Speak Character Analysis
English
27 August 2012 In the book Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, Melinda Sordino proved that anyone can overcome anything if they find their voice. Melinda became mute the moment she was traumatized after she was date raped. Ever since then, she felt lonely and empty. I chose Melinda as my character because she showed anyone can overcome any hardships on their own. Melinda was a strong character who overcame depression and found her voice though art. Her artwork helped her tell her story and finally let her secret out. Melinda was a defenseless teenager. One of her weaknesses was her vulnerability. She said, “He kissed me, man kiss, hard sweet and deep. Nearly knocked me off my feet, that kiss” (135). She said this right before she was raped. This quote showed her weakness to Andy, the rapist. Being tricked by that kiss showed how delicate she could be. Melinda was constantly putting herself in pain. Another weakness was that she was distressed. She said, “I can’t stop biting my lips. It looks like my mouth belongs to someone else, someone I don’t even know” (page 17). Melinda kept hurting herself by eating her lips. She was symbolizing her fear of letting her secret out. Her secret was causing her more pain. Melinda found her voice through art. A strength she had was her ability to finally overcome her fear of exposing her secret. She expresses herself through art. She says, “My tree is definitely breathing; little shallow breathes like it just shot up through the ground this morning. This one was not perfectly symmetrical. The bark is rough… One of the lower branches is sick… Roots knob out of the ground and the crown reaches for the sun, tall and healthy” (196). Her drawing of the tree symbolized her own life. She scarred the tree and made it imperfect, but made it grow into something better. This art piece told her story. She accepted the fact that she couldn’t hide. She wanted to move on and believed she could grow.
27 August 2012 In the book Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, Melinda Sordino proved that anyone can overcome anything if they find their voice. Melinda became mute the moment she was traumatized after she was date raped. Ever since then, she felt lonely and empty. I chose Melinda as my character because she showed anyone can overcome any hardships on their own. Melinda was a strong character who overcame depression and found her voice though art. Her artwork helped her tell her story and finally let her secret out. Melinda was a defenseless teenager. One of her weaknesses was her vulnerability. She said, “He kissed me, man kiss, hard sweet and deep. Nearly knocked me off my feet, that kiss” (135). She said this right before she was raped. This quote showed her weakness to Andy, the rapist. Being tricked by that kiss showed how delicate she could be. Melinda was constantly putting herself in pain. Another weakness was that she was distressed. She said, “I can’t stop biting my lips. It looks like my mouth belongs to someone else, someone I don’t even know” (page 17). Melinda kept hurting herself by eating her lips. She was symbolizing her fear of letting her secret out. Her secret was causing her more pain. Melinda found her voice through art. A strength she had was her ability to finally overcome her fear of exposing her secret. She expresses herself through art. She says, “My tree is definitely breathing; little shallow breathes like it just shot up through the ground this morning. This one was not perfectly symmetrical. The bark is rough… One of the lower branches is sick… Roots knob out of the ground and the crown reaches for the sun, tall and healthy” (196). Her drawing of the tree symbolized her own life. She scarred the tree and made it imperfect, but made it grow into something better. This art piece told her story. She accepted the fact that she couldn’t hide. She wanted to move on and believed she could grow.