Black Elk Speaks

has become a key concern for young adult females. Fortunately, there are many young adult books that address these issues without reminding teens of a pamphlet in the guidance counselor’s office. Two different books, Beauty Queens by Libba Bray and Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson address a variety of issues important to young adult girls and are ideal books to integrate into schools. Although Beauty Queens may not be a boy’s top literary pick, it is a riveting, rebellious book that screams “girl…

Notably, Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson was a banned book, just as The Cather in the Rye by J.D. Salinger was. One man, named Richard Swier , even deemed Speak to be “child pornography. ” Although it contains one scene where Melinda is raped, it is not graphic or cause gratification in reading. Speak is a cautionary tale about the emotional aftermath of rape. It tackles bullying, depression, sexual harassment, and family dysfunction. It teaches children, teenagers, and people of all ages to…

Silence is uncommon today when sharing what is on everyone’s mind is just a click away. Malala Yousafzai expresses that, “We realize the importance of our voice only when we are silenced.” Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson follows the freshman year after the rape of Melinda Sordino who struggles between keeping her mouth shut and using her voice against her attacker. The novel explores the crippling power of being voiceless to illustrate the importance of speaking up. Melinda demonstrates the…

Trees in Speak In the novel Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, a young girl named Melinda is raped at a party over the summer and calls the cops. The party is busted and everyone blames Melinda for ruining the fun, even though they did not know the full story. When school starts again, she is friendless and bullied. Nobody knows that she was raped; they think she called the cops because people were drinking. Melinda rarely talks because she is afraid of what people will think when she speaks. The…

Melinda’s surrounding of people creates her fears of speaking out about her rape case. At the beginning of Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, the freshmen are gathered up together in the auditorium, where she see’s her ex-best friend, Rachel, “This was the girl who suffered through Brownies with me... If there is anyone in the entire galaxy I am dying to tell what really happened, it’s Rachel. My throat burns. Her eyes meet mine for a second. “I hate you,” she mouths silently. She turns her back to…

Family Assessment The community environment is that of a metropolitan area. Only small roads run through the neighborhood; major highways run on the outskirts of it. There is an average-sized playground, a soccer field, and a library all within walking range, but there are no bike paths or tennis courts. The neighborhood has many tall, broad, colorful trees. The leaves on the ground are raked and the grass seems to be well taken care of. There are middle-aged children playing outside on the…

While discussing the idea of one’s personality, Malala Yousafzai stated, “It is very important to know who you are. To make decisions. To show who you are.” Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson is a novel about finding who one really is. The focus is on the life of a freshman girl named Melinda who has been through some very tough and scarring situations. She was raped by Andy Evans at a party with her friends that had no idea what had happened. She was scared and had no other choice in mind than to…

In the novel, Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, the main character is Melinda. The novel begins following Melinda on her first day of high school. It is very apparent to the reader that Melinda’s life is not going as she would like. On the bus ride to school she sits by herself and at the end of the ride she is the only person who nobody chose to sit with. At the school assembly the other girls, who Melinda notes used to be her friends, whisper and laugh when they see Melinda. This obviously…

and when someone is alienated, the others find a reason for them to be pushed away. Isolation can be the cause of depression with most, as they find themselves alone with no one who cares. This idea of alienations is shown in Speak, a novel by Laurie Halse Anderson. Speak is a novel about Melinda Sordino, a freshman girl in high school who was raped, and then had to deal with all of the suffering that came with it. Throughout the school year, she slowly gets through the aftermath of her…

and Audience In her novel Speak, author Laurie Halse Anderson (1999) discusses the life of a teenage girl as she struggles through depression and the harsh realities of life. Topics wrestled with in the novel range from parental fighting and challenges to the endeavor of fitting in with high school students. Anderson skillfully addresses many of the same issues that plague teenagers in today’s world while also creating a connection between the reader and the narrator. Speak is a marvelous novel…