In the book Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson, Melinda is entering high school completely alone. She has no friends and she has no one to turn to, even the people she doesn’t know hate her. All of this is happening to Melinda because she called the cops at an end of summer party and no one even bothered to ask her why. Something terrible happened that night at the party and memories of the event terrify and haunt her. There’s something about that night that she tries to forget, something she tries to not remember. Throughout the book you see ways Melinda is coping with her trauma. In the process of it all her nightmare, Andy Evans, comes and attacks her again, but this time Melinda isn’t so quiet about it. By the end of the book, Melinda uncovers her secret that has been trapped in her thoughts. Anderson develops a theme that if something traumatic …show more content…
Melinda starts out feeling alone and scared. She was very insecure, reserved and timid around her peers. She was failing school (75) because she had just given up on herself and her future and didn't have the drive anymore (24) The major turning point in her life after the party is when she encounters Andy Evans. The moment he attacks her she decides she’s had enough and strikes back. She is no longer quiet and she opens up about the event that happened. People become more understanding and she reaches out to help herself. The theme developed in this book is so important. Even if the event that happens to you isn’t to the same extent as what happened to Melinda, it’s still so important to reach out and ask for help. I think that the events in this book could easily happen to someone and it is such a simple book to relate too. So many people go throughout their days thinking that they are alone and have no one to go too, but that’s so wrong and this book shows that there are some situations you don’t have to handle on your
I would recommend this book to people who love realistic stories. Personally for me it is hard to find books that interest me and this one felt like if I was watching someone else's life while I read it. It has so many interesting points. When you think something might happen
Throughout the passages, Laurie Halse Anderson establishes the Central Idea through the use of Characteristics and Imagery, revealing that the loudest words are the ones that aren’t spoken.
I can relate this book to my life in many ways; it was easier for me to relate to this book because were both 18 year old girls who want to live life the right way. Also I don’t want to live life trying to be like everyone else, so this was really encouraging to me. A part that helped me was the part about confidence and how important that is. Its important to have confidence in your faith because say you get in a situation you can protect your faith and stand up for what you believe. Another part that I can really apply to my life was how when people were talking about her she didn’t even beg to know. Personally whenever I hear that someone was talking about me, I really want to know what they said! This helped me to learn that why fill my brain with negativity sinful gossip, because that’s not what Jesus would do.
The Power of an Author Authors have the ability justify the worst actions. Authors have a way of romanticizing certain situations in order to convey a specific message. A good author has power to influence the reader into believing whatever it is the author wants. When it comes to the story of Hannah Dustan, authors such as John Greenleaf Whittier have romanticized her captivity story along with the actions she took throughout her journey. Introducing a character that will be seen in the story is one of the most vital parts when creating a piece of literature.
I think that this book sends a very important message, it tells the reader about the dangers that adolescent girls face and survive every day. It also gives many different perspectives on issues that teens face because she gives us her own opinion and also those of her patients and their parents. I think that the reason this book is so eye-opening is because it gives you the honest truth, it's not candy coated. She tells stories that really happened, and the reality of the book is one of its best qualities.
I can relate to this book because when I was four years old my mom and I were going down to the gas station. just a few miles from our house and my mom was not paying attention to the road because I was crying, She turned her head back and before we knew it we hit a tree head on. I can see how Willow has been feeling because my family was worried about me and my mother and they still have us but Willow lost her parents for good she cant have them back, I can only imagine Willow’s pain.
Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson, is a story written in the first person about a young girl named Melinda Sordino. The title of the book, Speak, is ironically based on the fact that Melinda chooses not to speak. The book is written in the form of a monologue in the mind of Melinda, a teenage introvert. This story depicts the story of a very miserable freshman year of high school. Although there are several people in her high school, Melinda secludes herself from them all. There are several people in her school that used to be her friend in middle school, but not anymore. Not after what she did over the summer. What she did was call the cops on an end of summer party on of her friends was throwing. Although all her classmates think there was no reason to call, only Melinda knows the real reason. Even if they cared to know the real reason, there is no way she could tell them. A personal rape story is not something that flows freely off the tongue. Throughout the story Melinda describes the pain she is going through every day as a result of her rape. The rape of a teenage girl often leads to depression. Melinda is convinced that nobody understands her, nor would they even if they knew what happened that summer. Once a happy girl, Melinda is now depressed and withdrawn from the world. She hardly ever speaks, nor does she do well in school. She bites her lips and her nails until they bleed. Her parents seem to think she is just going through a faze, but little do they know, their daughter has undergone a life changing trauma that will affect her life forever.
For the past few weeks, we have been reading the book Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson. The book is about a girl named Melinda Sordino, who for the most part refused to speak or interact with others after being raped at a end-of-the-summer party before the start of her freshman year in highschool. Ever since she was raped, she completely changed. However, I think she shows signs of improvement during the second half of the year.
As the story progresses, you get to see Melinda “grow” and finally speak out about what happened to her at the party. In some cases during the story there are flashbacks. Some would be good and some would be bad.
Throughout the book we can feel the struggle that a high school student can go through when they are misunderstood, discriminated and looked down upon. High schools and especially North American high schools can be ruthless and brutal about the people that somehow do not fit in. In the beginning of the book it was mentioned how everybody was part of specific groups or “clans” and that someone who did not fit into a group was doomed. I believe, that even though the main topic in the book is rape the author wanted us to think about more than rape and sexual assault in high schools. The fact that Melinda felt guilty, even though she was a victim of sexual assault shows us how hard it is for high school students who do not feel like they belong somewhere to speak up. The best example we can see of this is when David speaks up against Mr. Neck. By speaking up for the right of free speech in class he proved that speaking up is sometimes the best way to fight against an unfair authority. Mr. Neck was constantly shown as a character that picked on and oppressed Melinda, so even a brief act of going against him shows Melinda’s fight against
In the novel Speak, the author Laurie Halse Anderson uses the protagonist, Melinda, to show the importance of verbal communication in healthy relationship. Laurie Halse Anderson includes events and altercations in which it is clear to the reader that it could’ve been avoided by communicating.The author brings the reader through a process that the protagonist goes through in the story of thawing out of the frozen shell she’s in where she can’t talk. Laurie Halse Anderson uses repetition to emphasize the importance of her face being frozen. In addition, she also includes events that Melinda faces with her family that shows lack of communication. Another way Laurie Halse Anderson shows how verbal communication is needed is by walking the reader through instances where if Melinda spoke her side and what she felt, there could’ve been a complete different outcome. Using different tactics, it is evident that Laurie Halse Anderson is emphasizing the importance of communication in her novel Speak.
I always looked at death as such a sad thing that is eventually going to occur to everyone. However, after reading this book, it made me realize death can actually be a beautiful thing. Death allows a person to go to a next life, one where they will be loved and others will be there for them. It was interesting to be able to read about stories that these hospice care workers witnessed themselves. I have experienced a few deaths within my life and I never coped with them very well. After reading this book, I honestly believe I will be able to look at the positive side of death and be able to deal with my emotions better. I can also help others surrounding me deal with a death that they are experiencing. This book was filled with information that I loved learning. For example, I never knew that a dying person can choose a time to die. The thought of this never occurred to me before. I always thought that when it was someone’s time to go, they had no choice. But, a dying person can “put off” passing on until they see a certain person or event that has great significance in their life. Nevertheless, there are still people who will wait to die until they’re all alone in the room. This book makes you think of real life situations and think what you would do in them. Taken as a whole, it was a very in depth book that changes the way you would naturally perceive
J.K. Rowling once said, “Numbing the pain for a while will make it worse when you finally feel it.” The main character Melinda Sordino, from the novel Speak, written by Laurie Halse Anderson, shows the pain threw out the whole novel. Melinda is a quiet, unpopular girl, which leads her to keeping the secret to herself, causing her much pain. Much of the pain is from everyone beginning to hate her for calling the cops, when really nobody knows the truth. Throughout the novel, Melinda has gone through much pain in the story from her parents, people at her school, and from Andy Evans.
This quote indicates Melinda's growth and development as she ultimately accepts the truth. The revelation of her secret is only the start of her recovery. Melinda recognizes that none of this is her fault. Andy Evans stole her voice along with her innocence. She lost herself and her identity but will no longer let this define who she is. She is not capable of re-writing the past. However she can learn and grow from her experience.
This book actually impacted my view on life a bit. Life is a fragile gift and this book made me wonder if I am using my time in all the wrong ways. We should all work to be using our days as best we can and try to be happy regardless of our sadness. As we all know that’s not as simple as it sounds, which makes the strength of Hazel and Augustus extremely inspiring and even eye-opening. When I compare myself to these two characters I hope I can be more like them.