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Students seem to get in troubles mostly when they are in high school. If they don’t know how to solve their problems, their whole school lives, perhaps even their whole lives may be destroyed. The most common problem occurs in high school is isolation. It also can be called bullying even though victims are not hurt physically; they are hurt mentally very bad. Some students can’t get out of it because they lack of courage. They don’t dare to speak up for themselves and the problem become worse day by day. The same thing happens to Melinda in the novel Speak of Laurie Halse Anderson. She has a hard time to struggle with her problem. Melinda demonstrates one major theme in the book, speaking up versus keeping secret, through 3 states - keeping
This novel shows experiences you would encounter during school, such as bullying which is the primary focus in this storyline. Over 160,000 people worldwide stay home every day because of bullying. Ishmael believes he has Ishmael Leseur’s Syndrome (ILS), a syndrome he named after his own name, and the only person to have ILS. This syndrome has “caused” him to have low IQ and he describes it as “a walking disaster”. Barry Bagsley causes Ishmael to have many complications throughout the novel. Barry Bagsley finds opportunity
Tragic events can leave scars but they should not be allowed to define how someone lives their life. After being assaulted, Melinda decides not to talk about it and bottles up her pain, hoping to forget it. “It is easier not to say, shut your trap, button your lip, can it” (Anderson 9). In this quote, Melinda is forthright about her belief in silence. This statement defines Melinda’s behavior for most of the novel.The quote shows that Melinda does have voice she just does not want to use it outside of her own head. While Melinda recognizes that her isolation is harmful, she takes steps to reconnect to others and get help. Speaking up can get you somewhere in life.”Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies, or being hated, don’t give way to hating, and yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise” (Kipling lines 6-8). This quote means things will happen to you, people talk, and you are going to lose friends, however, you cannot let this affect you. For the theme of finding one’s voice, the texts might be showing how speaking up and pushing through the awful names people call you can help you be more confident and competent. Finally, characterization is another tool Anderson and Kipling use to develop the theme of finding one’s voice and identity.
Having courage can open windows to new experiences for everyone involved. In the movie Finding Forrester, William Forrester is a recluse who has been hiding from society for about forty years. Occasionally, Mr. Forrester looks out his window with a pair of binoculars. Because of this, he draws the attention of some boys who are playing basketball in the court below his apartment window who thought the ¨Man in the Window” was spying on them. Among those boys is young Jamal Wallace, who is a brilliant writer in need of guidance. Jamal attends a public high school and is afraid of showing his full abilities because of his fear of not fitting in. In spite of his average grades, his exemplary test scores get him a full ride to an elite private school. Here at this private school he is noticed for both his educational skills and also his abilities on the basketball court. Along his
Social issues, or current issues in society, frequently appear in the literature. One social issue that the reader finds in Shattering Glass by Gail Giles is the issues of bullying. Bullying is “abuse and mistreatment of someone vulnerable by someone stronger [or] more powerful” (Merriam-Webster). , common in the United States. The bigger issue is the long-term effects of bullying on children. The main character in Shattering Glass, Simon Glass, is bullied by the other characters. Due to Simon being bullied he experiences changes in eating (Short Term And Long Term Effects), low self-esteem (Fraser-Trill), and anger issues (The Long Term Effects).
Isolation is something that will make or break a person. When you are separated from everything that you have ever know, thrown into a metaphorical desert, it is a time when you are either destroyed or created. A phoenix rises again from the ashes, reincarnated by flames. Most just burn. Stripe away comfort and consolation and you are left with the real person. Whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing is decided by who they are.
In the book Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson we learn about Melinda’s depression. Melinda has an event occur in the beginning of the story that causes her to become very depressed and it leads to self harm. “I open up a paper clip and scratch it across the left side of my wrist”(Anderson 87). Melinda does this when she is home in her closet. Melinda is a teen the struggles with depression which is common for many teens. Melinda does not handle her depression well, she keeps it to herself and resorts to self harm by cutting and by biting her lip. Melinda, like most of teens, needs to find someone to talk to and to let someone know what is going on in her life. In Laurie Halse Anderson’s book Speak you learn about Melinda’s depression and
Laurie Halse Anderson is trying to tell us that personal appearance doesn’t matter, be beautiful on the inside. It doesn’t really matter what you look like, it’s what you do. If a scientist invented a fertilizer that would solve world hunger, nobody would care what they look like. Melinda is like a seed, doesn’t look like much but something beautiful is inside. Melinda gave up on personal appearance the night of the party; she used to dress nice but after the rape she didn’t. Andy used the “you were asking for it” card a lot, I feel that Melinda tried to make herself look “trashy and ratty” so she wouldn’t be so “vulnerable” (but really Andy is just a pig). Onto the Martha Clan, they thought they had to be perfect, but that made them into monsters
Have you ever felt so isolated and useless that you could not do anything to resolve a problem? This is case that happens to a young man that goes by the name Ronald Adams and others. “The Hitchhiker” takes place on the road and several gas stations. The main character Adams is about to head for a trip to California when his mom (Mrs.Adams) practically begs for him to stay she, says how she is worried and tells him “... But I -I hate to see you go...I wish you weren't driving...”(pg.3 Fletcher) Determined to go on this trip,” Adams heads for California leaving her worried and sad. By the author writing this way about Mrs. Adams feelings it, show’s how she express sensory details. Readers Can actually hear and picture her saying this and basically see how and why she feels that Adams needs to stay home. In Lucille Fletcher’s “The Hitchhiker” readers learn that you don’t always get what you want in life.Have you ever been followed or controlled to the point where you just can’t handle it anymore? This is what happened to Ronald, while Adams is driving he witnesses an odd man hitchhiking at the end of the street,not thinking anything of it Adams he moves forward with his driving. Ordinarily if being nice means that you care for others, then the hitchhiker is not nice because
Every 98 seconds, an American is sexually assaulted. Every year, over 300,000 victims are raped and sexually assaulted in the United States. Each one of these victims face emotional distraught for many years to come, including Melinda, the main character of Laurie Halse Anderson’s novel, Speak. However, at the end of the novel, Melinda resolves her internal conflict by speaking about her problems. Unfortunately, not enough people speak up about sexual abuse, however, victims of sexual assault can find the emotional and mental support they need just by stepping out of their comfort zone to speak up about their condition. Undoubtedly, speaking up helps people overcome difficult situations
Although there are several themes, the major theme is isolation. Throughout the book, Jacob Freisten is isolated from his parents, his sister, and the other students at his school. He is not close to anyone, and because of that, his life is horrible. He does not even sleep upstairs with the rest of his family; he sleeps on a cot in the dingy basement of their house.
Is it possible for someone surrounded by people to be lonely? In the novel Speak, Laurie Halse Anderson depicts Melinda Sordino as a young teen who is depressed due to something that occurred at a party. As a result Melinda has no friends and her grades are suffering. While Melinda is working on a project in art class, she receives comments from a classmate and her teacher, Mr. Freeman. Her classmate, Ivy says “It’s scary” “In a weird way”. Melinda thinks that the reaction is not what she wanted to hear. Melinda notices that Mr. Freeman is acting serious and examining her project and says he makes her nervous. Mr. Freeman says “This has meaning. Pain”. The bell rings and Melinda reacts by leaving before he can say more. It is possible that
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.
In a section of The Women Warrior, where the protagonist (the writer, Maxian Hong Kingston) is bullying a younger girl. Because of her jealousy and want to know why the younger girl does not speak, other than read aloud. While another short story Another evening at the club, by Alifa Rifaat. Where the protagonist Samia is not standing up for herself. And she does not have a voice of her own. Even though the bully is mean, and bully other; I feel is even worse not standing up for oneself,
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
Some of these students are facing several social and mental problems which lead them to harm others. So the best way to solve their troubles is using the most expert psychologists that will focus on solving their personal issues. Therefore if officials want to stop bullying, they must focus mainly on student’s feelings because they are the core of it. In addition to that, Gwen Dewar said that all bullies usually suffer from certain “unpleasant problems” either in their home or from other bullies, however, schools should concentrate on the feelings of these students and cure them with all possible” therapies”( Dewar par.5). For example, these bullies must not be punished, but instead officials must give them private lessons