Adolescence In Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak

Adolescence: it’s a period of turmoil, no doubt about it. Young adults are discovering the physical changes that accompany adulthood, constantly fighting off emotional waves of hormones, and generally experiencing puberty in all its glory. However, as intense as these pubertal changes may be, the chaos of adolescence is nothing without the fact that young adults are beginning to drastically change the way they view the world. Where before these individuals may have been concerned with simple pleasures and straightforward emotions, adolescents are now beginning to learn about the adult world and the complexities it presents. According to psychologist and aging expert Robert Havighurst, there are a series of tasks that young adults must accomplish …show more content…
Melinda, the victim of a sexual assault that occurred before the onset of the novel, views life pessimistically, using her humor and wit to disparage high school society and all of its injustices. She is a victim of societal torment, as most of her peers view her as a “back-stabber” for calling the cops on a party. Thus, Melinda has no friends in the beginning of her freshman year. Melinda’s philosophy throughout most of the novel seems to be that silence and evasion are the best options when faced with confrontation, which could be a very tempting notion for many youth, and she does not believe that speaking up for herself is a valid option, because when she does, she is ignored or silenced. Heather, a character in the novel, even tells her, “You are so negative and you never try anything, you just mope around like you don’t care that people talk about you behind your back’” (Anderson 34). Rather than face anything head-on, Melinda ignores the rumors, runs away from her past, and hides from confrontation in a school closet (Anderson, passim). However, towards the end of the novel, when she is finally able to speak up for herself, Melinda has acknowledged that it is okay to rely on others for support and guidance. When she anonymously speaks out against her assailant via bathroom graffiti, she discovers that she has support; many other girls add …show more content…
Like Melinda in Speak, Junior, the protagonist in this novel, is just entering high school, and he is a victim of societal torment because of a perceived betrayal. Like Ponyboy, he belongs to a group of people that are considered “outsiders” because of their socio-economic status. However, Junior also deals with race issues, unlike either of the prior protagonists. Because of these factors, Junior also has a negative outlook of life towards the beginning of the novel. He understands the challenges he faces with his disabilities, his race, and his socio-economic status, as he states, “Do you know what happens to retards on the rez? We get beat up. At least once a month” (Alexie 4). He also understands the reality of race inequality. He learns that hope exists “farther and farther…away from this sad, sad reservation” (Alexie 43). When he decides to attend school in a white-dominated town, his community back home considers him a traitor, and his new white peers do not immediately accept him. Junior seems to be awkwardly stuck between two worlds. This is something to which nearly every young adult can relate; adolescence itself is treated as a period stuck in-between childhood and adulthood. Teenagers are expected to behave maturely, like adults, but are often treated like children. Junior, facing the difficulties of