One example of figurative language in Laurie Hale Anderson’s book “Speak” is when Melinda decides to rid her garden of all weeds, and does some spring cleaning after it finally stops raining during May. Around the same time, Melinda is realizing that she wants to make some new changes in her life and in this figurative language example, Melinda’s life is her garden. She decides first to rake the leaves “suffocating the bushes” ; Melinda is ridding the demons from herself on the first layer of her skin. She says that she has to “fight the bushes (her problems)” and the bushes don’t like getting cleaned out but it is something one has to do if one makes
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.”
“The Box Man” is a story with many interpretations, and these ideas are conveyed differently by the use of different rhetorical devices. Barbara Lazear Ascher, the author of this text, wrote this story using the idea of solitude and loneliness. She contrasts a homeless man she refers to as the Box Man, a couple of women who seem to have it all, and a book she loved as a kid. She is able to connect these ideas with her rhetorical choices, which consist of similes, allusions, and imagery. These are displayed throughout the text in order to support the message that choosing loneliness isn’t as damaging as being chosen by loneliness.
In the novel Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson the main character, Melinda, often turns to nature to provide an inspiring story for her feelings of hopelessness to fall back on. Though it is not always blatantly stated, while Melinda comes to terms with the fact that she has been raped nature provides parallels to Melinda's life, symbolizing changing sentiments as they occur. This symbolism manifests in Melinda's interests, the seasons, and her art project. Melinda often mentions plant seeds throughout the story. Melinda's first mention of them is in Biology class when the class dissects apples.
Did you know that only 310 out of every 1,000 sexual assaults are reported? Melinda was one of the 690 people that didn’t report her sexual assault. Speak was about this girl named Melinda and she had something happen to her right before school started and she didn’t tell anyone. Then as the school year progressed she wasn’t making any friends and even the only friend she had unfriended her. THen at the end she finally told someone.
In the novel Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, Melinda Sordino struggles through high school, all while dealing with the aftermath of a rape. Throughout the story, she creates artwork of trees for art class. These trees symbolize Melinda's growth throughout the novel as she deals with being raped, depression, anxiety, drama, her parents, her grades, and her rapist continuously teasing and tormenting her. On Page 12 of Speak, Melinda is in art class and is told to choose a slip from a broken globe.
Laurie Halse Anderson Mr. Emmons ENG1D1.62 Trauma portrayed in Speak April 4, 2023 “Don’t expect to make a difference unless you speak up for yourself” (Anderson 159). Melinda saying this displays her growth, as this fact strongly contrasts her more timid, shy behavior at the beginning of the book. Speak, written by Laurie Halse Anderson, has a character named Melinda Sordino slowly gain the strength to speak up after being raped during a party that previous summer.
Character Response Laurie Halse Anderson the writer of the novel “Speak” portrays the struggles of teenage depression. Melinda a Freshman student who has been taking advantage of by an upper-class man at a high school summer party suffers through depression. Her depression builds under pressure after losing her best friends, family problems and the fact that she is an outcast at her school. Melinda’s mother and school teachers perceive Melinda as a quiet, troubled, teenager who refuses to speak, when truly Melinda is traumatized from her experience at the summer party. When being held at a parent conference, for example, Melinda does not speak out loud once.
In the book Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, the protagonist, Melinda, is assigned to create a tree a million different ways all year. In doing so she finds ways to convey her emotions through her drawings. There are many different types of trees in the world. A tree that shows symbolism and draws emotion out of me would have to be a weeping willow tree. The weeping willow tree is elegant, girly, but has a tragically beautiful side to it.
Authors often hide important motifs within the characters and plot of a novel. This enables them to give the plot a deeper meaning than what is seen on the surface. In Speak, Laurie Halse Anderson uses the seasons to represent Melinda’s changing emotional state. Her emotional issues are first introduced in the autumn, when Melinda is beginning to close herself off. Her troubles increase and her emotional state deteriorates throughout the winter.
The Girl Without a Voice Do you know who you are? Do you know what you stand for? Do you know your beliefs? Do you have your own voice?
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.
Speak Journal Response This journal is in response to the novel Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. As a coming-of-age contemporary novel, Speak discusses many sensitive issues that are still prominent even today. In this story, we explore the life of Melinda Sordino, a fourteen-year-old girl who is beginning high school right after experiencing an utterly traumatic event: rape. Melinda is left friendless, with no one to help and support her after what happened.
Loneliness is an experience most individuals have, whether they live in crowded cities or on empty farms. The feeling of loneliness makes individuals desperate for a connection and forces them to make extreme decisions. In “The Painted Door”, by Sinclair Ross, the author suggests that the conflict between temptation and loneliness leads to tragedy. Sinclair Ross expresses this idea through different techniques, including symbolism, to show the effects loneliness and temptation have on the transformation of the protagonist, Ann. Ann goes through an internal struggle where she must fight the temptations caused by loneliness in order to rescue her marriage.
“‘Let me tell you about it’” (Anderson 198). These words were spoken by a character who struggled to find her voice but once she did, she grew as a person. The author who wrote these words is Laurie Halse Anderson. Born in October of 1961, Anderson has published many notable works as a New York Times bestselling author.
