Factors That Shaped Melinda's Identity

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

This quote show that Melinda is an outcast, “ I have no friends. I have nothing to say. I say nothing" (Anderson 116). This quote shows that Melinda is insecure because, while Melinda is in the guidance counselor's office, her counselor is telling her that she’s been failing her classes and Melinda feels insecure. She feels out of place in the environment. Melinda is self-conscious that she feels she has to try to be pretty in order to gain her popularity back. Since Melinda has lost some friends coming into high school, she’s been feeling down on herself and depressed. Also, Melinda shows that she is insecure by saying, “ I am an outcast “( 8 Anderson). This proves that Melinda is insecure because before the start of High School Melinda was a very popular girl which is now an outcast. Until things went wrong for Melinda and she called the cops. Melinda had called the cops because she had been raped when she was drunk, so her first response was to call the cops. The cops had shown up, making everyone leave the party because of underage drinking and everyone knows Melinda has called the cops. Since that has happened she feels insecure by being an outcast. Because of this Melinda no longer is popular nor has no friends. Melinda feels she is insecure because she’s an outcast and has no friends which these feelings lead

Throughout the story, Melinda shows many signs of depression. Teens will often display changes in their thinking and behavior, lose their motivation, or become withdrawn. Psych Info Online presented some signs of depression that Melinda experienced in the novel. The signs Melinda indicated include: sadness, anxiety, feelings of hopelessness, withdrawal from friends, decreased interest of activities, social isolation, poor communication, low self-esteem, guilt, and

Melinda started off in the story afraid, lonely, and out of place. “I have entered high school with the wrong hair, the wrong clothes, the wrong attitude. And I don’t have anyone to

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

On page 188, something in Melinda takes her to the barn where she was raped. She must be very courageous to do this, anyone would have to be brave to. When she is there she realizes that none of this was her fault, she survived, and she is still here. She realizes that something inside of her is still good, she starts to forgive herself. She somehow finds that little part inside of her that is happy, and she lets it grow. “Some quiet Melindagirl I haven’t seen in months. That is the seed I will care for.”(Anderson 188-189). She has the courage to go back there, and forgive

One of the bigger turning points in her life happened when she is raped at a high school senior party. What made it traumatizing was that they are young girls and Melinda didn't realize

When Melinda uses sarcasm, and her “humor” it is evident that she has frustrations and anger towards high school and is covering her true feelings. Not only did Melinda use sarcasm to hide her frustrations with high school, Melinda also used sarcasm to block out her anger with her teachers. All throughout the book, Melinda makes up names for her teachers and hates on them constantly. “Hairwoman is torturing us with essays. Do english teachers spend their vacation dreaming up these things”.

Just before she entered high school, Melinda was smart and on the verge of popularity. She was a straight B student and had a group of close, reliable friends, but her life changed

It takes courage to go somewhere they feel uncomfortable, where you are hated. But because of courage Melinda was able to go to school and receive an education and she was able to make a new friend who didn’t know her past. On page 4 she says “I am outcast”. That line shows that she knows how she isn’t liked by the school but she went anyway and showed courage anyway. Since she was courageous, by the end of the book mostly everyone accepted her for being so strong and brave because of her

The main character Melinda, is a character that I have underestimated in the beginning. Melinda is not completely mute, therefore occasionally will talk to some classmates. Before the trauma was revealed, I’ve always believed she was exaggerating small things. Melinda holds a strange power throughout the novel, which makes me wonder whether to pity her or not. Melinda doesn’t try to get what she wants, however acts like she wants to

When Melinda and Melissa are presented with a problematic decision about what is best for Matthew their antagonistic beliefs about the existence of souls creates a conflict between the two sisters. Each sister has a different view of what is ‘best’ for Matthew. Melissa believes the concrete facts she has seen Matthews brain scans and hears what the doctors have told her. Matthew is brain dead, therefore Matthew is already gone and he should be taken off life support to generate room for someone living. Melinda given the same facts from the doctors, thinks Melissa is not seeing the whole picture she is blinded to the fact that Matthew is still there his soul and body are present. If Melinda took in the words of Plato’s Phaedo she could convince Melissa that Matthews’s soul is there and that Matthew is there. In the next paragraphs I will be presenting the argument I would use if I were in Melinda’s shoes. Each of Plato’s arguments has downfalls which Melissa could point out as Melinda is trying to convince her of these points. I will also be highlighting those.

In the book, Melinda is influenced because her friends and her attend a party and she gets drunk to try and be cool (Halse).I have had a friend who experienced peer pressure and my friend was peer pressured to drink alcohol and to smoke weed.My friend and Melinda have something in common because they both drank alcohol because they wanted to be cool(Halse).Melinda handled the pressure by not doing what people did and not hanging out with bad people(Halse).

It is defiantly possible to speak without words; there are so many ways to convey a message without verbally saying what you mean. I feel that it’s possible to speak without words because in most cases, a person’s actions speak louder than their words. This is demonstrated in the novel when Melinda refuses to give her speech in class. This shows more about what Melinda has learned about the freedoms in this country and what the suffragettes fought for than any speech she could have given verbally. Melinda's actions prove that she is a strong willed person, even if she may seem meek and mild. I feel that sometimes it is more difficult not to say anything at all than it is to speak a thousand words Melinda’s actions play an important role in

If Melinda could meet anybody I would have her meet Madonna, Oprah Winfrey, and Fantasia Barrino. I would have Melinda meet these three people because they all are connected and can relate to the same thing as Melinda. All three of these women were raped during their childhood or teenage years. Madonna said, “It was hard and it was lonely, and I had to dare myself every day to keep going.” This would help Melinda knowing that she isn’t the only one out there feeling lonely and feeling like there is no hope left. I would have Melinda meet Oprah because Oprah was raped whenever she was just nine years old. Oprah, in my opinion, would be a huge influence on Melinda because she took something tragic and turned it into a way to help others and to