Preview

Reflection On Speak By Laurie Halse Anderson

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
349 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Reflection On Speak By Laurie Halse Anderson
I learned from the book Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson that friendship is tender and brutal event. When Melinda loses all her friends at a party just before she starts high school due to a grave of misunderstanding, she’s forced to reevaluate the nature of friendship.

This story teaches me that friendship can change overtime and people can change too. This proves that you should trust no one because one day people can hurt you and let you down without knowing the true part of the story. In the book, everyone hates Melinda when she didn’t mean any harm, she just made the right choice. And they didn’t know the full story, they only knew part of it. This also makes me think that people believe anything others say without having any proof

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    My favorite book is Speak written by Laurie Halse Anderson. The book is based on high school freshman Melinda Sordino. The August before her freshman year, her and her closest friends attend a party containing seniors and beer. Melinda gets drunk and eventually walks outside to take a breath where she meets upcoming senior Andy Evans. After making Melinda uncomfortable by dancing with and kissing her, Andy pushes Melinda to the ground and rapes her. She calls 911 and gets the party broken up, but is too scared to speak up about being raped. Everyone finds out that she is the reason the party was busted, and her friends no longer speak to her. Throughout the story, Melinda faces the realities that are associated with being raped. She is now…

    • 193 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    RAINN states online that “sexaul violcenc can have a psychological, emotional and physical effect on a survivor” (RAINN). Throughout the story Speak, Laurie Halse Anderson describes how a sexaul assult accident can impact one's daily life dramatically in many ways. The novel Speak, is a story of Melinda Sordino who was ferociously raped over the summer at an upperclassmen party and after the incident she calls the police for help and they arrive to find only a highschool party with illegal substances. Since no one knows about Melinda’s night, a majority of students who attend Merryweather High School in New York thinks she got everyone caught. In conclusion, Melinda loses connections with everyone which makes her feel like an outcast. Laurie…

    • 147 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    “Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some stay for awhile and leave footprints on our hearts. And we are never, ever the same” –Anonymous. Friends are truly so important in our lives. This has been true all throughout history, although sometimes friendships were encouraged more than others. The conditions during the Great Depression simultaneously fostered and discouraged friendships. John…

    • 945 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The book ¨Speak¨ by Laurie Halse Anderson was about a girl named Melinda that was raped at a party during the summer by Andy Evans. Speak has many different themes; Adolescence, communication, growth, female empowerment, friendship. But depression was the accurate theme . You see Melinda go through depression and her not speaking up about it.…

    • 270 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    “In order to escape accountability for his crimes, the perpetrator does everything in his power to promote forgetting. If secrecy fails, the perpetrator attacks the credibility of his victim. If he cannot silence her absolutely, he tries to make sure no one listens.” - Judith Lewis Herman Melinda school peers call her "squealer", because she alerted the police during a summer party after she was sexually assaulted by Andy Evans. Since then she has ascended upon deep depression in which she has blockaded everyone out.…

    • 1188 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the novel Speak written by Laurie Halse Anderson the readers are introduced to Melinda Sordino, a freshman in high school who is suffering at the hands of another student. It is clear that through out the story that Melinda’s family is dysfunctional. Throughout the book Melinda’s parents do not hear her desperate cries for the help she so desperately needs. This is shown through the way the family interacts with each other, how Melinda’s parents respond to her signs of deep suffering, and how they handle the drastic changes in Melinda after experiencing such a traumatic event.…

    • 531 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Popularity being harmful seems like an oxymoron. Popularity is something so many people strive to have- to be respected, accepted, admired, even envied. But when that need to ‘fit in’ turns sour, most people never see it coming. The book Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson, shows the detrimental side of popularity not often considered by kids, and rarely mentioned in books. Speak is about a girl named Melinda and her first year in high school, where, after being raped by a popular kid, experiences bullying, exclusion, depression, and a myriad of different issues, in addition to not speaking. So Melinda withdraws into herself, indirectly because of popularity. Popularity in Melinda’s high school plays both a complicated and consequential…

    • 1216 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Communication is the way we express our feelings and show our thoughts. It is a major part of our day to day lives. In Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, Melinda goes through a rape at a party at the beginning of summer. She was raped by Andy Evens and called the cops on the party to tell them that she had been raped. Everyone got in trouble at the party and now blame her for what happened. She does not want to tell anyone what actually happened to her at the party and doesn't really want to talk to anyone about that night . Melinda can’t seem to communicate with other people she try’s many different ways to get her thought’s across and rarely speaks. Throughout the book Melinda uses notes, art that expresses herself and physical injuries to communicate her problems with other people.…

    • 927 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    James Scobie

    • 416 Words
    • 2 Pages

    One of the best friends you could have is James Scobie. James and Ishmael were both getting picked on by Barry Bagsley the high school bully. Barry was calling James and Ishmael names and threw papers at James. James stood up to Barry and embarrassed him in front of the whole class. Even when James’ face was directly in front of Barry’s he didn’t back down. James always had something to say to Barry when he spoke or when he counted down from 5 and said “If you don’t move i’ll punch you in the face.” But James always came back with something. James stuck up for Ishmael even though Ishmael thought he was going…

    • 416 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    George And Lennie

    • 538 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Essay Sometimes friends are liars and sometimes they are great friends, but they use you to their advantage. I remember one time I made a friend that only hung out with me because I always had money and it wasn’t long till I figured out she was using me, but I didn’t have many friends so I continued to hang out with her. One day her father died and before he died, I visited him at the hospital. He made me promise to take care of her and I still do to this day.…

    • 538 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    When friendships are dissolved, the consequences can be devastating. In Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics - VIII – IX he explains how humans learn from one another, and that humans are innately social animals (Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics - VIII – IX, 148-149). Friendships are required in life learn about values. Without friends, humans would not be able to learn such values from each other, nor will they be able to confide in each other. Having friends in life allow for the mutual growth of both parties. Rebecca Traister writes in her article “What Women Find in Friends That They May Not Get from Love” her experiences with her friend Sara. Traister says, “In each other, we found respite, recognition, a shared eagerness to relax, take stock and talk about it all.” (Sara Traister, “What Women Find in Friends That They May Not Get from Love, 1), going on to say this relationship was mutual where they benefited from each other’s company. As they both grew together over time, much like Aristotle suggests is the value of friendship. Humans life are not fulfilled unless friends are there to support each other. As Traister says, “For many women, friends are our primary partner through life” (Sara Traister, “What Women Find in Friends That They May Not Get from Love, 5). In Traister’s case, the friendship she shares with Sara is a friendship of virtue.…

    • 1192 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Friendship is a bond between two people. Friendships can change over. Their similarities and differences affect this bond. In the novel Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, Melinda and Heather had changes in their friendship because of their personalities and other things happening around them. The personalities of Melinda and heather have things in common but also have differences.…

    • 444 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    English 4

    • 289 Words
    • 2 Pages

    As much as humans like to control their own lives, there are many aspects that are outside of our control. For example, we do not choose the families into which we are born or the places where we grow up. The same is sometimes true of friendships. Some friends we choose because we identify them as people who are similar to us and because they offer us something we want. Occasionally, however, we make unexpected friends. For example, a young person bumps into someone at the library who is crying because she has lost an important paper she was writing for school. As a result, the two become friends and learn that helping people through tough times is at the core of strong relationships.…

    • 289 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Memoir

    • 1215 Words
    • 5 Pages

    I am most certain that the majority of students have or had a friend they have known for years. Someone they can be themselves around without any judgment. Well, I used to have a special friend similar to the described description. My former friend was one of those friends who are difficult to find and lucky to have. He and I had an abundance of similar interest. Unfortunately, all great things must come to an end, and this friendship was at its end. At this very day, I am still wondering as to what happened to our perfect friendship. I may never know the reason, however, I can bring some clarity into my understanding of this discontinued friendship. Throughout this memoir, I will describe my friendship with Anthony, analyze it through many perspectives, and compare how I felt three years ago to my current feelings.…

    • 1215 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the book Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, characterization, setting and plot all assist in the theme. The theme is you need to speak up in order to help yourself. Anderson uses characterization to elevate the theme. Melinda is immature, which make her problem even worse. For example, Melinda acknowledges, “I almost tell them right then and there [about the rape]” (Anderson 72). Melinda foolishly tries not to tell anyone about her rape. Eventually, she learns that telling someone about the rape is doing her good and not harm, which is what the theme implies. In the same fashion,the setting is used to enhance the theme of the story. Melinda views the art room as her safe place. When her art teacher finds her crying and asks what is wrong, Melinda…

    • 293 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays