In the novel Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, Melinda Sordino, a freshman in high school, undergoes development that changes her as a person. In the beginning of the book, Melinda is scared and unsteady because a senior named Andy Evans raped her at a senior party over the summer. As additional time passes, her confidence and health worsen, eventually resulting in self-harm. When as she begins to receive the attention she deserves, she starts the healing process. Melinda’s development near the beginning of the book is represented by the artwork of a tree she must create in art class.…
Another example was when she was telling Rachel about what happened at the party. " some guy raped me"(Anderson 183). Rachel was the first person Melinda has told about the party not even her parents, so it took a lot of courage to finally tell someone. Last was when Melinda stood up to Andy and told him about what happened at the party. When she it talking to him, he tries to do it again and she yells at him. "…
When IT is around Melinda she finds herself…
As the story progresses Melinda developed the skills she needed to overcome the hate she was receiving from her grade. "fresh meat. That's what it whispers”(86). That being said it makes melinda feel she is looked as different in the eyes of her grade. Thirdly, Melinda grows through her spoken words throughout the novel.…
Loretta disclosed she gets wiped with a stick, flip-flops, hand and a belt. Loretta stated she covered herself in blanket when she get a beating. Loretta is being held down by the other children, she was punched in the stomach and they picked a hand full of her hair out. Loretta stated that recently she purposely wear a long sleeve shirt to school to cover a bruise she had on her arm. Loretta stated that she was punched her by another child.…
The title of the novel is a little bit paradoxical and ambiguous. The novel's title is called Speak; while the entire dilemma throughout the novel is that its heroine Melinda is suffering from her silence and isolation; she cannot speak of what scares her, or even to call for her rights. Her anger is revealed through inner conflicts which caused her psychological problems. In stark opposition to the title she refused to speak of what annoys her and preferred to remain silent and isolated. From the beginning she always feels that she is alone and that she does not have any friends to sit with or even to talk with, she always says "I am outcast" (Anderson 4).…
Melinda’s reinvention contributes to the novel’s message of the importance of communication for two major reasons: her silence leads to confusion…
The article I chose to analyze is Monica Ellen Rizzo’s Master Thesis for her Master of Science in Education titled Redundancy, Discrimination, and Corruption in the Multibillion-Dollar Business of College Admissions Testing. My reason for choosing this paper is the way she presents her argument because she provides a personal reason why she is writing about the subject of college admissions testing and writes the paper very technically which is the way I prefer to think. Her goal for this paper is to show colleges that college admission testing puts extra stress on students and lowering the stakes will improve their lives. The thesis of her paper is “to examine the biases inherent in standardized college entrance exams, their validity as predictors of…
In the novel, Melinda did not know that she can be brave and confident enough to talk and shout for help. She does not know that she is capable of fighting back, yet in the end, she realized she fought back and shouted for help. It shows us that she just have to be strong and start to speak up because if she wasn’t strong and loud nobody could have heard her and she was raped again by Andy Evans. We should believe in ourselves and be strong because if we won’t we might just be in trouble or people won’t know what our backstory…
However, she had run away like a coward and never spoke up about what happened, instead she let everyone hate her; soon, she became the school's outcast. Unable to find her voice to speak up, Melinda Sordino faces…
Argumentative Essay Young girls, cursed by what is referred to as a witch with no reason behind the actions or acuse. In 1692 in the Salem, Massachusetts, several girls were said to be possessed by witchcraft. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, many are unreasonably accused of being a witch because of actions like not showing up for church, acting strange, dancing, amongst other things. Puritans believed in following the Bible and punishment for sin was often harsh.…
“It wasn’t fair and I knew it”(Simpson, 120). This quote shows that Melinda hasn matured since she understand that compared to what her mother did for her, her fathers gift which was “a seventy-nine-cent package of headbands”(Simpson, 120). She also begins to understand that her fathers love was nothing. “But I didn’t say yes...to change a life, his life”(Simpson, 125). This quote just shows that she has matured since she has two options to pick from which is her mom’s love or father’s love.…
The big idea that I get from this book is that some burdens are just to big and the only was to handle them is together. The problem is that so many people are ashamed and would rather hide it that handle the situation. If all girls, or boys, who were put in situations like Melinda would speak up maybe there would be more justice in our…
In the book Speak, Melinda was raped and when she tried to tell people she was either speechless or the person she told did not believe her. Melinda taught the reader many valuable lessons, that people are told but until they learn what it means they do not follow them. For example Melinda taught the reader not to give up when something goes wrong, and always tell the truth. Melinda also taught the reader to tell a trusted person your problems to what is making you feel upset, and even some of the hardest things that happen are not the end of the world.…
Rachel Carson’s argument is not only tenable but very germane to today’s society. Humans should be more conscientious of their actions and the long term repercussions they may have. Pesticides despite their short term benefit have the possibility of wreaking havoc on the ecosystem lasting for generations. The lack of a learning curve makes this predicament especially dangerous. Humans are often myopic when it comes to the consequences of their actions and proceed without a clue as to the damage they are incurring on their surroundings, near and far.…