Explanation Of Melinda's Song 'Silent In The Tree'

To start off, the first stanza in her song represents a sense of how unavoidable change is and how the confusion of the bond combined with the stress of the blame game can lead to a doomed

Again, throughout the whole book, Melinda has this odd feeling, she thinks that nobody likes her and is always down on herself. An example from the book that shows this behavior is at the beginning of the book, her first day of high school. "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 outcast." (Anderson 4) As soon as she enters high school she doubts herself. It's almost as that she believes that since she has entered with the wrong clothes, the wrong hair, and nobody to sit with, that she will never fit in. This shows a sign of hopelessness, she is doubting herself to much. Another example of when Melinda shows sadness and hopelessness is when she hears about Rachelles Halloween party she is throwing. She says, "I knew I wouldn't get an invitation. I would be lucky to get an invitation to my own funeral." (Anderson 41) This shows Melinda again, being

Starting her Freshman year of High School, Melinda found herself in a very dark, low, depressing, time in her life. She had lost all the ambitions she had for her High School career. She had lost her voice and passion for everything. Until Andy Evans made her find her voice after he sexually assaulted her. After all that Andy had put Melinda through made her find herself and her voice to come back from a traumatizing experience.

This quote near the beginning of the book is in the context of Melinda describing her room. She says this because of how it is decorated very strangely. The way she words her sentence implies that she doesn’t know who she was when she was younger, that she is “alien”. Because of this and the fact she has no friends, she can’t relate to anyone, not even her past self. This causes her to be pushed deeper into her depression.

As she grows she discovers more of what she is capable of. Now she realizes that even though she is going crazy, she is still alive. Above all, she does not want to hide anymore and is not afraid to come out of her shell of guilt. “I don’t want to hang out in my hidey-hole anymore…. I don’t feel like hiding anymore” (p.191-192). She comments about not wanting to go back to her closet because she is not afraid of what might happen to her. In the same way she says that she, in no matter what condition, is still alive and breathing. “I have survived… Confused, screwed up but still here” (p.188). She is happy that she survived and that it does not matter if she is frustrated, she still has to stay for the ones who love her. In order which she has to take care of the old Melinda she was and let go of the Melinda she was after the party. After this realization she understood that she is not perfect but she can grow to love those

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

Melinda finds help and acceptance from Ivy and Mr.Freeman. Melinda also stops distancing herself from her parents. Furthermore, Melinda comes to grips and acceptance that she was raped and starts to personally recover from this traumatic event. Melinda starts to worry about her former best friend who is dating Andy Evans. Melinda is worried that Andy might not have pure intentions with Rachel.

In the book “Speak” by Laurie Halse Anderson Melinda is going through a transformation, by explaining it in a form of trees. She is expressing herself not much by the form of speaking, but by the trees she creates in art class. It’s to explain on how she has been at her lowest and highest points in times. She faces all these transformations as from past events and future events in her high school. The majority of these events relate to her tree transformation from lowest to highest points.

``(198) Melinda is talking about when she got raped. She is feeling regret for not speaking up when she should of. She wants to forget what happened but she can’t.

Its Melinda’s thoughts that engage the reader mainly because it seemed as though she wasn’t there to make you like her or hate her, she was who she really was and accepted it.

After she started talking about everything, it felt like a huge weight was being lifted off of her chest. The Author used the tree in Melinda’s yard to represent this. The gardener was chopping off old branches, and her dad said, “He’s saving it. Those branches were long dead from disease… By cutting off the damage, you make it possible for the tree to grow again” (p.187). This embodies Melinda slowly letting go and chopping off the branches of her past. At the end of the novel, she feels refreshed, and things start looking up for her. She comes out of her depression and starts living a more chipper

The novel progresses, inciting the reader into Melinda’s feelings; she feels depressed, isolated from relationships with her former friends

This song also connects to my character by talking about the society and world they live in at the time and how it affects them. The song lyrics say “It's the terror of knowing what the world is about watching some good friends screaming 'Let me out," (Queen

The silver pit is symbolic of being stuck somewhere, which evokes a sense of hopelessness, especially when she describes how thick the walls are (not only is she stuck, she’s super stuck!). The slaying goes with the whining - stop complaining already, I’m tired of hearing it! We then go to the chorus: “Bless me baby eyes/don’t you know Jesus died?/I’m better off inside/strip and you lose your hide (Hersh).” Oof. The chorus of this song is unforgiving - it brings to mind the image of somebody trying to be a savior and the recipient of this attention being tired of it. I know this feeling well; somebody really wants to help you and save you even if you don’t want them to, yet they still won’t leave you alone. I agree with Kristin on all points - I prefer and seem to be better off when I keep to myself, and talking to somebody leaves you without your “hide”, making you vulnerable.

I think that this relates to my year because its all happy and upbeat, just like my school year. When you listen to this song you just start to feel happy, something that would happen when i would come to school and see all my friends and wonder what stupid stuff we would do today. Then we would go and do this stuff and have loads of fun and everything was upbeat and happy. The song is also fast, this relates to me a lot as i’m never still i’m always going way to fast. Lotta of people have notested this, mostly my teachers who are always telling me to slow down on tests and actually focus on what i’m doing.