The title, Speak, is the solution to Melinda fixing her life at school back to usual. I believe the thesis of this novel is that if you’re sexually assaulted, speak up. Many people believe that if you hold the painful memory inside of you, soon it’ll just fade away, but that’s in no way the case. We see that in dept at Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak. The title is the hint. Melinda’s at a high school party, where Melinda gets raped by Andy Evans, a high school senior student attending at the same school as Melinda. Melinda’s got frightened so she called the police. Melinda’s first year of high school is a ruin where it seems like everyone hates her now. Melinda doesn’t speak up and tell them why she called the police; she’s too afraid and ashamed
