setting to prove the critical lens. The main characters in both these novels overcome challenging situations by taking advantage of the opportunities presented to them. In their struggle to make the best of their circumstances‚ the main character Melinda in Speak and Steve in Monster illustrate the critical lens. In Monster the main character Steve is faced with a long prison sentence. The theme of Monster is introspection. The theme is introspection because Steve wants to change so he looks deep
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are words of hate‚ an example is Rachel mouthing the words‚ “I hate you.” Other people at school whisper about her in the halls and one girl at the pep rally knees her in the back and pull her hair because her brother was arrested at that party. Melinda tells herself‚ “It is easier not to say anything. Shut your trap‚ button your lip‚ can it. All that crap you hear on TV about communication and expressing feelings is a lie. Nobody really wants to hear what you have to say‚”(page 9) In a way what
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Ewell in To Kill a Mockingbird. However‚ the protagonists always found a way to conquer with the good‚ and will always shine brighter than the evil. In “Speak” by Laurie Halse Anderson‚ the evil in this story is Andy Evans‚ Melinda Sordino’s antagonizer. Because of this‚ Melinda often fights the indirect pain he causes her and she has to deal with the fact that this specific person took away the good in her year or even her life just from raping her. Many ways she copes with it is my isolation‚ biting
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Melinda‚ a young girl just beginning her first year of high school has some obstacles from her past‚ destroying her future. Many teenagers like Melinda are faced with the unfortunate affects of being sexually abused and it holds the teens back. Many young teens think it is over for them and just give up on life. Though‚ there are those like Melinda who just take time to break free and heal. These teens go through many different stages before all of the pain goes away. These young adults begin by
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themselves‚ including “The Journey” and “Speak”. They both pass along the message that if you don’t let people know how you feel‚ what you have gone through‚ and what you stand for‚ you are not going to reach anywhere in life. In the novel “Speak”‚ Melinda never told anyone that she was raped at the party‚ therefore people in her school misunderstood her action. At the end of the story‚ She decides to tell her friends about the incident. People now understand her and she was accepted by others as a
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books: No time for Mother’s Day (1998)‚ Turkey Pox (1996)‚ and Ndito Runs (1996)” (“Speak- Anderson”). Don Latham summarizes Anderson’s Speak as “the story of teenager Melinda Sordino’s rape‚ recovery‚ and eventual coming out as a rape victim” (Latham). Speak is a novel that is geared towards young adults who could possibly relate to Melinda and her story; however‚ the novel has faced countless criticisms for its crudity and inappropriateness. Despite critics‚ Anderson’s Speak immediately received astonishing
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Maya Angelou are very similar but different in some ways. The novel Speak is about a young girl named Melinda who is raped at a party the summer before she starts high school. Throughout the book Melinda is afraid to speak of the incident and becomes silent and speaks to no one. The book is about Melinda finding herself and overcoming the fear and learning to speak out. Throughout the book Melinda becomes more and more isolated because of the incident‚ which brings up thoughts about the poem Alone
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town in New York with a young teenager girl‚ Melinda‚ who starts her high school years as an outcast. Her ex-best friends all split up into different clans except her; she was just by herself along with new girl‚ Heather. Melinda hasn’t spoken much since the accident over the summer and leaves her silent throughout most freshman year. At home she doesn’t speak much either and kind of leaves her parents curious as to why she doesn’t talk anymore. Melinda is having a hard time at school with teachers
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novel Speak is about a social outcast named Melinda and her struggles to fit in in high school. She doesn’t have any true friends because no one stays around long enough to hear her story. The book is written by Laurie Halse Anderson. Throughout the novel Melinda shows her emotional discomfort through actions instead of speaking out. In the end she speaks up for herself and she finds a happier state of being. In the beginning of the novel Melinda enters high school being shunned by all of
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struggles with finding her herself like she struggles to create the perfect tree. Melinda’s efforts to create the right tree in her art class represent her hardship and her ability to overcome them. Melinda is struggling with hiding and isolating herself from everyone and dealing with accepting herself. Melinda hides herself from everyone by hiding herself in a secret closet‚ this allows her to hide her mistakes just like one of the trees she creates with “some thick branches‚
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