Melinda Sordino begins her freshman year with an unrevealed secret. She’s hated by all students because when the summer was coming to an end, she went to a party and called the police. She has to go through judgments and physical bullying ever since. Till she finally tells the world what happened that night and everything changes. The book’s point of view is 1st person narrator. Everything that happens in the book is everything that Melinda experiences. It’s almost as if it was her diary. This point of view is very effective for this novel because it’s all about Melinda’s life and struggles. Nobody else could have explained better all the pain she went through. In this book there is a lot of characters and character traits that …show more content…
A secret that should have been revealed the moment it happened. It was slowly killing her in the inside and she wanted to tell someone but she was too afraid to. The challenge of this novel was for Melinda to keep being reminded by the thoughts and flashbacks of that day. She was traumatized and unable to tell anyone what happened. She eventually falls into a dark depression by barely speaking and the only way she copes is by biting her nails and lips. The main turning point of Speak (climax) is when Melinda decides to speak up. She realized that if she doesn’t speak up fast about what happened that night there could end up more victims. She knew the moment she saw Rachel and Andy Evans together it was the time for the truth to be revealed. All Melinda’s fears end after Andy Evans tries to sexually abuse her the second time. He comes after her when Melinda told Rachel about him raping her, which makes their relationship come to an end. He was angry and tried to abuse her the second time but Melinda knew to defend herself and not let it happen again. She took a triangle of glass and pushed it hard enough to raise one drop of blood. After that there was people knocking on the door, she opened and someone went to look for help. Melinda knew after that day she was no longer going to stay quiet. The last day of school she opens up to Mr.Freeman, her art
At this point in the novel, the only thing revealed about what happened was that she had called the cops on a high school party during summer, leaving her friends mad at her. Melinda went through the first few classes and lunch on her terrible first day, finding them all completely miserable.
No running away, or flying, or burying, or hiding. ” It is without a doubt that this is a dynamic character because it clearly identifies Melinda’s development. Rather than being a static character, she is able to overcome her anxiety, PTSD, and fear in order to accept the truth of what happened to her. Throughout the story, she is presented as an extremely silent person.
Melinda’s character develops tremendously over the course of the book. In the beginning of the book, she says, “ I have entered high school with the wrong hair, the wrong clothes, the wrong attitude. And I don’t have anyone to sit with. I am an outcast” (Anderson, 4). At the start, Melinda had lost all of her friends after she busted a party last summer, but nobody knows that a senior boy at the party raped her.
She tells her story in her own words, in the present tense. This telling seems to be a kind of internal monologue. Melinda doesn't talk much to others, but she sure hasn't stopped talking to herself; she
She also struggles with the feeling of hopelessness. In the chapter "Coloring Outside the Lines," Melinda is working on her trees in art class and these feelings, along with others, are shown through her reactions to her work. She says, "I have already ruined six linoleum blocks I can see it in my head: strong old oak tree... But when I try to carve it, it looks like a dead tree... I can 't bring it to life.
She get's harassed by a Popular group called the Marthas, they make fun of Melinda when she is introduced to them. They comment about her hair, body, and lips in a negative way. Also Rachele Melinda ex-friend hangs out with popular people and
Melinda replies with, “I don’t know anything. My trees suck.” This shows that Melinda doesn’t think anything she does will ever be as good as anyone else and that she doesn’t believe in herself. Melinda won’t tell anyone what happened because she feels guilty as if it was her fault. This is shown on page 51 when Melinda says, “I want to confess everything, hand over the guilt and mistake and anger to someone else…
The Seasons of Melinda Ever notice when the seasons change, people change? In the novel Speak, author Laurie Halse Anderson explores the idea of change. The book is about a high school freshman named Melinda Sordino, who has been raped and is trying to get over it. Melinda faced lots of challenges, including losing friends, dealing with school, confronting her rapist, and learning how to communicate with her dysfunctional family.
The cause of Melinda’s dreary mood obviously comes from IT’s abuse. Andy Evans constantly harassing Melinda in the hallways reminds her of the horrid rape and keeps the image in her mind. This is why Melinda cannot wake up from her nightmare and is emotionally unstable. To sum up, Melinda’s dismal mood is greatly portrayed through the metaphors of
At the end of the story she finally found her voice and was able to stand up for herself. In the beginning, Melinda didn't talk to anyone, barely even to her parents. She says, “I have tried so hard to forget every second of that stupid party and here I am in the middle of a hostile crowd that hates me for what I had to do. I can't tell them what really happened” (Anderson, 28).
After Melinda admits to herself that she was raped, Melinda starts to realize that
The main character, Melinda has to deal with the feeling of betrayal and loneliness as all the people who she grew up with, shared unforgettable memories with and the people she thought would never leave her side now backstabbing her and making her feel like she isn’t worthy to live. Melinda “responds” to this problem by ignoring everyone and becoming isolated so that no one would approach her and ever hurt her ever again. I would advice Melinda to try and go up to her friends and let them know what really happened. As they say “in the end we only regret the chances we didn’t take”. It’s better for Melinda to at least try and talk to her friends, because they may have been true friends all along there just may have been a misunderstanding.
Toward the beginning of the novel, Melinda appears to have no real friends at her side. However, she slowly begins to open up to people such as her art teacher Mr. Freeman and her old friend Ivy, showing the power
Isolation is when one is set apart from others and is virtually alone. In Laurie Anderson’s Speak, the protagonist, Melinda, isolates herself and is further isolated from others. Isolation can be seen through three symbols: lips, mirrors and a closet. Melinda thinks no one cares about what she has to say, resulting in silence. After the incident in the summer, Melinda cannot bare to look at herself.
Melinda, in a lot of ways, starts out like that it the book. She becomes a shell of herself from before the party happened and because no one else was there, she is lonely and doesn't have anybody to go to and to make matters even worse, she’s covered by the reputation that she has formed. In the book, Laurie Halse Anderson uses symbolism to convey exactly what Melinda can't say. In the beginning of the book, Melinda starts high school carrying her emotional wounds with her after something happens mysterious to her at a party during the summer.