Laurie Halse Anderson Essay

Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak is a fictional novel set in Syracuse, New York at Merryweather High School. The main characters consist of two teenagers: Melinda Sordino, the protagonist, and Andy Evans, the antagonist. The conflict is caused by Andy, who raped Melinda at the end-of-the-Summer party. Melinda Sordino busted an end-of-summer party where she was abused and now she is an outcast dealing with depression. Towards the end of the novel, Melinda finally fights back as Andy tries to rape her

normal. I believe the thesis of this novel is that if you’re sexually assaulted, speak up. Many people believe that if you hold the dreadful memory inside of you, soon it’ll just lighten away, but that’s in no way the case. We see that in depth at Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak. The title is the tip off. Melinda’s at a high school party, where Melinda gets raped by Andy Evans, a high school senior student. Melinda got scared so she called the police. Melinda doesn’t speak up and tell her class mates

The book Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson tells the story of a girls named Isabel and her sister Ruth who are sold in an auction and transferred to New York. The novel begins when Isabel and Ruth arrive in New York with their loyalist masters, the Locktons. Throughout the book, she meets Curzon, a rebel slave boy; goes to against the Locktons, and figures out that her sister Ruth has been moved to Charleston. In the end, Isabel becomes extremely frustrated with the Locktons and decides to run away

Laurie Halse Anderson is an American author who writes both children' books and young adult novels. This October 23rd Laurie will be celebrating her 54th birthday. Born in New York in 1961 to Reverend Frank A. Halse Jr. and Joyce Holcomb, Laurie grew up with her sister Lisa. "At sixteen years of age Laurie moved out of her parents house. Here she lived as an exchange student for thirteen months on a pig farm in Denmark." (wikipedia) Laurie then moved back to the states where she went to Georgetown

Even though freedom and liberty are a fairly new concept for many, they mean a lot to numerous amounts of people. In the novel “Chains”, by Laurie Halse Anderson, it shows what freedom and liberty meant to a slave, Isabel, living and working during the American Revolution. In that time period, many people wanted freedom, slaves didn’t want to be owned by anyone and patriots didn’t want to be ruled by the King anymore. Slaves and patriots during the American Revolution longed for freedom and liberty

Many people struggle to find their voice or feel they do not know how to express their feelings, just like Melinda "Mel" Sordina, a 14- year- old rape victim who chooses to remain silent after calling 911 following the attack. Laurie Halse Anderson, author of "Speak," illustrates overcoming this life-changing event through Mel's reserved, artistic, and strong-willed characteristics. Mel is the protagonist of this story. She has faced many traumatic situations, which have led her to get completely

Melinda Sordino, the protagonist of the novel Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson, has a very oppressing life. She is constantly being put down and is treated as absolute dirt. For example, one of the girls in Heather’s “clan” the Marthas says, “She’s creepy. What’s wrong with her lips? It looks like she’s got a disease or something, (45)” because Melinda’s lips have a lot of scabs on them. These comments enslave Melinda, as she lets them define who she is as a person. Melinda does not need to let

Students in Merryweather High school struggle to understand that being in their cliques won’t do them any good because all it will do is separate those who have been best friends since the end of time causing social anxiety for others. “Speak” by Laurie Halse Anderson wrote an explicit book of what is the true meaning on how you could change your ways when you speak up instead of staying quiet. So, How does being silent affect the individual themselves? This induces the Students to have trust issues, being

“why am I here” and “I can't do anything”. The novel “Speak” by Laurie Halse Anderson is about a freshman in highschool named Melinda, she has not been able to speak up since the summer of 8th grade. The poem written by William Blake called “The Poison Tree” is about anger that can not be released by the speaker, this causes anger to grow and change his identity. Through the use of symbolism and trees, both “Speak” by Laurie Halse Anderson and William Blake the author of the poem “The Poison Tree”, reveal

think Laurie Halse Anderson,the author of ‘’Speak,’’ is saying that a teenager will will do anything to be cool and have friends. 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