Commentary On Melinda By Laurie Halse Anderson

Having to go through sexual assault and then a year of bullying made Melinda speak up. Melinda went down a rough road in her life. Through all this Melinda grew strength and wisdom. At the school Melinda warned the girls about what Andy is capable of doing. She told Rachelle to watch out and to be careful around him. In Melinda’s later years she began writing her about story to help her express her feelings. She began warning others what sexual assault can do people and the harms of bullying. Even tho Melinda’s experience harmed her in many ways it gave her a story to help

The story started in an ambiguous atmosphere ,as readers don’t know what happened to Melinda she refused to speak she only wants to live in her isolation. some people in their depression tries to speak, and others chooses to keep themselves silent and get stressed when they are given a heavy workload, like “why me ?” ,as they are too weak or shame to face the world around them ,and this exactly what happened to Melinda in this novel .People experiencing passive anger may not even realize they are angry, because passive angry maybe repressed, it can be hard to recognize. In this long term, these suppressed angry feelings can easily be a main reasson for psychological suffering. As readers can only notice that she carried a folded story that will be displayed through flashback

It does not let her feels and looks so stupid. After Heather joins in the Marthas, she blows Melinda off and Melinda is outcast again. The students hit Melinda in the hall; the girls' bully her at the pep rally all shows Melinda is an outcast, she is unwelcome. Melinda is a coward. "The kids behind me laugh so loud I know they're laughing at me. I can't help myself '' (Anderson 4). Melinda is a timid person. She scareds to tell the truth of that night, thus her friends cannot understand her difficulties. About the event happen at the party, she chooses to escape her past and become silent. Melinda does not talk a lot, either at school or at home to her parents. She acts like she does not care and hid from everyone. When someone bullies her, she just ignores them and suppresses her true feelings. Melinda is also a negative person. '' It is easier not to say anything. Shut your trap, button your lip, can it. All that crap you hear on TV about communication and expressing feelings is a lie'' (Anderson 9). From this quotation, it is evident to see Melinda is negative. Her thinking is negative and

One of MElinda’s ex-friends starts dating the guy who raped her. She sent anonymous letters trying to make her stay away from him. That proves she has grown, and she doesn’t want others to suffer because of him like she did. “I dig my fingers into the dirt and squeeze. A small clean part of me waits to warm and burst through the surface. Some quiet Melinda girl I haven’t seen in months. That is the seed I will care for,” (chapter 86, page 188-189). Melinda is facing her fears. She went to the place where it all happened. She wanted to have peace. She was ready to move on from the situation. The bottle was now open, and her feelings were flying

“Hell!” the operator’s cigarette moved in his lips. “We got these cases, nine or ten at night. Got so many, starting a few years ago, we had the special machines built,” is a quote from the book that shows a bit of mature language that not be okay for some children. Another quote from the book gives an example of the same thing, “I’m afraid of children my own age. They kill each other. Did it always used to be that way? My uncle says no. Six of my friends have been shot in the last year alone. Ten of them died in car wrecks.” Those are not even the worst parts of the book. I believe some components would definitely be not okay with some parents.

At the start of the novel Melinda is starting her freshman year depressed, isolated and lonely. During the summer Melinda goes to a party with her friend Rachel and things don't end to well, Andy Evans a senior rapes Melinda while she was drunk. Melinda than calls the cops because of how frightened she is from the situation. People dislike Melinda because of what she did. For example,the first day of school Melinda doesn't know what to do since she has

She overcomes her fears by standing up for herself as she begins to realize that she needs to tell someone about what happened, and if she doesn’t, other girls might get hurt. As Melinda’s former best friend Rachel starts dating Andy, her rapist, she feels worried and wants to protect her friend from the “monster”, preventing the same thing that happened to her happen to Rachel, even when she was still scared and miserable. Eventually, she has the courage to finally tell Rachel about the secret she has been keeping to herself for so long “I didn’t call the cops to break up the party, I write. I called-- I put the pencil down. I pick it up again--them because some guy raped me. Under the trees. I didn’t know what to do” (183). Melinda also demonstrates her courage when she finally fights back against Andy when he tries to rape her for the second time as she refuses to stay silent and not do anything about it.“No, a sound explodes from me. ‘NNNOOO!!!’ I follow the sound, pushing off the wall, pushing Andy Evans off-balance, stumbling into the broken sink” (194). Even with all the things that she goes through, she still has the courage to stand by what is right, she eventually halts her silence and she opens up to others at the

Melinda goes back to the place where she was assaulted and has a moment of reflection and self evaluation. She realizes that her rape was not her fault and she should speak up.

From the beginning of the book Melinda had such little power, she never wanted to speak out against the person who wronged her, Andy. In the book she expressed how she felt at the moments he was near her, “Good thing my lips are stitched together or I’d throw up,”(Anderson, 46). Melinda even names him “IT,” because she wanted to de-humanize him as much as she can. Melinda was raped which is one of the most traumatic events possible and trauma affects identity. When your identity is affected you are forced into this mood where you don’t want to speak up because you might feel a little bit of self blame. Melinda

In the novel Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, the main character, Melinda Sordino experiences a disturbing event over the summer of her eighth grade year. She was sexually assaulted by Andy Evans at a party. Melinda nearly loses her mind totally as she began shutting down on all fronts. However, she slowly recovered from her traumatizing experience, and eventually learned how to live with what happened.

Melinda Sordino is the main character of the novel, speak. She is only fourteen years old, but she is dealing with one of the worst things that could happen: rape. With that Melinda enters ninth grade friendless and depressed. At the beginning of the story, Melinda is isolated. Throughout the story, she befriends some characters and learns how to speak. In speak due to the perspective, we don't get enough depth in a character. However, when hearing about Andy Evans, Melinda's rapist, from the beginning to the end of the story he was always arrogant and intimidating. Although Melinda does not defend herself against it, she often stays quiet.

Melinda Sordino is a troubled freshmen because she has no friends and she feels the whole world is falling around her because she got a party busted because she was shocked because she was sexually assaulted. Melinda's family affected her growth mentally, physically, and emotionally. It is common for a girl, after being sexually assaulted, in result of that her growth in all three of those areas. Melinda's family life is not abusive, but she has problems communicating and connecting with them.

He raises his arms over his head.” “Me: ‘I said no.’ He nods.” So, because Melinda stood up for herself, she was able to deter Andy from his rape mission and protect herself.

90 The readers have awareness on who Melinda’s rapist was. Andy Evans is her oppressor. I think this shows how much Melinda has grown since the rape. This is because, she says, “Short stabby name.”

A trait that stands out in the book is the symptom of bodily memories. In Melinda’s case, during a frog dissection in her science class, she remembers the opening up and even says, “She doesn’t say a word. She is already dead. A scream starts in my gut – I can feel the cut, smell the dirt, feel the leaves in my hair.” (81). One of the other symptoms that Melinda has is self-harm. The first time that this is shown in the book, Melinda says this, “I open up a paper clip and scratch it across the inside of my left wrist. Pitiful. If a suicide attempt is a cry for help, then what is this? A whimper, a peep?” (87). Melinda also has a hard time talking to her parents about the rape to which she says, “How can I talk to them about that night? How can I start?” (72). Some victims recover from such a traumatic experience, while others don’t and live a lifetime of depression and must undergo intense therapy. In Melinda’s case, she finds redemption by talking to her parents and the guidance counselor, and putting her faith into her teachers, friends, and her art project at school. Because rape can affect anybody anywhere, everyone should be aware of the circumstances, and how to deal with it.