Communicating to Overcome Obstacles Communicating is something that grade nines especially seem to struggle with, but they do not seem to see exactly how important it is to communicate with others. Melinda Sordino, a grade nine student in Laurie Halse Anderson’s novel Speak, struggles with speaking to other people ever since she was raped at a summer party. The figurative ice in her throat is one of the main reasons why Melinda cannot speak to others even though she wants to. Instead, Melinda learns to communicate through art. Using turkey bones from thanksgiving, Melinda creates a structure that shows her feelings. Another piece of art Melinda creates is multiple tree drawings which show her growth and how she feels. Laurie Halse Anderson’s
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During Christmas, Melinda got an art kit from her parents. She gets really emotional and notices how her parents see her drawing. Melinda starts to believe that her parents suspect that she was at a party. That is when “[she] almost [told] [her parents] right then and there… [she] [tried] to swallow the snowball in [her] throat.” (Anderson 72). Because of the snowball in her throat, she froze and could not get out what she wanted to say. That could have been her chance to tell her parents everything about what happened at the summer party. All of her problems would have been solved if the snowball in her throat was not there, which is why it is so crucial to speak, but by the end of the school year, the ice in Melinda’s throat melts freeing her voice. Mr. Freeman, Melinda’s art teacher, is with Melinda on the last day of school which is when “[Melinda] [tells] [Mr. Freeman] about [the summer party]” (Anderson 198). This is a good part of the story where Melinda finally talks about what had happened to her at the summer party. The ice in her throat keeping her mute had finally melted and she opened up to one of the teachers at her school about how she was raped. Melinda is finally gone from her past and moved on. She realizes that it was not her fault that she was raped. Melinda starts the school year off unable to speak due to the ice in her throat, but as the school year goes by, the ice slowly melts freeing her voice and letting her speak to people to solve the problem that she is
During Christmas, Melinda got an art kit from her parents. She gets really emotional and notices how her parents see her drawing. Melinda starts to believe that her parents suspect that she was at a party. That is when “[she] almost [told] [her parents] right then and there… [she] [tried] to swallow the snowball in [her] throat.” (Anderson 72). Because of the snowball in her throat, she froze and could not get out what she wanted to say. That could have been her chance to tell her parents everything about what happened at the summer party. All of her problems would have been solved if the snowball in her throat was not there, which is why it is so crucial to speak, but by the end of the school year, the ice in Melinda’s throat melts freeing her voice. Mr. Freeman, Melinda’s art teacher, is with Melinda on the last day of school which is when “[Melinda] [tells] [Mr. Freeman] about [the summer party]” (Anderson 198). This is a good part of the story where Melinda finally talks about what had happened to her at the summer party. The ice in her throat keeping her mute had finally melted and she opened up to one of the teachers at her school about how she was raped. Melinda is finally gone from her past and moved on. She realizes that it was not her fault that she was raped. Melinda starts the school year off unable to speak due to the ice in her throat, but as the school year goes by, the ice slowly melts freeing her voice and letting her speak to people to solve the problem that she is