Speak Anderson Character Analysis

In the novel “feed” by Mt Anderson, Anderson shows us how consumerism is destroying the future of society, because everyone in "feed" is uneducated and manipulated. A key idea in the novel is consumerism, Throughout the novel, it is clearly shown how teenagers in feed, are losing manipulation over not needing to “worry” about what’s going on around them. Acceptance is also something teenagers struggle with these days because in order to fit in you have to keep up with all the new fashion trends and have everything. Education is not important to anyone in “feed” because, everyone relies on their “implantations” they have. Feelings are also destroyed by consumerism because you can’t have feelings without “thinking” what to feel. The way people

In the story, Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson, Anderson uses images and descriptions in the chapter PRUNING, to portray Melinda’s life. First, as Melinda watches the tree in her yard cut down, she says that, “He’ll only leave a stump (Anderson 30).” Melinda represents the tree as herself. If part of the tree is cut down, it cannot grow back. Melinda is afraid that she may never recover from what happened to her at the party. She may be a stump with nothing left. Next, Melinda’s dad assures her that, “By cutting off the damage, you make it possible for the tree to grow again (5).” Cutting off the “dead” branches symbolizes that Melinda wants to have people with and around her to help her to “cut off” her bad memories and experiences. She does

Melinda’s art class is the only class that she enjoys because she feels that it is a way to show her emotions and to describe what she’s feeling. "I see a girl caught in the remains of a holiday gone bad, with her flesh picked off day after day as the carcass dries out.The knife and fork are obviously middle class sensibilities. The palm tree is a nice touch. A broken dream, perhaps?" (Anderson; 64) This piece of art shows how she feels. Her art teacher understands her emotions. However, she fails many times attempting to create a tree sculpture, but then finally succeeds. This represents how she fails to face the fact to understand that she was sexaully assaulted but then finds the answer. “This looks like a tree, buts it’s an average,everyday,boring tree. Breath life into it. Make it bend- trees are flexible, so they don’t snap. Scar it, give it a twisted branch - perfect trees don’t exist. Nothing is perfect. Flaws are interesting. Be the tree.” (Anderson;153) Melinda’s art teacher wants her to connect with the tree, he wants the tree to represent her. When Melinda finally understands and comes out to what happened to her; the tree comes to life. Art makes Melinda understand, art makes her have

Melinda is a dynamic character who changes physically, mentally, and emotionally. As the novel progresses, we see this through Anderson's use of symbolism, specifically of trees, a poster of Maya Angelou, and her closet. At the beginning of the school year, Melinda comes across an old janitor’s closet and fixes it up to call her own. The closet symbolizes Melinda

June M has always had a bad attitude because her parents is getting a divorce and she is not happy about it.

The 4th marking period tree symbolizes Melinda's growth. Noticing the tree in her front yard her dad explains, "by cutting off the damage you make it possblie for the tree to grow again." Melinda has experienced rape, depression, and insnecurities which have been holding her back from being who she needs to be. When she faces the reality of what really happened she becomes that person despite the scars, the experiences left. Melinda's final tree reflects her growth because in order for it to grow, the sick branches have to fall off before the whole tree gets infected. Her tree is sick, it's scarred, it's been hurt, bruised and abandoned, but despite what happened in the past her tree is still growing and prospering and that makes it perfect

Trees and plants represent life in the novel which ties into the overarching theme of the dehumanization that comes from slavery. Many of the characters in Beloved have been subjected to awful events causing them to feel as if they were worse than animals. Because of this, many characters look to the beauty of nature and trees in particular, to help them heal from their time in slavery. For example, Baby Suggs decided to preach in a place called The Clearing, which is surrounded by tall trees. "In the Clearing, Sethe found Baby's old preaching rock and remembered the smell of leaves simmering in the sun, thunderous feet and the shouts that ripped pods off the limbs of chestnuts. With Baby Suggs' heart in charge, the people let go." (Morrison 94) Another example of trees bringing healing to the characters in the novel is the arrival of Beloved. “A fully dressed woman walked out of the water. She barely gained the dry bank of the stream before she sat down and leaned against a mulberry tree.”(Morrison 60) This tree represents a chance at a new life for Beloved and also offers Sethe a chance to heal. Ever since killing her child, Sethe has been haunted over her decision and she is finally able to confront her past with the appearance of

The tree Melinda is assigned in art class symbolizes her and how she changes dramatically, for better or worse, throughout the book. In the near beginning Melinda draws trees that have been struck by lighting, the trees are dark, broken down and weary to symbolize how Melinda is feeling at this point. A great example of this is when Melinda says “For a solid week, ever since the pep rally, I’ve been painting watercolors of trees that have been hit by lightning. I try to paint them so they are nearly dead, but not totally. Mr. Freeman doesn’t say a word to me about them. He just raises his eyebrow. One picture is so dark you can barely see the tree at all” (Anderson 30). This symbolizes how she is going through a period in her life where she

This is a challenge that she won’t let others know, which only creates more troubles for her in the near future. Furthermore, after Melinda discovers that her rapist, Andy Evans, goes to the same high school as her, she begins to struggle more with having a normal day knowing that he is always near. After she skips school, she notices Andy Evans, “Maybe he won’t notice me if I stand still. That’s how rabbits survive; they freeze in the presence of predators” (Anderson 97). When she notices Andy, she is left paralyzed in fear. She explains this, by calling Andy a predator, while she is his prey. It is clear that she sees him as an enemy, and someone you should run away from. Melinda has to sustain her rapist’s endless teasing. When she is around him, she panics and freezes up; which is a clear sign that she struggles to be around him. This only makes her life worst, since she goes to the same school as him, so the chances of her encountering him increase

Schooled by Gordon Korman, is home to the first “genuine middle school hippie”, Capricorn Anderson, a lost soul in a world that is “a money hungry rat race of modern society.” Home schooled by his grandmother Rain, a true free soul from the sixties, Capricorn, nicknamed Cap, has been raised on an “alternative farm commune” all his life. Because his parents died years before because of malaria, Cap has only ever talked with Rain. Since the sixties era, views have changed and so has the popularity and common occurrence of what we call hippies. Filled with optimism toward life, Cap is suddenly forced to head into the unknown of modern civilization, and nothing can prepare him for the changes that lie ahead.

Capricorn Anderson has changed a lot from the beginning to the end of the story. Cap is an interesting character. There are many events that happen that change Cap’s life and character in the story. Cap’s character changes for the better throughout the story.

The contemporary classic novel Speak, profounds a girl, Melinda Sordino, entering freshman year at Merryweather High School in Syracuse, New York, with a heavy secret weighing on her. Unlike regular students, Melinda isolates herself from the society after a devastating event that she had experienced. Through her perspective, we enter her world of depression as she struggles her way through the school year. From her eyes we see the way she sees life, hear the ways others described her and enter her mind on how she thinks of the world. On a journey of gaining back herself, bad things turn worse, as that one person enters her life again. ‘It’, who made her fall into misery, ‘It’ who destroyed her once happy life. Melinda fights not only with herself, but It, the school, the world. The only thing that she feels comfortable in doing is art, where she drew trees to Anderson will definitely make you laugh throughout her book, however along holds undeniable sadness as we watch Melinda heals her way through her trauma that doesn’t seem to leave her.

The tree in Speak symbolizes Melinda’s emotional state when at first she finds no meaning in drawing the tree then she finds the courage to speak up about her rape experience. As Melinda is starting her artistic path, Mr. Freeman says his opinion on her artwork and she develops an understanding that her art work could compare to her life.

The mood of the speaker changes to guilt as the speaker and her mother realize they would "crawl" with "shame" and leave an "emptiness" in their father's heart and yard. The author negatively connotes "crawl," "shame," and "emptiness" to invoke a more serious and shameful tone. The beginning of the conveyed a more matter-of-fact and pragmatic tone, but changes into a more sentimental one by the end to convey family is more important than the money. The symbol of the tree represents the family, and connects it to their father's hard work and dedication to the family. If they were to cut it down, it would be symbolic of their betrayal. Imagery of the tree is used to describe the freedom and beauty of the tree as it "swings through another year of sun and leaping winds, of leaves and bounding fruit." The tree represents their family bond and how strong it is even through the "whip-crack of the mortgage."

In the story “Speak” by Laurie Halse Anderson, David Petrakis is the voice melinda does not have. He has the ability to do what she cannot. In one part of the story David stands up to Mr. Neck after he constantly abuses his students and rants about his son not getting a job. This leads to a full scale lawsuit where David claims his right to the first amendment was violated. Melinda felt that David was indirectly standing up for her when he yells at Mr.Neck because he had the ability to say what she never could. Melinda calls david a “hero” and thinks “He says a million things without saying a word. I make a note to study Petrakis. I have never heard a more eloquent silence” (Anderson 57). Melinda looks at David as if he has saved her.