Laurie Halse Anderson

Literary Essay There are two recurring themes shown in Laurie Halse Anderson’s historical fiction novel, Fever 1793. One is the simple act of being grateful. it is important to stop and think about how lucky you are when someone else is surely in a worse situation. Another common theme is perseverance and the clear effort that the characters show in attempting to survive the fever epidemic. Some can even argue that within perseverance, is selflessness. Appreciation and perseverance are two main…

material that should be classified as soft pornography”. He then goes on to say that Speak is an example of soft pornography, and shouldn’t be allowed in english curriculum. He believes that this book should be censored in school districts. Laurie Halse Anderson wrote an essay, “A Comment about Censorship”, replying to his, and many other people’s opinions that Speak should be censored from the english curriculum. Although some parents believe that some books are inappropriate for school, they…

Teens usually have low mental strength. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson is about Melinda Sordino, an outcast who called the cops at a summer party. In Speak, Anderson demonstrates how survival takes a lot of mental strength when Melinda is bullied, loses a friend, and being bothered by her rapist. Speak shows how survival takes a lot of mental strength when Melinda is bullied. She is being bullied by the Basketball Pole at lunch and: “Thwap! A lump of potatoes and gravy hits me square in the…

Trees are full of life. In the book Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, Melinda feels like her life is inconsequential. Melinda is a 14-year-old girl who is about to leap into high school. Right before school started, he went to a party with her friends. She got overwhelmed, so she walked into the woods to take a breather. She sat under a tree and saw a dark figure approach her. He was mysterious. They started talking, then kissing, and before she knew what was happening, she was on the ground. He…

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. Her inner problems only further ate away inside of her. Tearing her insides, ripping away at her. Destroying her bit by bit. Only because she…

Laurie Halse Anderson had one strong theme in her book Fever 1793 ( the setting in philadelphia), and that is coping with loss because in the story mattie had many deaths, and a family member that left so she would be protected because mattie’s mom had the fever. One theme expressed in Fever 1793 is people cope with loss in different ways. On the other hand, perhaps scenes that are critical in the story are when grandfather dies and mattie is angered, broken down and was all depressed because…

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…

result. One of the harsh Eating Disorders is Anorexia Nervosa. Anorexia is a disorder that has a serious effect on teens bodies. "The only number that would ever be enough is 0. Zero pounds, zero life, size zero, double-zero, zero point" (Laurie Halse Anderson, n.pg). Teens usually think that their body image is supposed to be the ones…

protagonist, Heather, her friend, and Andy. Laurie Halse Anderson uses literary elements such as characterization in order to reveal the protagonist’s emotional growth throughout the novel. Towards the beginning of the book, Melinda thinks she changed from two months ago. In this quote the narrator and protagonist Melinda Sordino is thinking about her past. She use to be like Heather. “I used to be like Heather. Have I changed that much in two months?” (Anderson 24) This quote means that…

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…