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Summary Of Speak By Laurie Halse Anderson

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Speak is a novel by Laurie Halse Anderson. The author’s purpose in writing this book was to tell a story about sexual assault and to show real-life victims that things do get better. There are 198 pages present. Speak has won many awards such as A Michael L. Printz Honor Book, a SCBWI Golden Kite Award, and BCCB Blue Ribbon, along with many others. Every character in this book plays an important role; however, three important roles in particular are Melinda, Heather, and David Petrakis. Melinda is important because she is the main character and the victim; the story is told from her point of view. Heather’s place in the story is special because she gives Melinda some hope, only to take it away from her half way through the year, which adds another conflict to the story; Heather exhibits the shallowness that young people tend to contain. Finally, David is important because he is a small character who provides a sort of background support for Melinda; he speaks up for himself to Mr. Neck, which is shows her that she can do the same for herself. …show more content…

It is set in New York, sometime in the late 1990’s, during a school year. The mood, personally, is sad or lonely. The climax of the book, or the point after which there is no more suspense, is when Andy Evans (Melinda’s rapist) attacks her again while she is cleaning out her closet and she fends him off by holding a piece of glass to his neck. The outcome is about as happy as it could get given the situation. Melinda gets justice and no longer has to worry about further attacks from Andy, her peers understand why she called the police and want to become her friends again, and she feels ready to tell her story to Mr. Freeman (and gets an A+ on the year-long project for his

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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.

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446 Words | 2 Pages

In the novel, Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, the chapter prey shows that the main character, Melinda, learns from her mistake and stands up against her worst nightmare, Andy Evans. After algebra class, Melinda goes to her closet and grabs her Maya Angelou poster. After Melinda is finished grabbing her things from her closet, Andy Evans pushes Melinda back into her closet, “somebody slams into my chest back into the closet. The lights flicks and the door closes. I am trapped with Andy Evans” (193).

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842 Words | 4 Pages

She tries to run away from the embarrassment by leaving school, but gets caught by Mr.Neck. Mr. Neck is Melinda's history teacher that thinks Melinda has horrible behavior. This quote show a little about Melinda’s personality and how she doesn't have the courage to speak out and say what on her mind or what’s bothering her, instead, she keeps her thoughts to herself. conflict As Melinda was being bullied during the pep rally, she thinks, "I have worked 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" (54).

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1973 Words | 8 Pages

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.

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533 Words | 3 Pages

In the realistic fiction novel speak by Laurie Halse Anderson; we learn the story of Melinda Sordino. It all begins at Merryweather High school. Before the beginning of the school year, Melinda and her friends went to a raving party, with everyone from school. Melinda had a terrifying encounter with a senior student, and ended up calling the police. Since no one knew what happened, at the party, everyone rejected her socially.

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253 Words | 2 Pages

Short Writing Assignment: Explaining IT to My Teacher In the novel Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, the main protagonist, Melinda, stated that she hates “IT”. Although we don’t know who the person “IT” is, I predict that “IT” is an outgoing, and untrustworthy person. Here are some reasons why.

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335 Words | 2 Pages

Peer pressure influences teenagers by trying to fit in with the rest of the kids that are doing the things that your are not comfortable doing. Laurie Halse Anderson the author of “speak” is saying that peer pressure is not something someone should go through because it causes people to make bad decisions. ` Melinda Sordino was peer pressured by going to the party and getting drunk at the party. (Halse). Anyone can be peer pressured, i was peer pressured, one day i was at a friends house and they pressured me to do ditch class,so i did and now it is my choice to do it or to not do it.

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439 Words | 2 Pages

The theme of self growth and isolation can be seen throughout the novel Speak (1999) by Laurie Halse Anderson, which follows the main protagonist, Melinda Sordino through her freshman year. When Melinda is first introduced, she mentions a secret that she is afraid to talk to anyone about. Melinda later reveals to the readers that she was raped by a high school senior at an end of summer party. Everyone at school acts hostile towards Melinda for calling the cops and ruining what was the best night of their lives, unbeknown to them, that night still haunts her dreams. This causes Melinda to become isolated from everyone, as they only see her as the freak who called the cops.

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354 Words | 2 Pages

Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson, is set at MerryWeather High School in Syracuse. The fictional story details the freshman year of Melinda, the novel's main character. The freshman year of high school can be intimidating for anybody, but it is especially painful for Melinda due to an incident that happened during the summer. As each grading quarter passes, Melinda transforms from being shy to optimistic about being able to speak. Should high school students read Speak? Absolutely.

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839 Words | 4 Pages

Speak is a realistic fiction book written by Laurie Halse Anderson. It is a national book award finalist published by Square Fish Publications. Speak is a book that many adolescent girl readers can relate to. It allows readers to walk through freshman year with Melinda, and follow the conflicts she is facing. Many of the problems she faces are some of the same problems others face during their freshman year.

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789 Words | 4 Pages

In the novel Speak the topic of exclusion and bullying are prevalent. How does the school environment and the people in it add to Melinda’s feelings of inadequacy and exclusion? Which factors eventually help her in the healing process? Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak uses the theme of exclusion and bullying, thus having the environment and people within the school affect the main character, Melinda. Melinda is affected throughout the novel increasing the amount of feelings of weakness and rejection and helps her recover from this as well.

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1218 Words | 5 Pages

Another element in this novel is Melinda’s inner conflict, man vs. self. What Melinda has been through greatly affected her everyday life. She struggles with depression, dislikes her appearance, and feels ashamed of herself for something that isn 't her fault: “I want to confess everything, hand over the guilt and mistake and anger to someone else...even if I dump the memory, it will stay with me, staining me” (Anderson 51). Andy Evans, the senior who raped her, made her feel worthless. This situation is much like the one in the novel The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins.

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457 Words | 2 Pages

“What would happen if you were shy on the first day of school and you cannot speak up for yourself? Sometimes, being shy leads to being bullied. So speaking for yourself is better than not saying anything. This is the opposite of what happened with the narrator of the story, “Speak.” The narrator’s shyness leads her to be rejected, frustrated, and lonely.

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256 Words | 2 Pages

If my reading can be described as a train journey, my station would be at the border of reading to learn, and reading for sheer pleasure. While reading Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson, the subject matter was not “enjoyable,” but it was necessary, when you consider how important it is to address the effects of sexual violence and harassment. Walking in the steps of the main character who has experienced trauma, on the surface, nothing is what it seems. In the beginning, I see a lonely, hopeless girl, who has lost interest in everything, yet I knew there was a reason behind her belligerence and disinterest. My interest in serious young adult novels stems from how young women are treated.

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1205 Words | 5 Pages

The tone changes throughout the novel from coarse and cold to encouraging and vibrant. Near the beginning of the book as the reader is still creating their impression of Melinda, the narrator says, “It’s an old janitors closet that smells like sour sponges… a cracked mirror tilts over a sink with dead roaches crocheted together with cobwebs… This closet is abandoned-it has no purpose, no name. It is the perfect place for me” (25-26). Described here is a cold, melancholy and lonesome tone that shows the readers Melinda’s true opinion of herself and her self worth.

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