The book “Speak,” by Laurie Halse Anderson, is about a girl named Melinda Sordino who is starting her freshman year in high school. She’s had something horrible done to her, however, she won’t tell anyone what happened. During a party before school starts, a junior named Andy Evans raped her. When she calls the police, but she can’t bring herself to tell them what happened. During her phone call with the police, another person sees her and all her friends and everyone at the party begins to hate her.…
That summer everything changed for Melinda Sordino. Freshmen were still learning about high school and who people were, but that night at the party changed everything for Melinda and we will discover what happen throughout the book. This book is called Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. It's about a girl who was just entering high school. She went to a party over that summer before freshman year.…
In her 1999 essay, I Know Why the Caged Bird Cannot Read, Francine Prose examines what she believes is the detrimental relationship between novels written by writers of different ethnic groups and identities and high school students. By employing rhetorical devices such as ethos, rhetorical questions, and cause and effect, Prose can emphasize how new curriculums in high school English courses including novels by culturally diverse writers are causing students to show less interest in reading. Prose begins her essay with an anecdote where she relates herself to other parents of high school students by saying she finds herself each September “increasingly appalled by the dismal lists of texts that [her] sons are doomed to waste a school year reading.” Providing this anecdotal evidence…
Art gives people who cannot “Speak” a chance to express their own voice and speak to the world. Laurie Halse Anderson, in writing Speak, gives kids hope that there always is someone there to help. Melinda expresses her deep emotion that she doesn’t show anyone, without trying to in her artwork. “I see a girl caught in the remains of a holiday gone bad, with her flesh picked off day after day as the carcass dries out.” Pg.64 Mr. Freeman said this to Melinda after looking at her turkey bones exhibit.…
I've read many books in my lifetime, but there is one that made me look at things completely different. The book is titled Speak, and is written by Laurie Halse. It made me see how real depression, PTS and rape are. It made me look through Melinda's eyes/mind and how she couldn't take to anyone about her problems, so instead she bottled everything up. It showed me to talk about these painful things and if someone doesn't listen, find someone that…
English 102, 11-27-16 discussion 7 share an author About the poem ADIEU by Jose Hernandez Diaz: 1. What was your first response to the work and what surprised you the most about the work? Explain in detail. My first response to this work when I read it the first time was a disappointment since I expected something more savory and with better rhymes from a Chicano poet.…
Isolation from the outside world will only worsen one’s inner problems. That was a proven theme in Laurie Halse Anderson’s ‘Speak. ’From the get go, the main character, Melinda, isolated herself from the outside world. At a party during summer vacation, Melinda was sexually assaulted by Andy Evans, aka IT. For the majority of the year, she kept to herself.…
Good morning students and welcome to the HSC study day. Todays lecture is on how the two texts, The Courtship of Joe Wilson and Saving Private Ryan increase our appreciation of the world through language and to explore the world in general. Henry Lawson’s extraordinary novel, The Courtship of Joe Wilson depicts through various literary techniques the past world of rural Australia in the late 1800s and employs colloquial language, imagery and dialogue to emphasise our understanding and appreciation of the concepts of Courtship. The narrative successfully portrays a reflection of Henry Lawson’s younger days through the protagonist, Joe Wilson, ultimately increasing our appreciation of the world.…
“I cannot make you understand. I cannot make anyone understand what is happening inside me. I cannot even explain it to myself.” quotation by Franz Kafka. In the novel “Speak”, written by Laurie Halse Anderson, there is a girl named Melinda Sordino a freshman student that lost her friends because she called the police during a party where she was raped by a guy named Andy Evans and ever since that day she has changed into another person.…
Whether one decides to believe in fate, destiny, free will, or anything else, one thing is always true: people make choices. Every day we make choices. They can be small ones, like choosing to tip five percent more at a restaurant or choosing to wear a green tie over a blue one. But many of the choices a person makes are larger than these, choosing a field to major in, or choosing a spouse, perhaps. Clearly, our choices are important because they determine our character and future, but they are also important because many, if not all, of our choices, directly affect others and the people around them.…
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.…
The essays contained in my portfolio are part of the assignments written for the course English 101, which I took the first session of Summer 2016 at Joliet Junior College. This compilation of papers shows my progress and the effort I put to complete some of the basic core requirements to achieve an associate degree. The portfolio consists of: a literacy narrative essay, a synthesis with two sources and two argumentative essays. The essays represent my personal opinion about diverse topics assigned by the instructor. In the paragraphs below, a review of each paper will be given, complemented with a reflection about my writing performance and progress in the course.…
I begin this period of the class with a read aloud of a short text or section of a grade level novel to motivate and engage students in different reading contents. Once having read aloud for 15 minutes to the students, I teach a mini lesson on grammar or writing style that will help students further develop their skills as successful writers. These lessons will explicitly teach ideas such as writing persuasively, informatively, or in an entertaining manner (Newingham,…
In almost every class I’ve taken thus far at the University of Maryland, my expectation to succeed has been set high. Although a letter grade of an A or B+ does not completely define success, I have established in my mind that I cannot say I have truly master a concept or subject if my grade is lower than a B+. This drive to succeed is not debilitating, but rather provides me with a boost of energy that enables me to strive to do my absolute best in every assignment I complete. So, if I was asked how well do I think I will do in ENGL395, I would set my standards high as always and say I will receive an A. I do not think receiving this grade will come easy, but I am willing to put in the effort and time in order to excel in this course.…
In English classrooms, underneath the readings, essays, and grammar exercises, lies a basic goal that goes far beyond simply improving language skills. This goal is to spark a passion for English, whether it be reading or writing, in the hearts of students. However, this poses a challenge to teachers, as they must find a balance in the classroom that will engage students. It is difficult to create an environment in which students will enjoy English when educational standards have to be me.…