No one knows. No one listens. No one cares. Melinda Sordino is an “outcast”. In the novel, Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, Melinda is unfortunately a young victim of rape who silently possesses a hidden, screaming message. Ever since the incident occurred at the summer party, Melinda has certainly discovered a few positive, defining characteristics of herself. She has definitely grown from being temporarily defined as timorous and fearful of speaking up into a courageous, passionate teenager. Throughout the entire story every defining trait of hers are represented by the symbol of trees and more specifically, her drawing of a tree in Mr. Freeman’s art class is her own proof of her journey to discover her true identity, and her emotional recovery.
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Melinda strives to perfect her tree to accurately reflect her feelings, and she’s thriving emotionally. She didn’t understand that the trees she was drawing was in due course going to turn out to be a beautiful and unique artwork with such an important meaning behind it, her life. The trees in the beginning lacked of detail and in general, lifeless. Her trees never meant anything more than negative emotions and ideas of which consists depression, loneliness, and low self-esteem.Yet, by the end of the fourth marking period, Melinda’s tree is prominently improving and is “definitely breathing; little shallow breaths like it just shot up through the ground this morning” (Anderson 196). Once Melinda has finally completed her tree she looks at her “homely sketch”. She realizes that “it doesn’t need anything. Even through the river in her eyes she can see that. It isn’t perfect and that makes it just right” (Anderson 196). At this point the importance of the tree she has been striving to represent of herself resulted as her redemption, not a tree at all. If Melinda’s life was perfect she could’ve drew the same trees she have drawn in second grade with the perfect, straight trunks and branches, but in reality her life is not even close to being perfect. It’s imperfectly
Melinda strives to perfect her tree to accurately reflect her feelings, and she’s thriving emotionally. She didn’t understand that the trees she was drawing was in due course going to turn out to be a beautiful and unique artwork with such an important meaning behind it, her life. The trees in the beginning lacked of detail and in general, lifeless. Her trees never meant anything more than negative emotions and ideas of which consists depression, loneliness, and low self-esteem.Yet, by the end of the fourth marking period, Melinda’s tree is prominently improving and is “definitely breathing; little shallow breaths like it just shot up through the ground this morning” (Anderson 196). Once Melinda has finally completed her tree she looks at her “homely sketch”. She realizes that “it doesn’t need anything. Even through the river in her eyes she can see that. It isn’t perfect and that makes it just right” (Anderson 196). At this point the importance of the tree she has been striving to represent of herself resulted as her redemption, not a tree at all. If Melinda’s life was perfect she could’ve drew the same trees she have drawn in second grade with the perfect, straight trunks and branches, but in reality her life is not even close to being perfect. It’s imperfectly