, Speak, and The Third and Final Continent all maintain a common theme of change. The Art of Resilience discusses the idea of changing to improve your life style through plot and diction. As stated blatantly by the author in paragraph

The notion is developed through the characterization of the protagonist, Melinda Sordino. In the beginning of the novel, Melinda is the quiet, awkward, nobody. She tends to stay silent, and rarely speaks up for herself. As the story progresses, we see Melinda start to open up her shell, a key piece to solving her problems; ex-friends, parents, teachers, etc. who hate and are disappointed in her. Including the senior who made this all go downhill, her rapist, Andy Evans. An important event in portraying these acts would include a scene described on page 179. Melinda finally gathers up the courage to stand up for herself, and does not allow her “friend”, Heather, to force her into a situation Melinda wants no part in. “’You have to help me.’ Me: ‘No, I don’t” (page 179, Anderson). In addition, Melinda does something that would be unbelievable to the shy, withdrawn Melinda at the start of Speak. Melinda tells her ex-best friend, Rachel, that she was raped by Andy Evans. “I write… I called… them because some guy raped me… Rachel writes… WHO DID IT???... Andy Evans” (pages 183-184). Melinda’s personality grows and she realizes the best for her situation will be to speak up, something she never thought she would eventually