Speak
By: Laurie Halse Anderson
How to find your voice....
"This is where you can find your soul, if you dare. Where you can touch that part of you you've never dared look at before." (4.5)
Conflict
Melinda battles with herself and her surroundings because of the extremely painful incident that occurred at the party. Due to the self-deprecating and shamefulness, she struggles to maintain relationships and focus on school. Melinda has only told one person about what Ändy did to her, which causes the problem of not getting any help or anyone understanding. Not even Melinda´s parents know.
Melinda Sordino
Melinda is a high school student at Merryweather High School that has a troubling past at a very public party that becomes a major issue for her at school. She has many ups and downs involving many ¨cliques¨ just trying to fit in, but never really being honest, which causes some problems. Melinda shows no interests in any school activities or social interactions of any kind at all. Her depressions grows larger and larger before learning what she needs is to be brave.
Mr. Freeman
Mr. Freeman is Melinda´s Art teacher who becomes a very important person in Melinda´s life. He assigns a year long project that Melinda struggles with. However, in this process of finding her own self and identity and strength, Melinda learns her project is not what it first appeared to be. He never gives up on Melinda even when everyone else does in her life. He is her inspiration and her motivator she needed to get through her pain.
Andy ¨IT¨Evans
Andy is extremely popular in school and has a shady history with Melinda. He is confident and a lady´s man type of guy who picks on Melinda from time to time. He is not a shadow that Melinda wants following her and he finds humor in her reactions to his unsubtle behavior. He shows no remorse for raping Melinda at the party.
David Petrakis
David is a guy that attends Melinda's school and is one of the few people who treats Melinda well and gave her advice about guys. He shared a couple classes with Melinda and could tell she was troubled with someone, and is a bit protective of Melinda at times. David is very forward, opinionated, and strong-willed.
Rachel Bruin
Rachel and Melinda had been best friends since they were young. She ends up turning against Melinda because of the cop calling incident. Melinda tries to warn Rachel about Andy not being a nice guy and was dying to tell Rachel her secret, but didn't have the strength.
Mr. Neck
Mr. Neck is Melinda´s history teacher that has a explosive disagreement with David and always gives Melinda a hard time in class. Mr. Neck is a type of teacher that likes things to be done his way and only his way.
Heather ¨from Ohio¨
Heather is a new student at Merryweather High School and is super excited to be a part of clubs, social circles, and whatever else she can find. She befriends Melinda in the beginning and is a bit turned off by Melinda´s ¨I hate everyone and everything¨ attitude. Heather joins ¨The Marthas¨ and started to separate from Melinda and finding her own way. Heather can be impressionable and The Marthas take advantage of her enthusiasm.
Hairwoman
Hairwoman is Melinda´s English teacher who has wild hair and tries to relate to the students in her class. Melinda likes her but feels pity for her, because she thinks Hairwoman tries too hard to be cool. At the end, Hairwoman finally gets a new do and Melinda hopes the change will be good for her teacher.
The Marthas
The Marthas are a clique at Merryweather High School that are devoted followers of the infamous Martha Stewart. They are avid decorators, perfectionist, and charity junkies. Heather joins the group in hoping for acceptance and gets a very tainted version of friendship.
Theme
The theme for the book ¨Speak¨ is depression and the affects it has not just on the outside, but also on the inside to a person. Melinda is the victim of rape and becomes depressed and self-destructive, which causes a problem for her in school and personal life. Depression and denial are the biggest points in this book and the struggles one goes through to overcome these issues.
¨I close my eyes, this is what I've been dreading. As we leave the last stop, I am the only person sitting alone.¨ (1.3)
¨I am outcast.¨ (1.8)
Speak Book Trailer
¨I should probably tell someone, just tell someone. Get it over with. Let it out, blurt it out.¨ (48.8)
"Andy Evans will use you. He is not what he pretends to be. I heard he attacked a ninth grader. Be very, very careful." (70.6)
Book Review
Speak is about a young girl named Melinda who attends Merryweather High School. She gets sexually abused at a high school party by a guy named Andy Evans and is too scared to tell anyone about the incident. Melinda is trying to fit in to a clique but no one wants to be friends with someone who calls the police at a party. She has a history with many girls that used to be long time friends that have abandoned her and she feels alone and depressed. However she does meet some important ones like David, Mr. Freeman, and Rachel. As she tries to overcome this gigantic obstacle by completely isolating herself, Melinda meets a teacher that will change her life. Melinda goes through many trials and tribulations throughout the book, including ditching classes and getting into trouble constantly as a form of self-destructiveness. She finally learns how and why she needs to find her voice,which becomes her saving grace. Andy or otherwise called ¨IT¨ by Melinda is an antagonist in the Melinda´s life not making the situation any easier. Mr. Freeman, the Art teacher, gives an all year-long assignment that starts off kind of silly and useless. However, throughout this assignment it forces Melinda to see what she has been hiding from herself all along and becomes a perfect healing tool.
Say What You Need To Say - Melinda (Speak)
Citations
- Anderson Halse, Laurie. Speak. October 22, 1999. Print
- The Purdue OWL Family of Sites. The writing Lab and OWL at Purdue and Purdue U. 2008. Web. 8 May, 2016. https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/08/
- Shmoop Editorial Team. "Speak Quotes." Shmoop. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 8 May, 2016. http://www.shmoop.com/speak-anderson/transformation-quotes.html