Speak Summary In “Speak” by Laurie Halse Anderson, Melinda is starting high school and has not many friends. She feels like she doesn’t fit in at Merryweather High School. She just lost her best friend and made a new friend as well. The author wants Melinda to speak about her problems with her teachers, her parents, or anyone who is willing to help her.
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson should be mandatory reading for 8th graders due to its take on how trauma can affect the lives of its survivors. Through completed writing, the National Book Award finalist and Golden Kite Award winner, Laurie Anderson captures the thoughts of Melinda Sordino. After she gets raped and has to deal with a misunderstanding that leaves her silent and outcast. This short book of 224 pages is mostly written in short statements. From casual thoughts such as, “I zone out,” to ones with impact like, “Why go to school.”
Laurie Halse Anderson’s realistic fiction book Speak depicts the life of Melinda Sordino, a 9th grader who called the police at a party after being raped and is now a social outcast. The pain from the memories of being raped keep her silent as she struggles through a powerful depression and the problems that go with being in high school. Anderson uses mirrors as a motif throughout the story to portray the stages of depression Melinda goes through. At the start of the story Melinda leads a very depressed hidden life; Anderson uses the mirror to represent this.
Melinda is not telling people about her emotions, instead she is hiding in a closet away from her fears and
"No matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow.” Maya Angelou. In Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson this is shown through, Melinda Sordino, a freshman, starts high school with no friends because she called the police at a summer party after being raped. As she struggles through her first year of high school, she realizes that in order to grow, she must find her voice, which she eventually does, and things start to look better for her. Anderson uses the mouth as a motif to trace Melinda’s personal growth throughout the book from depressed and not speaking to coming out of her depression and speaking again.
“Speak” by Laurie Halse Anderson was first recognized as an inappropriate book in 2001 by Wesley Scroggins. Speak is about a girl named Melinda who is raped at a party by Andy Evans during the summer and she calls the police. She is socially rejected by her old friends. Her friends don’t know the whole story but only know that Melinda called the cops and ruined the most important part of the summer. But Melinda manages to find solace in her art class taught by Mr. Freemen.
In the book “Speak”, the main character went through some changes. From last year as an 8th grader she had a few best friends. This year, as a freshman in high school at Merryweather high school, she is starting the new year with no friends. The changes were caused by home and friend related events. Her identity was shaped negatively through these topics Melinda goes through changes because of her friend events.
Speak is a realistic fiction book written by Laurie Halse Anderson. It is a national book award finalist published by Square Fish Publications. Speak is a book that many adolescent girl readers can relate to. It allows readers to walk through freshman year with Melinda, and follow the conflicts she is facing. Many of the problems she faces are some of the same problems others face during their freshman year.
This relates to her and her struggle but then she recognized it and she taught herself through it and finally changed it to where she speaks for herself now. Melinda finally speaking out changed her whole school year. It had made Melinda’s year so much better. It was definitely had to overcome her fear of speaking but I bet she is glad she was finally able to overcome it.
We go through many stages in life, and they are both great and horrible. Our voices have the power to help us. In the novel, Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson, the central idea is to use your voice and speak up against your trauma. Anderson used metaphors and external conflicts the character, Melinda Sordino, had as she struggled life in high school, freshman year. Anderson used those to show how Melinda felt throughout her first year of high school.
What inspired you to write "Speak," and how did you approach the delicate and powerful subject matter of sexual assault in a young adult novel? Laurie Halse Anderson's motivation to write 'Speak' is rooted in her acknowledgment of a lack of representation and the pressing need to address the profound issue that affects many young women – sexual assault. She is determined to shed light on the impact of silence and societal pressures faced by survivors while ensuring that the portrayal of such sensitive subject matter remains authentic and compassionate.
She tries to navigate through her first year of high school, and it seems like the entire student body despises her; she feels more alone than ever. I will be analyzing and making connections to three specific elements in this novel: the search for one’s identity, Melinda’s inner conflict,
She barely speaks throughout the book. I relate to this because I am typically very quiet during the school day. However, we are quiet for very different reasons. I also relate to Melinda because she lost lots of friends before school started. Again, for different reasons, I also lost a large group of friends before school started.
In the novel, Melinda experiences the life-changing event of being raped,”. ..dump the memory, it will stay with me... " (Anderson 151). This memory of Melinda is very traumatic and is something that she cannot forget about. This traumatic event caused Melinda to grow up and become more mature.
She writes many novels on difficult subjects in society (“Laurie Halse Anderson-Mad Woman in the Forest”). In Speak, the main character, Melinda Sordino, was raped at the end of the summer before her freshman year. The novel follows her hardships as an outcast in the jungle-like environment of high school and her struggles to speak up for herself when she needs to the most (Anderson 3-198). In the novel Speak, Laurie Halse Anderson
