Symbolism And Imagery In Speak By Laurie Halse Anderson

The book Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson is about Melinda Sordino, a ninth-grader in Merryweather High School in Syracuse, New York. From the outside, she might have looked like an ordinary girl, but inside she held a secret that had withdrawn her to a life of silence and melancholy. She had gone through a traumatizing event that had changed her whole life to the point where she had lost all hope and became self-destructive. Melinda was raped by Andy Evans, a senior, at a party before the start of freshman year, and was yet to come to terms with her situation.After Andy’s act, she called 911 for help as she was perplexed about what had happened to her and what to do next. Her friends disregarded her for breaking up the party, so Melinda hadn't had a chance to tell anyone …show more content…
There is a lot of unique tone and vivid imagery in this book, and it really helps to feel Melindas conflict and empathize with her. The first most noticeable thing in the book is that Melinda's words and thoughts are often broken and interrupted by other thoughts throughout the book, which turns some of the things she says into a jumble of words. “I bite my apple. White teeth red apple hard juice deep bite. David sputters” (Anderson 66). Even though this tone makes Melinda’s sentences harder to follow, it really works to show that her life is all mixed up, wrong and unstable. The way that not a lot of punctuation is used in the sentences gives the feeling that Melinda’s thoughts might move very fast, just like her life. She was forced to grow up faster when she was raped, because before that she was just an innocent little girl who had once thought that “roses should cover everything and pink was a great color” (Anderson 15). In addition to the interrupted thoughts, Melinda also uses depressing words to describe everyday experiences. “We