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Symbolism In Laurie Anderson's Speak

368 Words2 Pages
Laurie Anderson’s young adult novel “Speak” is fulfilled with symbols, good and bad, static and not static. The high school girl, Melinda Sordino, stops speaking after being raped by a classmate. The author uses symbolism in order to illustrate Melinda’s emotional trauma, and how Melinda tries to overcome it. Three the most complex symbols in the novel are a poster of Maya Angelou, an oak tree, and a name of her teacher –Mr. Freeman. Poster of Maya Angelou doesn’t appear randomly in the chapter “Closet Space”. Maya is a great African American writer, who in the book I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings describes her own overcoming from rape trauma. Symbolic connection between Maya’s and Melinda’s stories becoming an emotional force for Melinda
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