Melinda has no one to tell. As her grades fall and her self esteem with it, she must choose to speak up against her rapist when he tries to take advantage of her again. In Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak, the uses of the author’s life, the events that show the time period, and the philosophy of speaking up all contribute to why she wrote the novel. Laurie Halse Anderson faced many struggles as a young adult and shares her battles through the endeavors of the main characters in her books. From the beginning
Yellow Fever The fever of 1793 had spread over Philadelphia like a dark depressing blanket. Laurie Halse Anderson takes the audience on an emotional roller coaster as they explore Mattie Cook?s summer of 1793. The summer of 1793 hit Mattie Cook, her family, and her family owned coffee shop very hard. As she spends her days avoiding chores, she finds herself making plans to turn the coffee shop into one of Philadelphia?s finest. Then, all of a sudden her summer takes a sharp turn towards Hell, and
Speak Essay Melinda was an outcast and loner in high school who was overwhelmed, fearful, and confused with her life and her environment at school. She was always silent in class and afraid to speak in front of people. Many students today might feel the need to fit in with other people so they wouldn’t have to be looked down upon. As we take a look at Melinda’s life we’ll be able to see how she handles her daily conflicts. In the book, Speak, Melinda Sordino, an incoming freshman at Merryweather