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.
Laurie Halse Anderson conveys a lonely mood through the use of imagery, dialogue, and tone in her book “Speak”. Throughout the novel, the reader sees the struggles of a freshman girl named Melinda after she was raped over the summer. Laurie Halse Anderson uses imagery to create a lonely mood. “Built-in shelves filled with dusty textbooks and a few bottles of bleach… A cracked mirror tils over a sink littered with dead roaches crotched together with cobwebs.” This quote helps the reader create an image in their head of a dirty, forgotten place where it makes the reader feel the same feelings of loneliness that Melinda felt in the story.
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson is about a girl named Melinda who goes through traumatic events throughout her freshman year of high school. The novel also examines her relationships and attempts to communicate with other characters, as well as how she finds the courage to speak up for herself. Trees and seeds play a major symbolic role in the novel because they represent Melinda’s growth throughout the story. Throughout the novel, trees and seeds are mentioned numerous times.
In the novel, Anderson’s Speak, there is a multitude of symbolism examples. A crucial example is how she avoided mirrors as much as she could. The mirror symbolizes how Melinda disgusts herself as if it were her fault she had been hurt. She used the mirror as a weapon towards Andy which symbolizes how she regained control of her emotions. Anderson uses the mirror to symbolize how Melinda disgusts herself and how she used it to regain her confidence.
In the novel, “Speak” by Laurie Halse Anderson, there is a young high school girl that is named Melinda, she has something to hide from people that she know and love but eventually she will reveal her dark secret. I believe that symbolism plays a major role in the novel because many of the symbols represent how Melinda sometimes acts at times. Throughout the novel, Unarmed is used to symbolize Rabbits, Prey, and Fear in relation to how Melinda develops. I believe that Rabbits represent Melinda as an unharming animal who can’t defend herself from problems in life. This symbol also represents Melinda in a way that she can’t fight back, all she can possibly do is hide like a rabbit in her closet or run away from Danger.
In the book Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, the theme is don't be afraid to speak up about a bad experience and it is shown through the symbols of Heather, chapped lips, and Mr.Freeman. One symbol that Anderson used to show the theme of don’t be afraid to speak up about bad experiences is Heather. When Heather needs help making a poster she isn’t afraid to ask Melinda for help. This is an example of the theme.
Speak Journal Response The book Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson creates many connections; whether they are real world, virtual or personal. This journal will explain those connections, and show my thoughts on them, as well as how they have impacted my view on different, related, topics. My first connection is about Character, between Melinda’s parents, and Qibli’s (Key-Bee) parent’s in the book Wings of Fire.
In the book Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, Melinda gives a really good example of character development throughout the story. Melinda just starts her freshman year at high school. Over the summer her and her friends went to a party and Melinda gets raped by a boy named Andy Evans and ends up calling the police, she didn't tell anyone why she called the police, causing her friends and everyone at the party to reject her. Melinda’s only friend is a new girl named heather. Melinda gets depressed and starts expressing her pain through stuff like biting her lips and her nails, and not talking.
In the novel Annie John by Jamaica Kincaid, the relationship between Annie and her mother can be very confusing and complicated at times. In the passage, symbols such as the thimble and the “black thing” play an important role in depicting the relationship between Annie John and her mother. Annie and her mother each have a black thing resting inside of them and when they begin to fight, the black things join together. The thimble rests inside of Annie and represents her sadness and her unwillingness to grow up and become distant from her mother. These symbols together help portray the relationship between Annie and her mother by showing that they have a mutual dislike for one another and how they are tired and depressed because of their quarrelling.
Symbolism is the practice of representing things by symbols, or of investing things with a symbolic meaning or character. In Speak, Laurie Halse Anderson uses literary devices to help the reader better understand Melinda’s personal changes and growth. Trees, lips, and coldness are all symbolically used to represent the changes of Melinda. Throughout the novel, trees play a big part in symbolizing Melinda. Melinda is constantly drawing and relating to trees in the book.
For example, the movie opens with the main character, Melinda, putting on lipstick. This is important because lipstick, and makeup in general, is seen as a right of passage for young women. This movie is laden with symbolism. In another instance, the movie points out a parallel between Melinda and one of her teachers. The teacher has hair covering her face and is clearly nervous, or anxious.
Alice walker in Everyday Use demonstrates the understanding of African American heritage. Understanding your heritage is important because you should always look back on where you came from. Where you came from is such a big part of who you are and is something know one can take away from you. When you understand your heritage, you get to pass it on to others. Walker does this by using characterization, symbolism, and theme.
Speak Essay: Figurative language has a tremendous influence on literature because it enlivens the words and makes them jump off the page. This allows the reader to visualize the scene in a unique, explicit way. Laurie Anderson’s Speak demonstrates an abundant use of figurative language. Figurative language appears in various forms; this includes simile, metaphor, personification, symbol, hyperbole and more.
The novel Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson, is about a girl named Melinda, who shows signs of depression throughout the story. She has no friends and is hated by people she doesn’t even know. This is because she called the cops at a party, where she was raped. Anderson includes literary elements to show how Melinda is depressed. Throughout the novel, she uses many different literary elements to show Melinda’s conflict.
Melinda, in a lot of ways, starts out like that it the book. She becomes a shell of herself from before the party happened and because no one else was there, she is lonely and doesn't have anybody to go to and to make matters even worse, she’s covered by the reputation that she has formed. In the book, Laurie Halse Anderson uses symbolism to convey exactly what Melinda can't say. In the beginning of the book, Melinda starts high school carrying her emotional wounds with her after something happens mysterious to her at a party during the summer.
