On the first day of school, none of her old friends will talk to her, and her ex-best friend Rachel despises her. The only person who speaks to her is a new student named Heather. Heather wants to join many clubs and be active in school, but Melinda…
In September of 1996, during Friday the 13th, a little girl by the name of Ashlynn Olexa Danner entered the world from the Reading Hospital. She had beautiful brown hair and striking blue eyes. Her parents, Robert and Alison Danner were proud parents. They were thrilled to finally have a kid of their own. Robert grew up in Nazareth Pennsylvania with his parents Dot and Robert Sr., and Lou Ann, his sister.…
The book Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson is about a teenage girl who stops talking after she gets raped. Melinda, the protagonist has changed and is no longer a happy girl. She is now a quiet and lonely girl hated by society because she called the cops on her friends during the summer party. Nobody asked her why she did what she did, but the reason was that she was getting raped. This incident changed her life completely.…
She always feels that she is forsaken and rejected. Melinda is not ready for the high school psychologically. She is neither ready for attending classes nor to sit with her class mates whom she is afraid of. She is angry about everything. She makes fun of her teachers as well; she called her English teacher Hairwoman (Anderson 7) as she has uncombed stringy hair flops in front of her face.…
The lack of self-esteem reflects her attitude and therefore she does not have any social interactions. However, in her mind, she is looking for the chance to sit beside, relate and reach out to another character. Even though the occasion is something as ordinary as a school assembly, she is mentally aware that she needs to interact with someone. The students in the auditorium allow her to entertain the idea of reaching out. Since the assembly, a few months of her treacherous grade nine life go by without a change.…
Orphan Train Molly can hear her foster parents between the thin walls of the small house in Spruce Harbor, Maine. The year is 2011 and Molly is finding herself in this book, Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline. Molly is a “Goth” she shows herself off with a streak of white in her naturally black hair. Molly also wears black nail polish and black clothes with piercings. In this story Molly discovers herself through objects and people around her.…
“A true friend is one who overlooks your failures and tolerates your success.” This quote by Doug Larson explains some of the many qualities of a true friend. In Speak by Laurie Halse Anne, Heather acted as a true friend, however, her actions did not show this. On the other hand, Melinda’s actions did. Since the day “Heather from Ohio” moved to Melinda’s school, they became “good friends”.…
Colby Palmer Ms.Pergola AP English Language and Composition 7 July 2017 The Epidemic of Overachiever Culture The Secret Lives of Driven Kids is a nonfiction book written by Alexandra Robbins who emphasizes the negative effects of modern American education. Robbins uses several specific examples from a group of nines students from Walt Whitman High School.…
When someone blurts out the word “high school”, what’s your first initial thought? I don’t know about you, but “cliques” are the first thought to my mind. The media is drowning in films that portray the idea of “cliques”, but personally, I believe the film Mean Girls is the best representation of the world of cliques. Means Girls is a teen classic, and I can almost bet the majority of my generation has seen or at least heard of it. It is American teen comedy film that manifests the harsh conditions teens undergo when it comes to high school cliques.…
In the book Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, Melinda’s family dynamic is much different than other families. They have a relationship like no other. With her mom, they interact, it’s just not always for good reason. When it comes to her dad, there is barely any communication. But, when her parents are together, they make Melinda somewhat afraid to rely on them for anything.…
High School is a period in adolescence where identities are found within the self by figuring out where they belong in this world. That can be hard especially for teens like Cady Heron in the 2004 movie Mean Girls directed by Mark Waters based on the book Queen Bees and Wannabes which encompasses females in high school cliques and how damaging it can be for development to girls. Cady Heron is a 16 year old who has just moved back to the states after living in Africa for her parents zoology research. Being home schooled by her mother her whole life, she has never experienced public school but is eager to begin what she calls “a regular teenage life”. Although she is knowledgeably prepared for what is to come academically having a strong side in math, no one could prepare her for the social culture that is deeply but sometimes dramatized rooted in high school.…
As a child growing up in Rhode Island, the smallest state in the Union, the idea of a vast planet brimming with civilization and culture was more like something out of a fairy tale than it was reality. So, when my father announced that we would be leaving the country to go to Scotland, the home of his and my ancestors, my world began to expand at a rapid pace. This trip could not have been timed more perfectly. The summer of 2007 marked the end of fourth grade, my first year at Saint Mary Academy Bay View.…
Most importantly, be a genuine person. High school may be only four years, but being around people that aren't true to themselves or true to you is a difficult struggle. If everyone decides to do that, then the school body will be better off. I know this essay is all over the place. I know that many won't listen to my advice, but I hope some of it will help.…
After watching the film “Mean Girls”, there are some realistic aspects which can be applied to an actual high-school scenario. Though, most of the social context is purely based off of Hollywood creation, which allows for larger drama within and between cliques. Furthermore, there are many aspects which must be considered in comparing this fictional society to an actual high school scenario. This would include agents of socialization, social institutions, primary and secondary groups, and many other factors.…
What Laurie Halse Anderson is trying to say about friends and best friends in the book Speak is that friends come and go. Heather was a wonderful friend to Melinda until she joined the Martha’s. Later in the year Heather broke their friendship at lunch when Heather said they were never really friends. The second thing is Rachel and Melinda used to be best friends until Melinda called the cops at a summer party. Later in the year Melinda told Rachel what had happened to her at the party, but it took awhile for Rachel to believe Melinda.…