Laurie Metcalf

will overcome obstacles if you speak up. Everyone has times when they have self-doubt. Everyone needs to be aware that they are never alone. No matter how far in the dark you are someone is always there to shed a little light. The tree in Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson doesn't only mean life, it symbolizes a much deeper truth. The tree symbolizes personal growth and confidence. If you aspire to achieve personal growth you must speak your mind. Throughout the book, Melinda has troubles dealing with

Psychologists usually agree that the teenage years are among the most difficult periods in one’s life. Most teens are trying to figure out who they are, what they believe, and how they fit into the world around them. Beginning in the late 1970s, a whole genre of fiction, referred to as coming-of-age literature, emerged and serves, at least fore many teens, as believable presentations of young people learning to navigate the difficulties of their lives, often fraught with feelings of rejection,

Self-Expressing and Healing Any event has an impact on individuals in a good or bad way. Although, if an experience created a crevice in a person’s heart and mental stability, could they still be able to heal from such a moment? Speak, a novel written by Laurie Halse Anderson, tells the story of a freshmen student at Merryweather High School named Melinda Sordino. Before the new school year, Melinda faced a traumatic experience at an end-of-summer party, where she ended up calling the police. As a freshman

motivated, even driven, by desire, fears, needs, and conflicts of which they are unaware…” (Tyson 14-15) High schools a place where tragedy are brought upon people, but their voices aren’t heard. Melinda, a high school freshman, is the protagonist in Laurie Halse Anderson’s book, Speak.

Speaking is tough for some people who have had a rough past and do not want to deal with anyone. In the novel Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, Melinda goes from being caught in a snare to feeling freedom. At the start of the story, she is extremely afraid and anxious because of what happened at the senior party at the end of summer. Melinda is scared because she has no one to be with on her first day of high school. Everyone blames her for what happened at the party. Nobody knows that she was raped

Trista Mahika Alexis Paola William Glasser came up with the five basic needs for humans in order to be happy. In Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson, Melinda, the main character, has and lacks some of these needs. She has two of the four basic needs that we are going be talking about, as she lacks the other two. She has Power and she is a Survivor, meanwhile she is lacking Freedom, and she feels as if she doesn’t have anyone to love, along with not having anyone that Loves her and she doesn’t belong

make the transition from childhood to adulthood. Many of a persons early life experiences can contribute to this transition, even if it is the simplest of things. Yellow Fever hit Philadelphia hard in 1793. It also hit hard in the book Fever: 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson. In this book, fourteen year-old Mattie Cook?s life gets turned upside-down when Yellow Fever strikes Philadelphia. In her adventure, Mattie must show responsibility, and experience the pain of death before she matures into an adult

Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson tells an unsettling story of a seventeen-year-old girl named Lia who’s struggling with the untying events of her life. Lia is a high school senior who suffers from anorexia nervosa. Before the passing of her ex best friend Cassie that the book opens with, Lia’s everyday existence has been a fight for her life. The two friends swirled into an all-time low of eating disorders together; and they made a promise to become the thinnest girl in school which had them

Melinda’s Isolation The book Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson is about a girl who was raped at a party and her journey through isolation,depression, and coming to terms with what happened. This book has many delicate,fragile, and important themes, but the most important is the obvious isolation throughout the book. Melinda’s isolation is obvious because of how school society treats her, Heather not being an actual friend, and her parents obvious neglect of their own daughter. The first part of the

(Anderson 194) from Melinda. Even though it was difficult to say no and confront the person that made her feel defeated, Melinda did so which made her more confident. The sound that came from Melinda was powerful enough to finally startle Andy Evans. Laurie Halse Anderson wanted readers to realize that their voices matter. As a result, she uses the word explodes to accentuate the purpose and assertiveness in Melinda’s voice. Furthermore, Andy Evans is