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Summary Of Speak By Laurie Halse Anderson

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When one thinks of highschool, they might think about the schoolwork, the grades, and the tests. On the other hand, they might recall the parties, the fun, and the friends. The memories of parties for some, might be positive and happy. However, as for Melinda, the main character in Laurie Halse Anderson’s book, Speak, high school parties will always be thought of as a traumatic experience. Laurie Halse Anderson uses inspiration from her childhood, the culture of the 1990’s, and her optimistic philosophies to write the young adult novel, Speak. Anderson’s biographical information and qualities show through Melinda, in her novel Speak. Anderson, born on October 23, 1961 in Potsdam, New York would have never imagined herself as a writer (“Speak” …show more content…

Speak. Penguin Group, 1999.
Anderson, Laurie Halse. “25 Years of Scribbling- My Journey So Far.” Madwomanintheforest, 8 Sep. 2017, http://madwomanintheforest.com/blog/.
Deutsch, Lindsay. “Laurie Halse Anderson Tackles Alcoholism, PTSD in Book.” USA Today, 12 Aug. 2013, https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/books/2013/08/12/laurie-anderson-impossible-knife-of-memory-cover/2642905/.
Glenn, Wendy J. Laurie Halse Anderson: Speaking in Tongues. The Scarecrow Press, 2010.
Jensen, Kelly. “15 Years of Speak: An Interview With Laurie Halse Anderson.” BookRiot, 8 April 2014, https://bookriot.com/2014/04/08/15-years-speak-interview-laurie-halse-anderson/.
“Laurie Halse Anderson.” Authors and Artists for Young Adults, vol. 39, Gale, 2001, pp. 1-6.
“Laurie Halse Anderson.” Contextual Encyclopedia of American Literature, vol. 1, Gale, 2009, pp. 52-54.
“Laurie Halse Anderson.” Scholastics, 2018, https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/authors/laurie-halse-anderson/.
Lew, Kristi. Laurie Halse Anderson. Rosen, 2014.
Matson, Nancy. “Review: Book Recalls the Tumult of the Teen Years.” CNN.com, 29 Nov. 1999, http://www.cnn.com/books/reviews/9911/29/speak/.
“Speak.” Novels for Students, edited by Sara Constantakis, vol. 31, Gale, 2010, pp.

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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.

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Have you ever felt like you were trapped in a secret that you couldn’t find the power to share it with anyone? Author, Laurie Halse Anderson wrote her young-adult novel Speak, to show the what its like to face something like that. What’s her secret you might ask? Melinda a ninth grade student about to enter high school was a victim to a sexual assult by one of her peers that past summer at a party. Many teens face this and even though it seems impossible to conquer, Anderson, using humor, and complex symbolism which brings to light on how a real life issue evolved into a new way.

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The novel “Speak”, written by Laurie Halse Anderson first published in the year 1999, deals with Melinda, an “outcast” (p. 4), who experiences her first year of high school while simultaneously trying to cope with the aftermath of sexual abuse during a party, which consists mainly of her not being able to speak. Since we are all aware of the fact that Melinda’s traumatic event led to a certain degree of dehumanization for her, the following words intend to focus on and elaborate Melinda’s struggle in school; how she views her teachers, her marks, her periods and to some degree also her peers and classmates. Starting right at the beginning Melinda enters her high school life with a healthy amount of prejudice. Probably having heard or

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Did you know that over 3.2 million students get bullied before they reach high school? This is why the novel Speak is a suggested book to start off high school for incoming freshman who may have felt violated in a way. Speak is a novel about a freshman named Melinda Sordino who gets sexually assaulted by a senior named Andy Evans during a summer party in August, which is why she had to call the cops. Doing so ruined her reputation and this incident had scar her. Her biggest problem throughout the book is to speak up or to tell someone this had happen, which is a common problem in today’s generation of teens.

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The fictional narrative Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson is about a 9th grade girl, and reveals communication goes a long way. In the setting of her school, the reader can see that Melinda rarely talks. This affects her grades and social life significantly and gets her into trouble with her teachers. In a home environment, her silence also creates problems with her parents, which causes her to have counseling meetings and stay after school to receive help from her teachers. Since Melinda does not have a good relationship with her parents she does not talk about being rapped at the party.

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Authors often hide important motifs within the characters and plot of a novel. This enables them to give the plot a deeper meaning than what is seen on the surface. In Speak, Laurie Halse Anderson uses the seasons to represent Melinda’s changing emotional state. Her emotional issues are first introduced in the autumn, when Melinda is beginning to close herself off. Her troubles increase and her emotional state deteriorates throughout the winter.

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Starting as a precocious three-year-old child, to ending as a very successful writer, Jeannette Walls recounts the eventful childhood she had in her 2005 memoir, The Glass Castle. Walls’ unconventional, nomadic, and less-fortunate upbringing is told in detail that makes it easy for one to imagine themselves right along side her throughout her adventurous past. Walls grew up constantly “doing the skedaddle” around America with her dysfunctional parents, whose views on life are not exactly typical (Walls 17). Even so, Walls managed to write about her parents using an immense amount of respect, which must have been very difficult at times. Her mother struggles to support her family financially, yet supports them with inspirational advice.

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As communication theory scholars have mused, communication and power are inextricably linked to each other. M. T. Anderson’s Feed and Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak explore this connection, as forces in the novels work to silence the leading female protagonists, Violet and Melinda. When the characters lose their ability to speak, they begin to fade away to nothingness, Melinda to depression and Violet to death. When Violet and Melinda are silenced, they are denied the power that comes from the creation of community, history, and knowledge, and without this power, they cannot function in society. Power is so essential to the characters in these novels, because the amount of power a character has is equal to the amount of agency the character

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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.

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Speak, a novel written by Laurie Halse Anderson, is a memorable story about a girl who overcomes a horrific experience, rape, and with it, injustice. Melinda, the main protagonist, has an emotional journey, and with the help of her art teacher, Mr. Freeman, survives through this excursion. As Mr. Freeman says, “‘Welcome to the journey’” (12). Mr. Freeman assists Melinda, by constantly questioning her emotional being, turning an art project into a pool of her feelings, and forcing Melinda to see the light in her heart. With Mr. Freeman lifting her emotional baggage, Melinda can finally be free and with that, experience happiness once again.

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The novel Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson, is about a girl named Melinda, who shows signs of depression throughout the story. She has no friends and is hated by people she doesn’t even know. This is because she called the cops at a party, where she was raped. Anderson includes literary elements to show how Melinda is depressed. Throughout the novel, she uses many different literary elements to show Melinda’s conflict.

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ESU SPEECH True friendships are like stars on a cloudy night, you may not see them, but they 're always there. I read this in a toilet cubicle when I was in seventh grade at school. By then, it was all about popularity, guys, makeup, clothes and all those middle school flings. It was incredibly important to me that I remained seated with my usual group of friends during lunch, and that we all remained together.

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