Speak: An Intertextual Analysis

The question why do I read may seem simple to answer but when I actually sat myself down and really thought about it, my mind went blank. It’s sort of odd to ask yourself why you do something when the task that you’re doing is an everyday commonality. But upon looking at my personal mental library and the media that I have been exposed to I have figured out the answer to this simple yet complex question. Most people open up a book because they seek entertainment. They want to be taken away from the world for a moment and dive into someone else’s. Although the thought of that seems very comforting and safe it is not the only reason why I read. Books in my mind are here for educational purposes and learning. I don’t necessarily mean sitting

It was assigned as reading in my 9th grade english class and it’s hands down the best book that I’ve ever read in high school. The book is about Melinda Sordino who gets raped at a party during the summer but she’s too afraid to speak up and tell someone about her tragic situation. At the end of the book Melinda finds her voice and the boy who rapes her gets what he deserves. “Speak” was an eye opening book to read at the beginning of high school because it was the first piece of literature that I read that was actually real. Now when I say real I mean that it felt real to me. I felt like as though Melinda is a girl that I would’ve saw walking down the hallways of my high school. The fact that “Speak” is relatable gives me as a reader an unsettling feeling because it could happen to anyone I know and most importantly even myself. It taught me a lesson to always speak up if I was ever put in a similar of harmful situation. It made me question myself and think about what I would do if I was ever put into a similar type of danger. It was also real because it made me wonder how many other “Melindas” were there at my school. How many girls were put into a similar threatening situation and they were too afraid to speak up and stand up for themselves? “It's easier not to say anything. Shut your trap, button your lip, can it. All that crap you hear on TV about communication and expressing feelings is a lie. Nobody really wants to hear what you have to say.” This quote highlights a common misconception that many women have in terms of being raped but it’s also a thought that people have in general about lots of pressing issues in their lives. These thoughts then opened my eyes to the rape culture that goes on in our society today and that it deserves to be talked about more. Which then lead me to start thinking about women’s rights and many more pressing issues. “Speak” to most people may have just been a book with a sad plot