Melinda Gates

that nothing good can come from vocalizing what happened to them. In the book Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, Melinda Sordino, the main character, is a victim of rape who doesn’t speak up about what happened which leads her to become withdrawn, self - alienated, and dead inside. However as time passes she begins to show signs of healing, empowerment, and coming back to life. As Melinda begins high school she is haunted by what happened to her at the party with “IT”. She hasn’t told anybody what…

whether it’s through writing, drama, or art is so important in giving young people a sense of self worth.” In the book Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, Melinda Sordino feels that her voice is taken away after being raped by Andy Evans which he is referred to as IT, and Andy Beast. She goes into high school as a young teen, depressed and silenced. Melinda grows stronger throughout her freshman year as she struggles to find her voice again. When she is going through the process of trying to put…

assaulted.” (RAINN). Sadly, the statistic holds true for Melinda Sordino, a pessimistic ninth grader from the novel Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. Through Melinda’s battle with depression and acceptance, the author of Speak demonstrates a universal truth that breaking free from emotional bondage requires one to speak up. Melinda’s journey, from depression to self-confidence, allows her to reconnect emotionally to her old lifestyle. Melinda begins the process by immensely breaking down the…

No one knows. No one listens. No one cares. Melinda Sordino is an “outcast”. In the novel, Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, Melinda is unfortunately a young victim of rape who silently possesses a hidden, screaming message. Ever since the incident occurred at the summer party, Melinda has certainly discovered a few positive, defining characteristics of herself. She has definitely grown from being temporarily defined as timorous and fearful of speaking up into a courageous, passionate teenager.…

Laurie Halse Anderson the author of the book Speak speaks through a young girl who has no friends and suffers through desperation as a freshman in high school. Anderson is well known for children and young adult books and has even earned the Margaret A. Edwards Award from the American Library Association in 2009 and was recognized after writing the book Speak in 1999. “Laurie Halse Anderson was born on October 23, 1961 in Potsdam, New York where she loved the fact that they lived near Canada.”…

That summer, everything had changed for Melinda Sordino. Her peers would not view her the same consequently her freshman year would be off to a rocky start, but when the past is uncovered things will change.Through the book Speak by Laurie Halsey Anderson we live through the sad story of a depressed teen who enters high school with no friends and is hated by her peers. We are able to understand the difficulty high school teenagers face, specifically when faced with something so big.There is no…

is a senior boy approaches to Melinda and rape her. After the rape, Melinda quickly calls the police, but she cannot tell what happen to her. Other students think Melinda is being such a jerk who is trying to make people to get in a trouble. Therefore, she completely gets isolated from her friends and other students. The author of this book demonstrates Melinda's depression and overcoming her ordeal by usage of symbolism for…

that acts as her escape is her art class, her teacher, and her art project. All the while at school she has to face “IT”, also know as Andy Evans. Dehumanizing Andy Evans by calling him IT helps Melinda block out what he did to her that night. Andy Evans raped Melinda Sordino and no one knows about it. Melinda called the cops, but she was not calling them on the party, she was calling them on…

However, times like those make us who we are which is strengthening. In “Speak”, Laurie Halse Anderson takes us on an adventure with a dynamic character named Melinda. Melinda was like any other teenager, until a traumatic experience turns her into a judgemental and isolated human being. Throughout the book, the reader follows Melinda into her deepest thoughts and see how she overcomes the event that traumatized her. An inspection of the novel “Speak” declares how Laurie Anderson establishes…

Phases in the Life of Melinda Mr. Freeman said “Be the tree.” to Melinda in Laurie Halse Anderson’s novel Speak. Melinda’s growth is described through her artwork, and other forms of the trees in this novel. In this story, Mr. Freeman, the art teacher, passes around a globe full of subjects for the students to work on for the entire year. Melinda reaches inside, and pulls out the slip of paper that says “tree”, at first she thinks that the subject is stupid and boring, but it ends up helping…