preview

Resilience in the Book Speak Essay

Decent Essays

Psychologists usually agree that the teenage years are among the most difficult periods in one’s life. Most teens are trying to figure who they are, what they believe, and how they fit into the world around them. Beginning in the late 1970’s, a whole genre of fiction, referred to as coming-of- age literature, emerged and serves, at least for many teens, as believable presentations of young people learning to navigate the difficulties of their lives, often fraught with feelings of rejection, seemingly unresolvable personal turmoil, social problems, school and family issues, etc. Indeed one value of reading is to see and better understand some aspects of ourselves through studying others. The reading of SPEAK, a somewhat controversial …show more content…

Melinda joked about the mascot name “The Trojans” as Trojan is the name for a popular condom company. Throughout SPEAK, it is seen that Melinda is able to overcome the adversity of her rape and have small spurts where it seems as though she is finally going to bounce back to having a normal and happy life.
In life, people make, break and regain a myriad of relationships. As we continue this process, we will find that not all confrontations and friendships leave us with a positive impact. Although there will be a multitude of unsatisfactory bonds, it is imperative that people are able to seek out friends that will always be there for them. The ability to find and maintain supportive friendships is one that Melinda was not always able to do and it often kept her from being able to break out of her gloomy shell after her being raped. When one has healthy relationships, they experience happy emotions, such as feeling included. Melinda failed to recognize the benefits of healthy relationships, as she often excluded herself from social events. After a basketball game at the high school, David Petrakis, Melinda’s lab partner in science, invited her over for pizza. Melinda’s mind was torn about what she should do. One part of her was thinking that she should have gone to have pizza with David, while the second part of her mind was thinking that she was scared of boys and that she would be better off

Get Access