Analysis of laurie halse andersons speak
She used to be very social, outgoing, and loved until one night at a party. Things went wrong and Melinda called the cops. There was drinking and drugs at the party, but this isn't the reason Melinda decided to crash the party. Click here to see the rest of this review After that night, no one could forgive her.
On the bus, she attempts to avoid the other students, who immediately begin to alienate and bully her. She notes that the same peers who are tormenting her used to be her friends in middle school; by the time the bus is full, she is the only student sitting alone. Melinda fears the idea of growing up, as well as the rejection of her peers.
For her, something as ordinary as a school bus is torturous, filled with former friends and acquaintances who now go out of their way to reject her. The source of this change in her life is at this point unclear to the reader, which suggests the way that it is also unknown to her peers and repressed by Melinda.
She relates how she spent the last month of the summer watching cartoons by herself, rather than hanging out with her friends or even answering the phone. The fact that she is an outcast makes her unhappy, but also allows her to see the truths about high school life that her peers miss.
The subplot of the school mascot, meanwhile, strikes a humorous note in an otherwise unhappy section. It also reveals that, beneath her depression and apathy, Melinda is witty and perceptive.
Active Themes Melinda sees her old friends, with whom she used to be in a clique called the Plain Janes: Over the summer, the group split up, and all the girls except for Melinda have joined new cliques.
Behind her, she hears Rachel laughing at her. For Melinda, the move to high school—a classic symbol of growing up—has brought about only pain and isolation.
At the same time, however, she hates her bedroom for being too immature. Caught between adulthood and childhood, Melinda feels that she has no place in life. Active Themes At a school assembly, after hesitating too long as she looks for somewhere to sit, Melinda is reprimanded by Mr.
Neck, her future social studies teacher. Although Melinda is lonely, she shies away from the idea of friendship or connection. When Heather acts friendly to Melinda, she immediately reacts with suspicion. Melinda is incredibly cynical, but also smart and funny. She hides her intelligence, however, beneath her silence and defensiveness.
Welcome to Merryweather High. Retrieved September 16, Plot Analysis of Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson Plot The sequence of related events that make a story hang together. Basic Situation Also called the exposition, the basic situation presents a main character who wants something very much and who encounters a a conflict while trying to get it.
Speak, published in , is a young adult novel by Laurie Halse Anderson that tells the story of high school freshman Melinda Sordino. After accidentally busting an end of summer party due to an unnamed incident, Melinda is ostracized by her peers because she will not say why she called the police.
Essay about Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak Words | 6 Pages. Speak Essay Melinda was an outcast and loner in high school who was overwhelmed, fearful, and confused with her life and her environment at school.
Oct 22, · Laurie Halse Anderson is a fabulous writer. She has a very distinctive writing style; It’s an unfiltered stream of consciousness that feels so real. I previously read Wintergirls and found t 4/5. Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak is a novel that makes a definite argument.
The title gives us a pretty big hint as to what this might be. In short, the novel argues that if you are a victim of a sex. Praise for Speak “In a stunning first novel, Anderson uses keen observations and vivid imagery to pull readers into the head of an isolated teenager Yet Anderson infuses the narrative with a wit that .
