Courage In Sherwood Anderson's Speak

613 Words2 Pages

Maggie Kuhn, an activist who spent her life fighting for human rights, always spoke up, just like Melinda decided to do, "Speak your mind even if your voice shakes.” Melinda spoke her mind after she finds herself at the end of summer party, where she gets raped by Andy Evans, whom she figures out is a senior at her high school. She called the police, but everybody believes she did it for the wrong reasons. In the book Speak, there is one character, Melinda Sordino who has an extremely hard start to freshman year yet displays courage throughout the whole thing. The first time Melinda shows courage is during the summer, "The next thing I saw was the telephone. I stood in the middle of a drunken crowd and I called 911 because I needed help." (Anderson 136) She was being assertive, this was something courageous for her to do after what happened. Melinda showed courage going back to the party to get help, knowing Andy and all her friends were still there. Melinda is very shy, making it even more courageous for her to try to ask for help from the police. Most people wouldn't think to find help right away, they would still be in shock …show more content…

I called ... them because some guy raped me." (Anderson 183) Telling Rachel took courage because she is dating Andy, Melinda wanted Rachel to know the truth and stay far away from Andy like she was trying to do. Melinda was afraid of what Rachel might have done, she didn't know if she was going to believe her as well as keep it a secret. Melinda wondered if Rachel would question Andy, if he wanted to hurt Rachel or her again because of it. Rachel could have asked Andy about the party, he could have gotten mad or acted out. Melinda was thinking about what future events could have occurred, she was not only protecting herself but also her ex best friend. Melinda was hoping Rachel wouldn't fall into the same trap as she did at the

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