Summary Of Speak By Laurie Halse Anderson
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.
Melinda’s grades begin to drop and she starts to self harm by biting her lips until they bleed. When Heather notices that Melinda is depressed, she breaks her friendship with her instead of getting Melinda help. Her parents and guidance counselors notice her sudden decline, but think it’s just a ploy for attention. Months later, Melinda finally admits to herself that she was raped by Andy Evans. She starts going to class and reuniting with her friends.
In Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, the plot revolves around a party during the summer where the main character Melinda Sordino was sexually assaulted by Andy Evans. After this party, she goes silent, becomes very depressed, and tries to cope by herself. This book follows her through her journey in her freshman year and how she learns to speak out about the party. This book also exemplifies sexual assault and how it can deeply impact your mental health. This is shown throughout the whole book, but on page 132, David Petrakis asks Melinda if she wants to go to a party with him.
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson is a book about a girl named Melinda Sordino. In the beginning of this book the audience meets Melinda as she is the main character and she describes her first day of high school starting with an assembly. Throughout the book you read about her life but she goes back to the past recalling of something that happened at the end of the summer; in a couple of instances she comes across someone that she refers to as “IT”. When reading you don't know who this “IT” is but it is developed over the story by her having flashbacks to that night or dropping a hint of what happened. During a seminar at the beginning of the book Melinda meets someone named Heather who is new and becomes her friend but ultimately leaves her
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.
Speak is a young adult novel written by Laurie Halse Anderson that tells the story of young Melinda Scordio who has to endure the aftermath of her rape, while also adapting to the changes it has brought upon her life. Melinda has just started high school, but due to past events that occurred last summer, she is left as an empty shell with her voice snatched away and little hopes of returning. Melinda has remained silent and finds herself lost in the chaos of it all. She is able to find her sanctuary, not only a place, but something with much more meaning. Throughout the book, Melinda struggles with opening herself up to people and being able to tell her story.
“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.
title In the novel Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, Melinda, an incoming freshman at Merryweather High School in Syracuse, New York, went to an upperclassman party during the summer and tragically was raped by Andy Evans, a senior jock. Melinda immediately called the cops after the assault, and all the people at the party since then on, have hated her for ruining the party, but they do not know why Melinda had really called the cops. Since this incident, Melinda has had difficulty expressing herself and talking about her ordeal. The story consists of the continuous motif of speaking/not speaking, to illustrate how in order for rape victims to get help they have to reach out and speak to someone.
Speak is a book that deals with a very dark subject. It is something that will need an open-mind and also a lot of empathy to comprehend. Our protagonist Melinda Sordino is a girl who was abandoned by her friend due to something she did at the end of the summer party. When school starts for her freshman year of high school,she an outcast, a nobody, someone who was forgotten, and a mute. The author Laurie Halse Anderson does a very magnificent job of putting the reader almost exactly as through what the protagonist experiences.
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson is about a freshman named Melinda Sordino who starts high school as an outcast and detested by her ex-friends and fellow peers. All because she called the cops at an end of the summer party that ended up with people getting arrested and the party being shut down. What everyone doesn’t know is that she did that because she was raped by a senior named Andy Evans at the party and didn’t know what to do after the traumatic incident and they don’t know because Melinda won’t speak. The conflict in the book is very similar to a book called Saints and Misfits by S.K Ali.
At the end of the story she finally found her voice and was able to stand up for herself. In the beginning, Melinda didn't talk to anyone, barely even to her parents. She says, “I have tried so hard to forget every second of that stupid party and here I am in the middle of a hostile crowd that hates me for what I had to do. I can't tell them what really happened” (Anderson, 28).
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.
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.
She tries to navigate through her first year of high school, and it seems like the entire student body despises her; she feels more alone than ever. I will be analyzing and making connections to three specific elements in this novel: the search for one’s identity, Melinda’s inner conflict,
She barely speaks throughout the book. I relate to this because I am typically very quiet during the school day. However, we are quiet for very different reasons. I also relate to Melinda because she lost lots of friends before school started. Again, for different reasons, I also lost a large group of friends before school started.
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