Speak By Laurie Halse Anderson

Finding your true passion can brighten your mental health and change your life. Especially if that passion is art, just like Melinda Sordino’s. Trees in Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, serve an essential purpose as an object that symbolizes Melinda Sordino's mental health, and the growth that follows. Ever since she has been assigned trees for her art project, her life began to change. When she draws trees, it acts as an important reflection and checks in with her inner mental health and mind about the issues and feelings she is experiencing. In the beginning, Melinda’s tree seemed as if it had been struck by lightning because it was so burnt, hurt, and destroyed. She started to make the tree less and less dead which led her to become more

Throughout the story, she finds her passion for art and becomes who she truly was before the incident. You can see the improvement in her mental health each time she draws trees. When she draws art, you can see how it is a self-reflection of herself and how it can be used for improvement. She really needs this improvement because she is not currently in a good state in life. “It is easier not to say anything… Nobody really wants to hear what you have to say” (Page 9). Melinda was silent, unheard, and unwanted throughout the beginning of the book, especially at the start. Soon after, when she draws her first tree, it strongly reflects how she is feeling. She draws “trees that have been struck by lightning” (Page 30). This is not a very good sign for her health because it proves that she is feeling depressed

Melinda is now satisfied with her tree for art class. “My tree is definitely breathing; little shallow breaths like it just shot up through the ground this morning”’ (Page 196). Her tree is now perfected but most importantly, she is breathing. In art, your work shows your emotions. This is important because if her tree looks like it is breathing, the person that drew it is breathing too.

As a result, Melinda is not a frozen or lonely person anymore, she is now free and feels alive. “‘Let me tell you about it’” (Page 198). Melinda is ready to share with a trusted adult how she really felt on the inside throughout this school year. Melinda has changed as a person drastically throughout the story partly because of her drawing trees. I think she has now fully recovered from the incident and is ready to grow even more.

The story of Speak and Melinda Sordino shows how art can be a powerful thing. The power of drawing trees can have a large impact on your mental health just like Melinda’s. It can be a self-reflection on yourself to express how you are feeling at the moment. When used well, it can help you heal, grow, and express yourself when you are afraid to speak to someone about your