It is estimated that 1 in 6 women will be a victim of attempted or completed rape, however, only 16-40% of all rape is reported. In the realistic-fiction novel, Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson, 14-year-old Melinda becomes a victim of rape at a summer party and begins to hide from herself to avoid the past. Within the novel Anderson uses the mirror as a motif to show Melinda’s growth from hiding from herself to defending herself.
After Melinda’s assault, she calls the police while watching herself in the reflection of a window. “I saw my face in the window over the kitchen sink and no words came out of my mouth” (Anderson 136). From that point onward, Melinda hides from herself by taking down or covering mirrors, an act to forget her past. It is made clear that Melinda dislikes looking at herself as it reminds her of what happened that night at the party. As can be seen in this quote, “I watch myself in the mirror across the room... Two muddy-circle eyes
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She built up the courage to warn a former friend about the boy who attacked her, as well as telling the friend about the assault, although they do not believe her at first. However, once the boy catches wind of this, he comes after Melinda once more. He expects Melinda to stay quiet like she did before, but Melinda has grown since then and defends herself. She remembers the mirror hidden beneath the poster in her refurbished closet and attempts to break it, “I hit the wood against the poster, and the mirror under it, again.” (Anderson 195). When she eventually breaks the mirror, she uses it against the boy, “Shards of glass slip down the wall and into the sink... I reach in and wrap my fingers around a triangle of glass. I hold it to Andy Evans’s neck.” (Anderson 195). This scene illustrates how much Melinda has grown. From the beginning of the book, where she seeks to avoid herself to now where Melinda empowers herself and stands up against