Symbolism In Speak

In everything piece of literature, including movies, there tend to be hidden meanings. A purpose as to why the author wrote the book or directed the movie to be the way it is. As a result of this, one must learn to read between the lines and to explore the true explanation and understanding . In the book Speak, there are many hidden messages, one of them includes her searching for individuality and finding herself and being unique to her own nature. The author has added this theme because it can benefit the reader and enhance their learning as well as help them relate to the book on a deeper level. You can see her discovering her true self throughout the book. In the beginning you can see her face challenges in high school and just trying

“ “It’s fine the way it is, it just needs some leaves. Layer the leaves and make them look slightly different sizes and it will look great. You have a great start there.” she’s right” (Anderson, 146) This again is a form of symbolism. When Ivy says that she can leave the tree the way it is but add different leaves with various sizes, it is as if the tree is representing Melinda’s views on life- she does not think it is all that great- but once she starts to notice the way people live their lives and how it’s all distinct from each other, she realizes that in the bigger picture, why should she have to be the one to suffer? She starts to realize maybe her views on life were inaccurate and this is when she first starts to speak up for herself and admit that she is wrong. Furthermore, people need constant reassurance from others to make sure that they’re doing the right thing. This helps the person gain confidence and eventually don’t need the help from others to guide them, they can just use their own judgment. Another point of her starting to speak up for herself was during her suffragettes presentation and that is the first part where she actually does something and uses her voice and power to stand up for herself. “ The

“Shards of glass slip down the wall and into the sink. IT pulls away from me puzzled. I reach in and wrap my fingers around a triangle of glass. I aple it to Andy Evan’s neck” (Anderson, 195) Now the readers can see who Melinda has become. Melinda is no longer a quiet girl who wants to be alone. Now she knows what she wants and stands her ground no matter what. She faces her challenges and doesn’t back down. We can see that Melinda has found her identity-a girl who does not give up and is confident with her choices. This all shows that Melinda had found herself. Additionally, she has learns what her true personality is. “My tree is definitely breathing; little shallow breaths like it just shot up through the ground this morning. This one is not perfectly symmetrical. The bark is rough. I try to make it look as if initials had been cares in it a long time ago. One of the lower branches is sick. Id this tree really lives someplace, that branch better drop soon, so it doesn’t kill the whole thing. Root knob out of the ground and the crown reaches for the sun, tall and healthy. The new growth is the best part.” (Anderson, 196) The tree is symbolism for the life that Melinda has lived. Because it is rough and asymmetrical it proves that she has gone through rough times. She says that she the lower branches need to be cut off if the tree wants