Summary Of Speak By Laurie Halse Anderson

Everyone in the class is given an apple for dissecting, and when Melinda gets hers, she immediately picks it up, smells it, then takes a bite. She then goes to reminisce about her childhood and how her dad used to take her to apple orchards and put her in the trees. She calls the whole memory a fantasy because it seems so far off and distant, due to the strained relationship Melinda now has with her parents. The next reference to trees is in chapter 21 of part 2 when Melinda first cuts herself. She thinks about how the small red lines on her wrist look like she “wrestled a thorn bush.” Melinda also references thorn bushes in chapter 14 of part 3 when she describes her relationship with her parents, her “friends,” and her school. The author writes that she “stumbles from thorn bush to thorn bush,” (p. 81)which represents how Melinda feels trapped in all of her relationships. These examples go to show how the theme of growth and resilience impacts almost all of Melinda’s emotions and thoughts throughout the

The first thing she did when she came into the classroom was draw a tree on the chalkboard because she felt that the classroom needed a tree. The kids, like myself, thought that was pretty strange gesture coming from a teacher. Within

The 4th marking period tree symbolizes Melinda's growth. Noticing the tree in her front yard her dad explains, "by cutting off the damage you make it possblie for the tree to grow again." Melinda has experienced rape, depression, and insnecurities which have been holding her back from being who she needs to be. When she faces the reality of what really happened she becomes that person despite the scars, the experiences left. Melinda's final tree reflects her growth because in order for it to grow, the sick branches have to fall off before the whole tree gets infected. Her tree is sick, it's scarred, it's been hurt, bruised and abandoned, but despite what happened in the past her tree is still growing and prospering and that makes it perfect

Both Speak and “If” use symbolism to display overcoming obstacles as their theme. Towards the end of Speak, Melinda’s father describes “Those branches were long dead from disease. All plants are like that. By cutting off the damage, you make it possible for the tree to grow again” (Anderson 187). The tree symbolizes Melinda; once she cuts off her damage from being raped, she could begin to heal and grow stronger. If Melinda did heal from removing the issues from her life, she would overcome her obstacle. “If” shares the frequent theme of overcoming struggles, “Watch the things you gave your life to broken / And stoop and build ‘em up with worn-out tools” (Kipling 15-16). This describes that when a challenge is in someone’s way, they should confront it head on to overcome the struggle. “If” and Speak are about conquering difficulties, and how doing so could help someone grow and change in an excellent way. The theme was demonstrated through the authors’ use of symbolism. Both texts show the theme through foreshadowing as well.

Melinda’s effort’s to create the right tree represents her hardships because it symbolizes her relationships with her parents, and all the mistakes that she makes in her life. First, Melinda’s tree represents the relationship that she has with her parents. Melinda is trying so hard to create the right tree, when she says, “It looks so flat, a cheap, cruddy drawing. I have no idea how to make it come alive.” (Anderson 55) Melinda can’t get her tree to be like a tree, almost like how Melinda’s can’t get her family to be like a family. Melinda wants so badly for her tree to be perfect, just as me as she does her family. Next, Melinda’s tree represents all of the mistakes that she makes in her life. Melinda is trying to carve her tree when she

You can tell the mother is reluctant by the way she says “the leaves of the tree are getting heavier…and the fruit harder to gather away” her tone enforces that she thinks of the tree as a burden not a family heirloom. However, as much as diction is used to convey how the family regards the tree as a difficult responsibility to manage, the vivid imagery found throughout the piece also

Melinda Sordino is starting her freshman year at Merryweather High School. She doesn't get along with her old friends anymore. Over the summer they had all been at a party and she ended up calling the police due to something that has happened, so now her friends shun her. She spends most of her time in the janitors closet. The only class she seems to enjoy is her art class. She picks a piece of paper out of a globe for her project, and she has to draw a tree. Melinda thinks the project is too easy at first, but the more she tries to draw a tree, the more she sees that she can't. Melinda is hiding a dark secret that she really can’t get over. She won't talk to anyone about it, and the more her feelings overwhelm her, the more she draws trees.

One of the first things that Kim talked about was that not only does she work with trees, she also works with people. She gave us an example of a tree in Chapman that had been affected by the tornado that went through the town. She showed us a picture of the tree and told us that the people who lived near this tree loved it. She also pointed out in the picture a sign that said “Please don’t cut down this tree… we love this tree”. This really hit me when she explained this. I don’t think that we stop and take a moment to think about the trees that are important to us. There is a beautiful cottonwood tree at my house

At this point, the story seemed to come full circle as the “boy” had returned to rest where he had begun. He had lived his life and even after he had taken all the tree had, she was still happy he was there. This showed the unconditional love she had for him, even when he gave little in return. The Giving Tree also shows a bit of selfishness. The boy seemed to be more interested in material possessions instead of the tree’s feelings.

This time something that it cannot comeback from, her entire trunk, basically a very large majority of the tree itself. Furthermore, with the giving tree’s trunk gone, the boy has taken away any chance for the tree to regrow what it has lost. As the tree loses its body parts it begins to also lose its power, the boy however, now has authority over the tree since he controls most of the tree such as the trunk, branches, and apples. By not reimbursing the tree for what it has provided, the boy is stripping the tree dry not concerned at all for its health or safety. The boy may believe that the tree is happy, but in reality, it is not because it is losing itself while the boy is

Instead of letting the boy suffer, the tree made the boy’s life a little simpler by giving

Melinda’s tree art in the fall is just like Melinda, bare and lost. She doesn't know what to do with herself, she doesn't know what to do with the tree. She has no words and no ideas. “I stay awake. I take out a page of notebook paper and a pen and doodle a tree, my second grade version. Hopeless.” Melinda is at a

As I look off in the distance, I catch a glimpse of a strong figure. She stands tall, and the scars along her body reveal her unique resilience. She’s much older than I am, and for this, she understands far more than I do. As a small child, I regarded her with fear and admiration, but I had yet to know how greatly this being would shape what I love and who I became. Unlike most people, my role model and the love of my life is not my mother nor my high school band director, for my source of inspiration comes from my source of continued life: trees.

The leaves soak up the morning sun, embracing the onslaught of the sun’s rays. The tree provides refuge to those who seek shelter from the rain and sun. The tree gracefully dances in the wind and violently shakes during storms. Gently oscillating in the breeze, with all the movements of its branches and leaves in synchronization. This reminds of how I always embrace hardship and take whatever life throws at me, knowing it will always make me stronger. The tree can lose its leaves and limbs, but it will still remain standing tall and upright the next day. Like the tree, I can hurt myself while trying to overcome an obstacle, but I will still be myself the next

wanted the boy to be happy and she would do anything to ensure the boys happiness at any cost to the tree