In the book Speak, the main character, Melinda has had a major problem in her life. Melinda found closure to her problems by doing ordinary and unordinary things that helped her process what really happened. Some of the things Melinda used to find closure for her traumatic experience is listening to talk shows, trying to help her ex-best friend from making the same mistake, and by standing up to the source of her problems. While Melinda stayed home, she watched talk shows including: Oprah, Sally Jessy Rafael, and Jerry Springer. These talk shows helped with Melinda’s problems since she thought about what they would say to her. In Melinda’s mind, Oprah told her, "Let's explore that. You said no. He covered your mouth with his hand. You were
Oprah Winfrey achieved great success in her various endeavors, growing from a news reporter in Nashville to the world-famous talk show host she is today. During the 1980s, talk shows were a crucial part of daytime television. Shows were organized based upon their content and varied greatly in subject. The popularity of talk shows led many people to enter this field, leading to a constant struggle for airtime. Oprah’s rise to fame began when she moved from her hometown in Nashville, to college in Baltimore and ultimately to Chicago, where she lives today. She appeared on an early morning television program called A.M. Chicago, which was later retitled The Oprah Winfrey Show which aired its first episode on September 8, 1986. Talk shows like Oprah’s were wildly popular, especially to women, because they focused on entertaining their viewers rather than discussing political problems. The thirty-minute to hour-long programs allowed for people to escape their problems, even if only for a short period of time (Rose). Biographer, Ilene Cooper took on the challenge of writing a biography about the complex and extraordinary life of Oprah Winfrey. In an article on the Kirkus Review website, published in 2010, a critic enjoys how the author of the biography, Up close: Oprah Winfrey, “makes excellent use of many quotes from interviews, Oprah’s own writing and, of course, her television show” (“Oprah Winfrey”). This reviewer appreciates how the biographer uses all of her resources to understand more information about Oprah. Some of Oprah’s greatest contributions to society are her generous donations to several organizations, and the way she encourages individuals to take actions that can not on...
In both the film and novel, "Speak" by Lauren Halsen Anderson uses literary devices to demonstrate the experience the protagonist, Melinda Sordino faced as a teenage rape victim, as well as the steps necessary to cope and move on with her life. Both film and book share a great similarity in the conflict that goes on, as well as the flash backs indicated throughout this piece of work. Also, the symbolism shaped by the protagonist makes it more clear to understand the tramautic event. Moreover, the novel and film appears to be both familiar in many ways due to these elements followed by examples.
The plot of the book, Speak is that Melinda Sordino, a freshman at Merryweather High went to an end of the summer party with some of her friends. Things take a turn for the worst when a senior named Andy Evans sexually assaults her at the party without her friends knowing about it. Melinda is frightened, afraid, and does not know what to do so she calls 911 busting the party, and causing her friends and everyone at that school to hate her, even if they don’t know her.
In the short story, “Until Gwen” by Dennis Lehane, it starts off with the main character named Bobby who is getting picked up by his father from prison with a stolen Dodge Neon. His father wasn’t alone, he brought himself a company and it was a hooker named Mandy. We got a sense of who his father was, a “professional thief, a consummate con man” (647). We don’t know why he was in prison until the rest of the story slowly reveals the flashbacks he has with his girlfriend Gwen and the incident prior of going to jail. Bobby has no sense of who he is or where he is from because there no proof of record of him such as a birth certificate. After meeting Gwen, his life has changed and felt the sense of belonging into the world he is living in. Bobby’s
“The future belongs to the curious. The ones, who are not afraid to try it, explore it, poke at it, question it and turn it inside out” –Unknown. Throughout the novel, the author, Erin Bowman, shows that curiosity is found to be unfortunate which influences people to break rules, since it was not always meant to be pursued. Being too curious can lead to complications, new innovations and discovering private knowledge.
abandonment by her family and the shame she thinks she has brought on to the
Helene was raised by her grandmother because she mother was a prostitute in the New Orleans. When Helene has a family of her own, she refuses to make her background be known. Helene raises Nel with fear because she doesn’t want her to have the lifestyle she grew up in. Helene controls Nel’s life and makes her see the world how it is. Nel and her mother go on a train to New Orleans to attend the funeral for her great grandmother. On the train, Nel witnessed racial situation between her mother and the white conductor. “Pulling Nel by the arm, she pressed herself and her daughter into the foot space in front of a wooden seat… at least no reason that anyone could understand, certainly no reason that Nel understood,” (21). Nel was very uncomfortable throughout the trip and wasn’t able to communicate with her mother because she never learned how to since her mother was not supportive of her. Nel views her mother very negatively for the way she raised her. Nel starts to determine her life and great her identity when she became friends with Sula. The effect of negative maternal interactions on an individual is explained by Diane Gillespie and Missy Dehn Kubitschek as they discuss
Never Lived Have you ever felt like your entire world has ended? If you have you might be able to relate to our main character, Lakshmi, in Patricia McCormick's novel, Sold. In this book we follow the tragic life of a young Indian girl who was sold into sex slavery. This book shows something more important than anything out in the world about this subject. Thus because it tells the story, in detail about how bad these scenarios really are.
In conclusion fourteen year-old Melinda Sordino, finds her lost voice and is no longer a victim of sexual assault but a survivor. Desperate to regain the person she was before her trauma, she did not realize she has been developing into a stronger person. She is learning and growing from experience, which she is now able to speak of.
She begins talking about her childhood and who raised her until she was three years old. The woman who raised her was Thrupkaew’s “auntie”, a distant relative of the family. The speaker remembers “the thick, straight hair, and how it would come around [her] like a curtain when she bent to pick [her] up” (Thrupkaew). She remembers her soft Thai accent, the way she would cling to her auntie even if she just needed to go to the bathroom. But she also remembers that her auntie would be “beaten and slapped by another member of my family. [She] remembers screaming hysterically and wanting it to stop, as [she] did every single time it happened, for things as minor as…being a little late” (Thrupkaew). She couldn’t bear to see her beloved family member in so much pain, so she fought with the only tool she had: her voice. Instead of ceasing, her auntie was just beaten behind closed doors. It’s so heart-breaking for experiencing this as a little girl, her innocence stolen at such a young age. For those who have close family, how would it make you feel if someone you loved was beaten right in front of you? By sharing her story, Thrupkaew uses emotion to convey her feelings about human
I can relate this book to a very good friend of mine that got caught up in a bad situation. I’ll use the name “Bob”. We live in the small town of Cape May, NJ and everyone knows everyone. Not always the best situation for people like Bob. He and I became friends before any of these awful things started to happen. Bob got caught up in the wrong crowd one summer and begandealing cocaine. At the time I was un- aware of this. I began to notice a change in him around the middle of the summer, I asked him if there was anything wrong or if I could do anything for him. Bob wouldn’t tell me what was going on, he said, “I don’t want to hurt you.”
She continues in this sequel to talk about the abuse she faced and the dysfunction that surrounded her life as a child and as a teen, and the ‘empty space’ in which she lived in as a result. She talks about the multiple personalities she was exhibiting, the rebellious “Willie” and the kind “Carol”; as well as hearing noises and her sensory problems. In this book, the author puts more emphasis on the “consciousness” and “awareness” and how important that was for her therapeutic process. She could not just be on “auto-pilot” and act normal; the road to recovery was filled with self-awareness and the need to process all the pieces of the puzzle—often with the guidance and assistance of her therapist. She had a need to analyze the abstract concept of emotions as well as feelings and thoughts. Connecting with others who go through what she did was also integral to her
In Daisy Miller, Henry James slowly reveals the nature of Daisy"s character through her interactions with other characters, especially Winterbourne, the main character." The author uses third person narration; however, Winterbourne"s thoughts and point of view dominate." Thus, the audience knows no more about Daisy than Winterbourne." This technique helps maintain the ambiguity of Daisy"s character and draws the audience into the story.
Lacan’s theories of development and the structure of society explain the actions of the narrator in the novel. Her psychological breakdown is understood because she does not fit into society. By having a child and protecting it from society she knows that it will not be taken from her. Therefore, because of the child, she is whole again and exists outside of dominant culture in the Real.
Scott, Gini, Graham. (1996) Can we Talk? The Power and Influence of Talk Shows. New