The Transformation Of Self-Harm In Speak By Laurie Halse Anderson

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson is a coming of age themed fictional Novel based around Melinda Sordino, a freshman at Merryweather High School. During her days at school Melinda found trouble fitting in and speaking because of an incident that happened at a summer party. That incident being that she was raped by a senior named Andy Evans, aka, “IT.” At the time, Melinda panicked and ended up calling the police, which resulted in everyone despising her. Similarly to “high school drama,” the author illustrated gossip and the effects it can have on a person. To compare, when the news hit Melinda, she became silent and isolated staying away from any old friends she glanced upon. Fortunately, Melinda found new hope when a stranger asked, “I’m Heather

Melinda, the main character of speak was raped at a summer party. She calls the cops and that is where it all started. When Melinda reaches high school she is faced with all her old friends. They all hate her and want nothing to do with her, because of her calling the cops. Throughout the whole book Melinda runs into tough situations that eventually lead to her standing up for herself. Eventually, everyone finds out the truth, of why Melinda calls the cops. Although Melinda learns to stand up for herself, throughout the book she shows signs of depression such as poor performance in school, sadness and hopelessness, and withdrawal of friends and activities.

Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson, is a story written in the first person about a young girl named Melinda Sordino. The title of the book, Speak, is ironically based on the fact that Melinda chooses not to speak. The book is written in the form of a monologue in the mind of Melinda, a teenage introvert. This story depicts the story of a very miserable freshman year of high school. Although there are several people in her high school, Melinda secludes herself from them all. There are several people in her school that used to be her friend in middle school, but not anymore. Not after what she did over the summer. What she did was call the cops on an end of summer party on of her friends was throwing. Although

Speaking out is a tough task for many people that have dealt with horrible, traumatic situations. In the novel Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson, the main character, Melinda, is one of those people who lost their voice. To be able to understand another person’s emotions, feelings, and situations is very difficult to do, especially because of how our society has formed and became a very judgmental place. Melinda Sordino starts her freshman year at Merryweather High School in Syracuse, New York, to a terrible start; she is a victim of a sexual assault and loses her confidents and voice to speak out. The more she interacts and makes new friends is how she starts to reach out and become more self-sufficient. Few weeks into school Melinda’s only

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

In Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak, the protagonist, a freshman named Melinda must learn the key to recovery after enduring extreme trauma. She struggled to find someone to speak to, due to the school shunning her for calling the police at the party. Throughout Speak, Melinda seeks to recover from the trauma she experienced, especially the cruel actions from her ex-friends. Through symbolism, Laurie Halse Anderson displays the theme in Melinda's perspective.

Melinda Sordino is a typical teenage girl with a not so typical life. Melinda is the main character in the novel “Speak” by Laurie Halse Anderson. This novel is about a young girl who calls the cops at the summer party thrown before her freshman year. At this party she was raped by Andy Evans, the dreamy boy who is wanted by every girl in school. As school finally begins, Melinda is left friendless and alone. She goes through extreme problems, such as: bullying, self harm, skipping school, failing grades, thoughts of her rape, and the loss of her best friend, Rachel. While she is going through all of theses issues she is assigned an art project that lasts all year. Melinda’s task was to take the word ‘tree’ and sculpt it into something of magic. At first, Melinda is annoyed by the project,

There are many valuable aspects in life that may mean a lot to a person. In this case, friendship is one of the most important relationships a person can have. Human interaction is something necessary to survive, having a friend is essential to the well being of everyone. However, not all relationships with people can be considered a friendship because some may take advantage of others to gain something for themselves. Whereas, other friendships may last years and remain strong between the two people, but if there is no trust then there is a possibility of losing a friend. On the other hand, positive friendships still exist and are the ones to cherish and appreciate the most. The novel Speak written by Laurie Halse Anderson is based on a fourteen year-old girl named Melinda, who was sexually assaulted at a summer party. She called the police for help but since none of her friends knew what occurred, they assumed she called to get them all in trouble. This made her an outcast and she spent her ninth-grade year by herself. The theme of friendship is evident in the novel Speak as it impacts the protagonist Melinda. This is seen through Melinda 's friendship with Rachel, Mr. Freeman, and Heather.

Speak, a novel by Laurie Halse Anderson, portrays the struggles of high school through the eyes of freshman Melinda Sordino, as she makes her way through cliques and clubs after she being raped at a party by an upperclassman. Anderson discusses many topics throughout the novel, including fear from the past and loneliness. Laurie Halse Anderson uses metaphors and mood to illustrate the idea that past experiences can cause overpowering fear that affects our behavior and attitude in the present. Laurie Halse Anderson uses metaphors to illustrate Firstly, Laurie Halse Anderson uses metaphors to show how Melinda’s fear from the past affects her in the present. She uses these metaphors many times throughout the book, showing how Melinda’s fear

Melinda Sordino is the main character of the novel, speak. She is only fourteen years old, but she is dealing with one of the worst things that could happen: rape. With that Melinda enters ninth grade friendless and depressed. At the beginning of the story, Melinda is isolated. Throughout the story, she befriends some characters and learns how to speak. In speak due to the perspective, we don't get enough depth in a character. However, when hearing about Andy Evans, Melinda's rapist, from the beginning to the end of the story he was always arrogant and intimidating. Although Melinda does not defend herself against it, she often stays quiet.

A trait that stands out in the book is the symptom of bodily memories. In Melinda’s case, during a frog dissection in her science class, she remembers the opening up and even says, “She doesn’t say a word. She is already dead. A scream starts in my gut – I can feel the cut, smell the dirt, feel the leaves in my hair.” (81). One of the other symptoms that Melinda has is self-harm. The first time that this is shown in the book, Melinda says this, “I open up a paper clip and scratch it across the inside of my left wrist. Pitiful. If a suicide attempt is a cry for help, then what is this? A whimper, a peep?” (87). Melinda also has a hard time talking to her parents about the rape to which she says, “How can I talk to them about that night? How can I start?” (72). Some victims recover from such a traumatic experience, while others don’t and live a lifetime of depression and must undergo intense therapy. In Melinda’s case, she finds redemption by talking to her parents and the guidance counselor, and putting her faith into her teachers, friends, and her art project at school. Because rape can affect anybody anywhere, everyone should be aware of the circumstances, and how to deal with it.

It shows her going through the stages of accepting what happened to her body and eventually speaking out about what happened to her. This book shows the reality of of rape in high school. In fact 58% of 7th-12th graders experience a sexual assault in the given school year. Highschool is a time to to go to parties and have new experiences, but there are always guys or girls with the wrong intentions. In the book Melinda was drugged but she did drink and became more vulnerable.

Have you ever had something terrible happen to you, but you have that one friend that comforts you and helps you get through the hard times ? Throughout the story Speak Ivy has helped Melinda clear her mind, and find her voice after a traumatizing changed her life in a bad way.

in the novel speak by laurie false anders, we meet a high school student named melinda who throughout the novel struggles with the thought of being raped, proving that she has lack of trust and fear mixed up inside her. along with that, we learn that melinda cannot be herself again because she feels like she is experiencing the rape all over

In the book SPEAK by Laurie Halse Anderson, Melinda Sordino, a young girl attending Merryweather High School, is drastically transformed when raped by Andy Evans during a party at the end of her last school year. She becomes silent and secretive and does not trust others. Melinda struggles to revert back to the sweet, loving girl she used to be. Through art, learning, listening, and speaking, Melinda experiences positive transformations. Melinda’s tree, the piece of nature she is assigned to draw for a yearlong art project in Mr. Freeman’s class, gives her a way to express her emotions, and it symbolizes her growth