Laurie Halse Anderson Essay

Lisnell Nunez Ms. Hirsch English 5/6/2018 Communication 101 The life of a teenage girl is already difficult enough but Melinda’s past makes it even harder. The book Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson is a realistic fiction novel. It expresses the themes of isolation, depression, and the importance of communication after traumatic events. The main characters of the book are Melinda, who narrates the book, Andy, Rachel, Ivy, Nicole, and David. Speak takes place at Merryweather High School in Syracuse

In the story, Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson, Anderson uses images and descriptions in the chapter PRUNING, to portray Melinda’s life. First, as Melinda watches the tree in her yard cut down, she says that, “He’ll only leave a stump (Anderson 30).” Melinda represents the tree as herself. If part of the tree is cut down, it cannot grow back. Melinda is afraid that she may never recover from what happened to her at the party. She may be a stump with nothing left. Next, Melinda’s dad assures her that

friend betrayed you or what you think of what happened. The person you thought would always be there is now suddenly out of the picture. How would that change you life? What would now happen once they are gone? Rachel is a character in Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, her best friend Melinda had done something and they are no longer friends. Rachel changes from the person she used to be to Melinda into someone else and different, she acts differently towards her because of one thing. She is changed by the

her, she immediately felt better about the struggle she was dealing with. The main theme of the novel and ancillary texts is overcoming obstacles. This theme is expressed through the conflict, symbolism, and foreshadowing throughout the texts. Laurie Halse Anderson’s use of literary elements in Speak, as well as the devices in the article, “The Art of Resilience” and the poem “If” help the common theme of overcoming obstacles throughout a time of growth and change evolve throughout the story. The

find out the truth if she chooses not to speak. Eventually she begins to change with the help of several people and her own realization of what must be done. In the novel Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, the author uses symbolism and irony to show the main character Melinda’s growth as a person throughout the novel. Anderson shows Melinda’s growth through the use of symbolism. Her growth is greatly symbolized as a tree throughout the novel. Melinda does quite a bit of her growing in the art room. This

periods until graduation,"(6). Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson, is a novel following the freshman year of Melinda, the narrator, who was a victim of rape at an end-of-the-summer party. She proceeded to call the cops, ending the party and becoming an outcast at her school, Merryweather High, because she did not speak up about the rape. This causes many challenges for Melinda, but after multiple transformations throughout the year she overcomes it. Laurie Halse Anderson uses trees across the novel to represent

The novel “Speak”, by Laurie Halse Anderson captures the thoughts of a new high- schooler caught in some deep drama of the past. From the start of school, Melinda Sordino is shunned, glared at, talked about, and poked at because of one incident at a party from the end of last summer. With her friends turned away, her grades down, her family combative, and her looks deteriorating, what does she have left? Nothing has been seeming to go right for Melinda in and out of school since that night. She has

Speak is a cleaver and an ironic title for a story in which the main character chooses not to speak. The story is written in first-person narration from the point of view of protagonist, Melinda Sordino. Speak is written like an interior monologue in the mind of an introverted teenage girl, like excerpts from her personal diary during her miserable freshman year of high school. Instead of blending in and finding her way through high school. She withdraws and secludes herself from the other students

developed the theme differently than the rest. First off, Speak, written by Laurie Halse Anderson, explained the importance of growing after facing a difficult trial through diction. Melinda Sordino, the main character, was raped at a party; thus, she chose to converse with others as little as possible, since she felt guilty. As time passed, she overcame this challenge saying that she was, “not going to let it kill me” (Anderson 198). Time had allowed Melinda to heal and flourish after going through

How does one survive a terrible trauma? These experiences are the ones that make you stronger. Literary devices are commonly used by authors to promote the theme. The book Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson is about a high schooler who falls into depression after being raped at a summer party. “If” by Rudyard Kipling is a poem that a father wrote to his son about the importance of perseverance and self-confidence. “The Art of Resilience” by Hara Estroff Marano is an article that explains the characteristics