Speak was written in 1999 by Laurie Halse Anderson. The book is about Melinda, a freshman just starting high school. Melinda starts school off with no friends, she lost the ones she had over the summer. A traumatic event causes Melinda to shut everyone out, and not speak to anyone. Growing up usually takes time, but Melinda is rushed into maturity too soon and must help others do the same.
There are people in our lives who have helped us grow. In the summer before freshman year in high school Melinda Sordino was raped at a party. After calling the police she was left without friends or dignity. She isolates herself not knowing what to do. In Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, Melinda grows in many ways throughout the book.
At this point in the novel, the only thing revealed about what happened was that she had called the cops on a high school party during summer, leaving her friends mad at her. Melinda went through the first few classes and lunch on her terrible first day, finding them all completely miserable.
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.
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson should be mandatory reading for 8th graders due to its take on how trauma can affect the lives of its survivors. Through completed writing, the National Book Award finalist and Golden Kite Award winner, Laurie Anderson captures the thoughts of Melinda Sordino. After she gets raped and has to deal with a misunderstanding that leaves her silent and outcast. This short book of 224 pages is mostly written in short statements. From casual thoughts such as, “I zone out,” to ones with impact like, “Why go to school.”
In “Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, the main character is Melinda the setting is in Merryweather high school her situation is she is alone. Some people are Ivy, Heather, Melinda, Rachel, Mr Freeman, Mr. Neck, and Hair women. She has no friends, she is an outcast. Melinda can talk to her parents, her teachers, and her friends but she doesn't for a long time but does later.
Also it’s showing that everyone does not think of her the same way. Melinda is also not blend in with everyone because she is wearing different clothes. In the end of the book, Rachel starts talking to Melinda again after she finds out Andy Evans raped her. Another part in the beginning of the book Heather starts making friends with Melinda but when Heather starts using her, Melinda stands up to her. Heather is super nice to Melida and invites her to do things, but when she meets the Martha’s she slowly started to leave Melinda behind until she needed something.
In the book Speak by, Laurie Halse Anderson, the main character Melinda, tries to find her voice all throughout the book. Then she meets her art teacher Mr. Freeman. He helps her all throughout her school year express her and stand up for herself at the end of the year, when she has another problem with the same guy that hurt her before school started. Mr. Freeman helps Melinda express herself by getting better at speaking, expressing herself, and also standing up for herself. Melinda was finding her voice all throughout the school year.
“Speak” by Laurie Halse Anderson was first recognized as an inappropriate book in 2001 by Wesley Scroggins. Speak is about a girl named Melinda who is raped at a party by Andy Evans during the summer and she calls the police. She is socially rejected by her old friends. Her friends don’t know the whole story but only know that Melinda called the cops and ruined the most important part of the summer. But Melinda manages to find solace in her art class taught by Mr. Freemen.
For example, on page one-hundred and twenty-four of the novel, Melinda states, “I have to stay away from the closet, go to all my classes. I will make myself normal. Forget the rest of it.” This shows that Melinda has not been good in school and been interacting with
Samantha Dabros Mr. Chomin 9th grade Language Arts 17 January 2023 Speak The book Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson is about a girl named Melinda who goes to Merryweather High School. The theme of this book is finding your voice because Melinda was assaulted before she even went to high school. And the way it was written, it was meant to send that message. All books are meant to have a message but this seems to want that message to get across to people.
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.
She does not want to be in the front, but she would not dare be a “backseat wastecase.” When she gets to school she observes the clans as they separate into groups. She describes the average peer as “Jocks” but then goes on to call people “Eurotrash” and “Future Fascists of America” and “Idiot Savants.” Melinda as the narrator sees the world very negatively. She not only views herself negatively, but she also feels the need to insult others with snide comments..
How does one deal with challenges thrown at them? By ignoring them and hope things will change for the better? In both stories Speak and Things Fall Apart, Anderson and Achebe have bothe of the main characters in their novels deal with challenges thrown at them. In Speak, Melinda deals with being an outcast in her social class and also deals with the fact that she’s been raped. This causes Melinda to feel depressed during her Freshman year.
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.