The Five Basic Needs In Speak, By Laurie Halse Anderson

From the very beginning of the book, Speak is an incredibly moving story no one can forget. Melinda Sordino, a freshmen in High School, finds herself pitted against depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts after being ostracized by her fellow classmates. Throughout the book Melinda withdraws from her old social life with her best friend Rachel to a scared, timid girl who is afraid to open her mouth for anything. Right from the start, she is forced into a corner by her EX-best friend, Rachel and many other kids. Constantly, she is harassed, has obscene words thrown at her and is hated after calling the cops at a party over the summer break. Melinda, who cannot speak to others about what happened at that party- a rape, slowly beings to cope with her depression in ways that hurt her more than the rape itself.

Self) She sees herself as an outcast. the internal conflict of Melinda Sordino I that she was raped and does not tell anyone about it, causing her to become depressed. Her parents realize that she acts differently at home, but Melinda does not tell the reason why. In the story, Melinda fears a guy named "IT", who we later on know as Andy Evans. And teases her in the story for example on page 97 he hands Melinda a donut saying, "What a bite?". He is obviously teasing her and Melinda makes it noticeable that she fears him by running away. The authors purpose is to show that Andy is the reason for Melinda's depression. She expresses this by having Melinda call Andy

After her virginity is forcely robbed by her she is scared and alone with none of her friends around. She did what she was tought to do if she was ever in danger whcih was to call the police. Her dissioin was very responsible and probably been done even before she was raped. It is wrong that she is being critisized for her protecting herself and she should not be repremaded by other sudents beucase of their or their family memebers being caught for their bad dissiosions. I conpletely agree with her dissision and her friends rejecting her after she protected herself is very unloyal. Her friends could have reached out asking why she did what she did but instead they refussed to communicate with her which is a big reason why her and other people like her do not speak out about their tramatic experiances. Melinda’s disiosn to call the polioce in order to protect herself from danger was the responbile and correct way to handel the situaction she was put

Symbolism in Speak Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson, tells the story of Melinda Sordino and the personal challenges she faces after a traumatic incident during the summer before her freshman year of high school. Melinda's mouth, the janitor's closet, and trees are all symbols used throughout the text that exemplify Melinda's current state of mind. In a detailed essay, explain how one of these symbols portrays Melinda's growth. Include details and examples to support your explanation. *Include at least two quotes: Melinda is a young girl who is at a summer party and calls the cops.

Everyone has someone in their lives who can help make them strong and help them to speak out. In the book Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson the main character, Melinda Sordino, lost her voice and does not speak due to a traumatic experience. She went to a high school party at the end of the summer and met this boy named Andy. They danced a little, talked and kissed. Andy took Melinda out to the woods and raped her. She called the cops because she was so scared. When the cops showed up, they arrested people. Everyone knew Melinda called the police which makes everyone hate her. So she starts high school and has no friends and does not talk to anyone including her parents. But throughout the book there were three people who help Melinda find her voice.

After she released her story other people said that Andy Evans had done the same thing to them. “I can't do everything for you. You must walk alone to find your soul.” After this was said to Melinda by her mother she knew that it was time for her to finally break out of her shell and overcome what had terrified her for so long, Andy Evans. Once she told people she realized that so many people had cared about her the whole time but just never knew the whole story.

Since one fateful evening at a high school party prior to Melinda’s high school career she has lacked necessary companionship to help her through her 9th grade year. She seems to isolate herself from the world entirely. Melinda Sordino says to us, “Shut your trap, button your lip, can it. All that crap you hear on TV about communication and expressing feelings is a lie” (9). This really sums up Melinda’s attitude for the time following the party gone wrong. As the year goes on Melinda begins to make new friends and even reconnect with some old ones. This helps her grow into a more mature person which helps her regain her previous personality and confidence. She thinks of herself as a new person and realizes that she needs to move on from the past. Anderson includes this in one of the closing paragraphs, “It wasn’t my fault. And I’m not gonna let it kill me. I can

My PSA is on consent and sexual assault and it is a topic that I believe more people should be informed about. I feel truly connected to this topic because I believe I can make an impact on someone’s life with my PSA. While researching for this PSA I have realized that people need to be informed about the definition of consent. Our entire grade read “Speak” by Laurie Halse Anderson, we all know Melinda’s story and we all read her struggle to finally tell people about what Andy Evans did to her. I included and quote that Melinda had said when she finally told her story, it reflected the feeling of relief when one finally tells their story.

When she was packing all her pictures to take out of her room in the cleaning closet, she hears the door open and it was Andy. He tried to attack her again for telling Rachel that he raped her. The LaCrosse team heard the noise of Melinda fighting for her protection. They opened the door and caught Andy trying to hurt Melinda. After this all this was confirmed, Melinda felt free. She offered to talk to her mom about her tragic experience even though she had the option to talk about it later. Not everything is made clear at the end of the book, but a couple things are. Melinda was raped, it was not her fault, and she would have never opened up about it and realized she had nothing to do with it without her best friend dating Andy

This quote show that Melinda is an outcast, “ I have no friends. I have nothing to say. I say nothing" (Anderson 116). This quote shows that Melinda is insecure because, while Melinda is in the guidance counselor's office, her counselor is telling her that she’s been failing her classes and Melinda feels insecure. She feels out of place in the environment. Melinda is self-conscious that she feels she has to try to be pretty in order to gain her popularity back. Since Melinda has lost some friends coming into high school, she’s been feeling down on herself and depressed. Also, Melinda shows that she is insecure by saying, “ I am an outcast “( 8 Anderson). This proves that Melinda is insecure because before the start of High School Melinda was a very popular girl which is now an outcast. Until things went wrong for Melinda and she called the cops. Melinda had called the cops because she had been raped when she was drunk, so her first response was to call the cops. The cops had shown up, making everyone leave the party because of underage drinking and everyone knows Melinda has called the cops. Since that has happened she feels insecure by being an outcast. Because of this Melinda no longer is popular nor has no friends. Melinda feels she is insecure because she’s an outcast and has no friends which these feelings lead

Throughout the story, Melinda shows many signs of depression. Teens will often display changes in their thinking and behavior, lose their motivation, or become withdrawn. Psych Info Online presented some signs of depression that Melinda experienced in the novel. The signs Melinda indicated include: sadness, anxiety, feelings of hopelessness, withdrawal from friends, decreased interest of activities, social isolation, poor communication, low self-esteem, guilt, and

The household Melinda was raised in was not very caring. Her mother was a firm believer in “tuff love” which translated to not getting involved at all with Melinda’s emotions. Melinda’s mother seemed to view emotions as a weakness and did not take the time to consider what her daughter was going through. Since Melinda has had the influence of her mother’s perspective in her life, she too shut down and put up walls for awhile.

As she grows she discovers more of what she is capable of. Now she realizes that even though she is going crazy, she is still alive. Above all, she does not want to hide anymore and is not afraid to come out of her shell of guilt. “I don’t want to hang out in my hidey-hole anymore…. I don’t feel like hiding anymore” (p.191-192). She comments about not wanting to go back to her closet because she is not afraid of what might happen to her. In the same way she says that she, in no matter what condition, is still alive and breathing. “I have survived… Confused, screwed up but still here” (p.188). She is happy that she survived and that it does not matter if she is frustrated, she still has to stay for the ones who love her. In order which she has to take care of the old Melinda she was and let go of the Melinda she was after the party. After this realization she understood that she is not perfect but she can grow to love those

It does not let her feels and looks so stupid. After Heather joins in the Marthas, she blows Melinda off and Melinda is outcast again. The students hit Melinda in the hall; the girls' bully her at the pep rally all shows Melinda is an outcast, she is unwelcome. Melinda is a coward. "The kids behind me laugh so loud I know they're laughing at me. I can't help myself '' (Anderson 4). Melinda is a timid person. She scareds to tell the truth of that night, thus her friends cannot understand her difficulties. About the event happen at the party, she chooses to escape her past and become silent. Melinda does not talk a lot, either at school or at home to her parents. She acts like she does not care and hid from everyone. When someone bullies her, she just ignores them and suppresses her true feelings. Melinda is also a negative person. '' 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'' (Anderson 9). From this quotation, it is evident to see Melinda is negative. Her thinking is negative and

Melinda started off in the story afraid, lonely, and out of place. “I have entered high school with the wrong hair, the wrong clothes, the wrong attitude. And I don’t have anyone to