Speak doesn’t want to properly raise awareness, and neither does Seaquam. For one, Andy Evans is almost comical and a caricature of an abuser. Next, the trauma Melinda goes through isn’t properly showcased and is poorly incorporated. Finally, the Seaquam English Department already has multiple instances of mishandling important topics. Laurie Hal Anderson wrote an offensive and low-quality book that harms victims, and Seaquam has turned a blind eye. To start, Andy Evans is a poorly written and poorly executed abuser. Many abusers are similar to Andy. They gain your trust and then crush it. Melinda is groomed and made to love Andy the night before being assaulted. Anderson shows the public's perception of Andy through Emily's statement, "Fact—he's …show more content…
However, despite Emily, Melinda, and the rest of the student body sensing that he’s dangerous, he never actually does anything to warrant that label. Subsequently, he isn’t shown as a groomer, and the betrayal of Melinda’s trust never comes up again. Not addressing this is harmful. To non-victims, it paints abusers as easily seen monsters, not everyday people who you could easily trust and love. This further perpetuates the stereotype that most victims walk right into their assault. Speak shows on many parts of trauma, but that doesn’t mean the story does it well. Details such as her silence, were okay, but the brief inclusion of her self harm (that never comes up again) and her trauma responses aren’t touched on quite enough. Sexual assault and its aftereffects aren’t linear, and yet Laurie Hal Anderson doesn’t make an effort to showcase anything unique to the experience of rape. Melinda appears frightened when Andy Evans is in the vicinity, and Anderson showcases her anxiety towards hanging out with David Petrakis, “The world is a dangerous place. You don't know what would have happened. What if he was just saying his parents were going to be there? He could have been lying. You can never tell when people are