Summary Of Speak By Laurie Halse Anderson

Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak is a novel that makes a definite argument. In short, the novel argues that if you are a victim of a sexual assault, you will need to speak about it in order for yourself to grow and heal. As you probably know, there are lots of difficult reasons why victims of sexual assault might have a hard time speaking up about what's happened to them. Like Melinda Sordino, main character of Speak, they might be ashamed or afraid of what will happen if they tell. Speak is the story of Melinda Sordino, a high school freshman. She tells her story in her own words, in the present tense. This telling seems to be a kind of internal monologue. Melinda doesn't talk much to others, but she sure hasn't stopped talking to herself; she

Melinda feels disturbed by the sexuality of her high school peers, really because she is a victim of sexual violence and yet, she always blamed herself. She feels like if she was doing what she was supposed to, the whole "Rape" thing wouldnt have never happened so she blames herself. She also blames herself because she does not feel ready for this next phase of life. "It happened. There is no avoiding it, no forgetting. No running away, or flying, or burying, or hiding. Andy Evans raped me in August when i was drunk and too young to know what was happening. It wasn't my fault. He hurt me. It wasn't my fault. And i'm not going to let it kill me. I can grow." Coming to terms with what happened to her allows her to finally accept that she is entering this new stage, and look forward to her future. My favorite characters were Melinda and Mr. Freeman because while she was going through a hard time and a tough experience Mr. Freeman was helping her through the process of growing. I like how the Art teacher (Mr.Freeman) connected to her and made her think deeply. Mr. Freeman helped Melinda find her voice in three main ways: he allowed Melinda to express herself through art in his class, he gave Melinda praise when deserved and criticism when needed, and he helped Melinda come outside of her comfort zone, but at her own

Shut your trap, button your lip, can it. All that crap you hear on TV about communication and expressing feelings is a lie. Nobody really wants to hear what you have to say." This quote relates to the title of the book "speak" it shows how Melinda believes that she will benefit from being silent. The quote shows that Melinda actually have a voice but only inside her head not anywhere else. This line shows a big part of her personality. "He's not chopping down. He's saving it. By cutting off the damage, you make it possible for the tree to grow again." In this quote, we can substitute Melinda as the tree. Melinda is going through the same procedure as the tree. If Melinda put her past behind her and move on, it will give her a chance to grow. "Let me tell you about it." This quote made me happy because it was coming from a girl who stayed to herself, who wouldn't tell anybody anything, even though she had experienced something tragic. Deep down inside, her not to say nothing was hurting her even