Relationships In Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak

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

Within “SPEAK,” Laurie Halse Anderson uses Melinda’s artwork to express Melinda. At the Beginning of the story Melinda gets a year long art project to draw a tree. At the beginning, she struggles because she is still feeling pain and depression from getting raped. But, Throughout the story, she slowly grows and comes out of her “shell,” and becomes better and better with it; So by the

Melinda realizes that she has much more potential, places the past behind her, and begins to speak once more. Anderson's novel explores common teenage problems such as depression; Melinda exhibits external signs like cutting her wrist with a paperclip and biting her lip,

During this time in the novel, Melinda feels like she can’t speak for herself and can’t tell people what really happened and why she had called the cops at the party. She feels that if she tells anyone that they would say that she’s just trying to get attention. Those examples were just a few times out of the many that they changed the

Throughout this fragment of Speak, Laurie Halse Anderson portrays Melinda with an introvertive voice. Melinda is having a hard time warming up to her new high school. The excerpt starts off with Melinda trying to find a place to sit in the lunchroom. “There’s that new girl, Heather, reading by the window. I could sit across from her. Or I could crawl behind a trash can.” (Paragraph 2) Melinda would rarther hide and go unnoticed than interact with other students. This quote shows us that she’s willing to take great measures to avoid being observed. Another example of diction was when Melinda was seen without a hallway pass by Mr. Neck, and when she was asked to explain herself, she just thinks to herself: “It is easier to not say anything… Nobody

Melinda Sordino is a fourteen year old high school freshman from Syracuse, New York .Mel is the narrator and protagonist of Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. Who tells her story in first person perspective, where she explains the struggles she had starting school after being sexually assaulted over summer vacation. Causing depression, which lead to Mel losing a close friend. After reading the novel, I concluded that Melinda is shy, isolated and misunderstood. . As the plot progressed Mel started to trust her teachers, she also started expressing herself.

On page 194 the author writes, “A sounds explodes from me...NNNOOO!!!” This is significant because throughout the whole book Melinda is too afraid to speak up. During the first incident she tried to but couldn’t get it out. Now that she finally realized that she’s is strong enough to say no, she can learn to speak up about anything. Another quote to support this is found on page 195 where Melinda says “‘I said no’” (195). This significant to her identity for the same reason as stated before. Melinda saying no can be considered to be a turning point in Melinda’s life because it is something she couldn’t do for a long time but now she is capable. This moment is the most important for Melinda and her identity because she finally worked up the confidence to say

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

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 story she states, “I’ve been having trouble sleeping at home. I wake up because the covers or on the floor or because I’m standing at the kitchen door trying to get out. It feels safer in my little hideaway” (Anderson, 130). In this quote Melinda bluntly says that she feels safer in her closet than she does at her home. She also states that she keeps waking up at home and is having trouble sleeping. These were leading factors following what happened to Melinda. In the beginning of the novel she makes her closet her “home.” Melinda says, “ Mostly I just watch the scary movies inside my eyelids” (Anderson, 50). This shows that she is sleeping but she is having some nightmares. As the book progresses she creates a safe environment for her to find peace

On the first day of school everyone Melinda had no friends; she was seen as a snitch and untrustworthy. Because of emotional trauma she faced regarding her

Melinda isn't speaking to anyone, and no one will talk to her, except the new girl, Heather, who moved from the state of Ohio. Realistically, Heather being the new girl just wants to make friends. Heather doesn't know what is really going on with Melinda because she just moved to town. Heather has no idea what happened the night when Melinda called the police, which busted a summer party. In fact, no one knows, except for Melinda, what happened to her at the party? She is convinced that because she is a victim, no one understands her. The whole world, including her world, is out to get her and so it is best for her to remain silent.

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

In the book speak Melinda says “ I try to draw a branch coming out of a tree trunk for the 315th time. It looks so flat, a cheap cruddy drawing. I have no idea how to make it alive.” (pg.55) When she is doing the Trees for her art project she is basically trying to describe herself. Melinda feels like nobody understands her and she doesn't really understand herself. Melinda does not know who she wants to be or who she should be. Melinda loses friends easily so I think it makes her feel less of herself.

Although in the book melinda is an only child she still has the characteristics of a black sheep. Parents tend to try and hide the problem of this child as they are embarrassed that their child has a ‘problem’. This shows when the counselor tries to imply she might need some help at home, and they go off on her, even though there are some problems. Sometimes admitting there is a problem can lead to fixing it instead of dragging it out or making it worse than it really