Andy Evans Speak

At the beginning of the book, Melinda was at a high school party and was sexually assaulted by a senior student. This happened in late August, and Melinda is extremely scarred and traumatized by the incident. In the fall, Melinda is so broken that she cannot even speak – she does not tell anyone what happened

Melinda, the main character of speak was raped at a summer party. She calls the cops and that is where it all started. When Melinda reaches high school she is faced with all her old friends. They all hate her and want nothing to do with her, because of her calling the cops. Throughout the whole book Melinda runs into tough situations that eventually lead to her standing up for herself. Eventually, everyone finds out the truth, of why Melinda calls the cops. Although Melinda learns to stand up for herself, throughout the book she shows signs of depression such as poor performance in school, sadness and hopelessness, and withdrawal of friends and activities.

Melinda debates whether to tell Rachel that her current boyfriend was an assaulter. “I could talk to Rachel. (Yeah, right.) I could say I'd heard bad things about Andy. (It would only make him more attractive.) I could maybe tell her what happened. (As if she'd listen. What if she told Andy? What would he do?) (…) I need to do something about Rachel, something for her. Maya tells me without saying anything. I stall. Rachel will hate me. (She already hates me.) She won't listen. (I have to try.) I groan and rip out a piece of notebook paper. I write her a note, a left-handed note, so she won't know it's from me.” (151-152). Melinda finally confronts Rachel and tells her what exactly happened to her, but Rachel did not believe Melinda as she really liked Andy. Rachel apologizes to Melinda when she realizes when Andy attacks Melinda again because he got to know what she told Rachel. Melinda was brave even though she was unexpectedly attacked by Andy for the second time. This time, she fought back before Andy could do anything that was seriously harmful to her and she threatened to stab him with a piece of sharp broken glass. This shows us how Melinda developed from a scared girl to a person who threatened to kill her

Her mother refused to drive her, so she decided to skip school. As she was getting her donuts, Andy Evans, IT, is there. “Maybe he won't notice me if I stand still. That's how rabbits survive; they freeze in the presence of predators”(Anderson 50). Melinda freezing up in terror is not a normal reaction to seeing another human being, even if IT is the person who raped her at the party during the summer. A better way to have handled this situation is if she bought her doughnut and left, leaving Andy in a less ‘predatory’ position above

Melinda realizes that she has much more potential, places the past behind her, and begins to speak once more. Anderson's novel explores common teenage problems such as depression; Melinda exhibits external signs like cutting her wrist with a paperclip and biting her lip,

90 The readers have awareness on who Melinda’s rapist was. Andy Evans is her oppressor. I think this shows how much Melinda has grown since the rape. This is because, she says, “Short stabby name.”

Melinda Sordino is the main character of the novel, speak. She is only fourteen years old, but she is dealing with one of the worst things that could happen: rape. With that Melinda enters ninth grade friendless and depressed. At the beginning of the story, Melinda is isolated. Throughout the story, she befriends some characters and learns how to speak. In speak due to the perspective, we don't get enough depth in a character. However, when hearing about Andy Evans, Melinda's rapist, from the beginning to the end of the story he was always arrogant and intimidating. Although Melinda does not defend herself against it, she often stays quiet.

Melinda was an outcast and loner in high school who was overwhelmed, fearful, and confused with her life and her environment at school. She was always silent in class and afraid to speak in front of people. Many students today might feel the need to fit in with other people so they wouldn’t have to be looked down upon. As we take a look at Melinda’s life we’ll be able to see how she handles her daily conflicts. In the book, Speak, Melinda Sordino, an incoming freshman at Merryweather High, starts her year off with a terrible start. She’s stuck with a mean history teacher, by who she calls Mr. Neck and a whole bunch of other weird teachers like her English teacher of who she calls, Hairwomen, because of her crazy, uncombed

At the start of the novel Melinda is starting her freshman year depressed, isolated and lonely. During the summer Melinda goes to a party with her friend Rachel and things don't end to well, Andy Evans a senior rapes Melinda while she was drunk. Melinda than calls the cops because of how frightened she is from the situation. People dislike Melinda because of what she did. For example,the first day of school Melinda doesn't know what to do since she has

``(198) Melinda is talking about when she got raped. She is feeling regret for not speaking up when she should of. She wants to forget what happened but she can’t.

They first met at an end of the year party. At the time, she was entering ninth grade and this was her first high school party. He met up with Melinda after she had a few drinks not long after they encountered they left the party to have a little fun of there own. Melinda feels like she is worthless and not needed. She wasn't able tell him to stop, "’I thought it was a little rude, but my tongue was thick with beer and I couldn't figure out how to tell him to slow down’" (134). Andy raped Melinda and that was only the beginning. He makes her life miserable. All she thinks about is Andy and how he wouldn’t stop. Her influences her life in ways that are not positive. He has her shut out of the world because she doesn’t want to be noticed by anyone. Melinda

In Laurie Halse Anderson’s Young Adult novel, Speak, the reader takes a journey following the life of Freshman Melinda Sordino. The novel begins during Melinda’s summer break when a tramatic incident (sexual assault) at a party forces her to call the cops and ruin the party for all her future classmates. Her year at Merryweather High School, following the sexual assualt on her, revolves around the disdain she receives from her fellow students, her constant haste in avoiding Andy Evans (her attacker), as well as her struggles to deal with the deep depression that has over taken her. Her deep depression eventually leads to her desolate silence and eventual avoidance of school and her circumvention of her sexual assault. The novel conveys the

A trait that stands out in the book is the symptom of bodily memories. In Melinda’s case, during a frog dissection in her science class, she remembers the opening up and even says, “She doesn’t say a word. She is already dead. A scream starts in my gut – I can feel the cut, smell the dirt, feel the leaves in my hair.” (81). One of the other symptoms that Melinda has is self-harm. The first time that this is shown in the book, Melinda says this, “I open up a paper clip and scratch it across the inside of my left wrist. Pitiful. If a suicide attempt is a cry for help, then what is this? A whimper, a peep?” (87). Melinda also has a hard time talking to her parents about the rape to which she says, “How can I talk to them about that night? How can I start?” (72). Some victims recover from such a traumatic experience, while others don’t and live a lifetime of depression and must undergo intense therapy. In Melinda’s case, she finds redemption by talking to her parents and the guidance counselor, and putting her faith into her teachers, friends, and her art project at school. Because rape can affect anybody anywhere, everyone should be aware of the circumstances, and how to deal with it.

One of MElinda’s ex-friends starts dating the guy who raped her. She sent anonymous letters trying to make her stay away from him. That proves she has grown, and she doesn’t want others to suffer because of him like she did. “I dig my fingers into the dirt and squeeze. A small clean part of me waits to warm and burst through the surface. Some quiet Melinda girl I haven’t seen in months. That is the seed I will care for,” (chapter 86, page 188-189). Melinda is facing her fears. She went to the place where it all happened. She wanted to have peace. She was ready to move on from the situation. The bottle was now open, and her feelings were flying

Andy Evans is a jock. The most popular guy in school. He meets Melinda at a party. She has been drinking, he begins talking to her. Immediately they hit it off. Dancing, laughing, and eventually kissing. He persuades her to leave with him. Melinda agrees telling her friends she’s leaving with Andy. In the car away from everyone he starts kissing her. Despite her cries and begging, Andy Evans had raped her.