The remainder of the student body dislikes her for being a snitch. Two key scenes feature violence, but they are expressionistic, and most readers will be prepared for them. The book speak is interesting because in the story it happens that melinda draw a tree with which she identifies because she keeps a secret that she spent one night in a party. Melinda sordino is the main character of the book speak. Edwards award for her contributions to young adult literature in 2009, published her first novel, speak, in 1999. What is one of the internal conflicts of the main character. The character of melinda sordino in speak from litcharts the. The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of 208 pages and is available in paperback format. In laurie halse andersons powerful novel, an utterly believable heroine with a bitterly ironic voice delivers a blow to the hypocritical world of high school. Speak faces the social issue of teen rape, and follows the struggle of the main. Oct 22, 1999 the first ten lies they tell you in high school. Melinda mel sordino is the main character and narrator of laurie halse anderson s 1999 novel speak. Hire melinda to speak transform lives actionable strategies.
With kristen stewart, elizabeth perkins, richard hagerman, allison siko. Speak is a wonderful book about date rape, bullying, friendship, trauma and healing. I would describe melinda and heathers relationship as a oneway friendship. She is 15 years old and is beginning her freshman year at merryweather high school. After a blurred trauma over the summer, melinda enters high school a selective mute. She is funny and perceptive, and has the ability to be both cynical and empathetic towards both her peers and the authority figures in her life. The novel begins on melindas first day in high school. This made her very confident in her artwork but it also made her feel confident in school and throughout life. She speaks for many a disenfranchised teenager while demonstrating the importance of speaking up for oneself.
Banning this book means silencing victims and their stories. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one. It was also made into a movie of the same name in 2004. Laurie halse anderson, who received the margaret a. Melinda called the police at a summer party because a boy she didnt. In this book speak, what are some characteristics of melinda. It tells the story of yearold melinda, who was raped at an endofsummer party and feels she can tell no one about it as she begins her freshman year.
The first edition of the novel was published in october 22nd 1999, and was written by laurie halse anderson. How to describe the main characters from speak pen and. She talks less and less, doesnt eat, chews her lips until their raw and bloodied, and even scrapes her arms with paperclips until they bleed. The protagonist of speak, melinda begins high school and the novel traumatized by a rape that occurred at the hands of upperclassman andy evans at a party the summer before.
Throughout the story, she seems to be holding on to a secret thats killing her internally. Wounded, silent melinda ditches class, steals passes from teachers, and deliberately cuts herself. In essence, she punishes herself for andys actions. She is ostracized from her high school community for calling the police to bust a party over the summer, and she feels like she cant. Speak is a book that not only has the power to change lives, but to save them. The new york times best selling book, speak, was written by laurie halse anderson, and first published in 1999. Melinda has keynoted, spoken, and moderated panels all over the world. The groundbreaking novel speak told the story of melinda, a teen who stopped speaking after a sexual assault. Over time, melinda s secret takes a great toll on her physical well being. Accurate descriptions of the minutiae of high school will appeal to any teen who has felt like an outsider, and when melinda is finally able to speak, readers will rejoice in her triumphs.
Melindas friends have abandoned her, and the school knows her as the girl who called the cops and ruined the party. In late 1996, i woke up from a nightmare, thinking about the character who would become melinda sordino in speak. Pdf speak book by laurie halse anderson free download 208. At the party, melinda feels uncomfortable and out of place. Speak up for yourselfwe want to know what you have to say. Who is going to believe her, even if she does muster the courage to speak up. No one, however, knows melindas biggest secret, the reason she dialed 911 over the. The author uses a lot of archetypes and allusions throughout the book to add a fuller description to the events melinda had gone through, which will help the readers to better understand what. Book melinda to host your event or moderate a panel now. Melinda sordino character analysis in speak litcharts. The book speak by laurie anderson is a book about how melinda sordino overcomes the troubles in her life, and how she learned to speak up for herself. In the first section, what are the signs that melinda has experienced a trauma.
We follow he through her first year of high school. Melinda is very perceptive and bright, but her vision is sometimes clouded by her suffering. Melinda starts her freshman year at merryweather high with no friends and a terrible secret. The characters ordeals were based on andersons own experiences. Parents need to know that speak is a graphic novel adaptation of the acclaimed novel by laurie halse anderson, with art by emily carroll. The speak quotes below all refer to the symbol of melindas closet. October of 1999, tells of the aftermath of the rape of melinda sordino.
Pick up the book, speak by laurie halse anderson today. Freemans art class, which will be the silver lining in the cloud that is her school life. Speak tells the story of melinda sordino, a ninth grader at merryweather high school in syracuse, new york. She learns that the only way to counter evil is to speak out against it. Melinda s friends have abandoned her, and the school knows her as the girl who called the cops and ruined the party. Discussionwriting guide for speak, by laurie anderson. Isolation, loneliness, and depression theme in speak. The story follows the experiences of social outcast, melinda sordino, during her freshman year at merryweather high school in syracuse. Nobody at school will talk to melinda, including rachel bruin, whos been her best friend forever. What is a physical description of the character melinda in speak. Her last name, sordino, is an italian word that can be translated as deaf. Discussionwriting guide for speak, by laurie anderson 1. Since shes also the narrator, everything we learn about the other characters is filtered through her. Melinda sordino is the protagonist of the novel speak by laurie.
She is friendless, outcast, because she busted an endofsummer party by calling the cops, so now nobody will talk to her, let alone listen to her. If a suicide attempt is a cry for help, then what is this. Speak, published in 1999, is a young adult novel by laurie halse anderson that tells the story of high school freshman melinda sordino. Raped by an older boy at an outofcontrol summer party, melinda has become an outcast at merryweather high school for calling the police. The book speak got its title because melinda never speaks up. How would you describe the relationship between heather and melinda. The story melinda sardino is a fifteenyearold sophomore whose life is dramatically and permanently changed the night she attends an end of summer party. Melinda gets harassed and bullied by a girl sitting behind her. She is friendless, outcast, because she busted an endofsummer party by calling the cops, so. From the first moment of her freshman year at merryweather high, melinda knows this is a big fat lie, part of the nonsense of high school. Melinda shares practical and gamechanging strategies, including her mindset, mojo, money methodology to help business owners.
Melinda finds out that the girls brother was at a party melinda attended and he had gotten arrested and lost his job after she called the police. Pdf speak book by laurie halse anderson free download. Melinda doesnt report the issue to the school officials because she knows that things will get. She gulps down a couple beers before walking outside for some fresh air. In laurie halse andersons young adult novel speak, melinda, a high school freshman, struggles with the aftermath of rape alone. Speak by laurie halse anderson essay 1749 words bartleby. Melinda s only friend is heather, a new student, who tries to get melinda involved in her schemes to gain popularity. Melinda mel sordino is the main character and narrator of laurie halse andersons 1999 novel speak.
The suffagettes were all about speaking up speaking for there rights. Melinda sordino is, personally, the most interesting character in the book speak by laurie halse anderson. Over time, melindas secret takes a great toll on her physical well being. Book summary over the summer, she and her friends went to a party and melinda ended up calling the police, causing her friends and everyone at the party to socially reject her. Speak by laurie halse anderson speak, by laurie halse anderson, is a story written in the first person about a young girl named melinda sordino. Melindas only friend is heather, a new student, who tries to get melinda involved in her schemes to gain popularity. Melinda feels this way because she doesnt want to join the team but she just doesnt speak up about it. In the novel speak by laurie halse anderson, melinda sordino is entering her first year of high school. Analysis of speak by laurie anderson 792 words bartleby. She is so proud and feels like she accomplished something. Will melinda ever tell someone, or will she keep it all a secret that will haunt her forever.
She also does poorly in school, and doesnt socialize very easily with other students. Speak is a novel written and published by laurie halse anderson in 1999. What are some character traits of melinda in speak. Apr 30, 2019 17 memorable quotes from melinda gates new book the moment of lift throughout her new book melinda gates points out that the best way to fight back is to speak up to say openly the very. Throughout the book, mel struggles to emerge from a cloud of depression and apathy that surrounds her, yet continually finds herself rejected and alone. At the end of the novel, he tries to rape melinda a second time, but melinda screams and he is caught. Speak tells the story of melinda sordino, a high school student who stops speaking after she is raped by a classmate at a party. Melinda sordino, the narrator of laurie halse andersons novel speak, is a 14yearold rape survivor who is deeply confused about how to process her trauma. Because speak takes place within melindas mind, author laurie halse anderson is able to vividly and achingly portray the effects of isolation and loneliness upon human consciousness. Jul 21, 2017 laurie halse andersons youngadult novel speak is rich with symbolism.
Speak was a 1999 national book award finalist for young peoples literature. The novel deals with the aftermath of melindas rape and the obstacles she encounters while trying to. The summer before starting high school, she was raped by a senior student, andy evans. August before her freshman year, melinda and her closest friends attend a party with seniors and beer. Melindas father character analysis in speak litcharts. Struggling with school, friends, and family, she tells the dark tale of her experiences, and why she has chosen not to speak. Survivors like melinda are beginning to realize the impact they can make by speaking up. The main characters of this young adult, fiction story are rachel honeybourne beauty, ivy hall. Due to her trauma and inability to tell anyone about what happened, melinda spirals into a dark depression.
The speak quotes below are all either spoken by melinda sordino or refer to melinda sordino. But the books overall gritty realism and melindas hardwon metamorphosis will leave readers touched and inspired. The whole point of the book is her finally speaking up about her rape. Melinda, a high school freshman, is the protagonist in laurie halse andersons speak. She stood in front of the class holing a sign instead of speaking. The title of the book, speak, is ironically based on the fact that melinda chooses not to speak. Melinda sordino, the narrator of laurie halse andersons novel speak, is a 14 yearold rape survivor who is deeply confused about how to process her trauma. A ninthgrade girl named melinda is at the heart of laurie halse andersons youngadult novel, speak. The first physical description of melinda emphasizes her lips, which are in. The speak quotes below are all either spoken by melindas father or refer to melindas father.
As a result of her attack and the bullying that follows, melinda stops speaking. I have seven new note books, a skirt i hate, and a stomachache. Melindas witty, pain voice resonates with both adult and teen readers, thanks to laurie halse andersons near perfect prose. The nonverbal communication of melinda in laurie halse. Anderson uses symbolism to illustrate melindas struggle and her eventual emotional growth as she begins to move. Melinda s witty, pain voice resonates with both adult and teen readers, thanks to laurie halse andersons near perfect prose. In the book speak by laurie halse anderson the main character melinda learns many things. In the beginning of the book, she seems to isolate herself from the world. After melinda calls the police at a party in august, her former friend group ditches her and disintegrates. The book is written in the form of a monologue in the mind.
In speak, what is heathers plan, and how does melinda react. I can no longer count the number of rereads ive given it. David defends mr neck for giving melinda a d on the oral report. Why do you think melindas best friends from middle school turned against her immediately rather than asking what happened. The story follows the experiences of social outcast, melinda sordino, during her freshman year at merryweather high school in syracuse, new york. The author of speak, laurie halse anderson, positions the main character melinda very clearly towards communication in the beginning of the book with the. Speak notes fourth marking period flashcards quizlet. She is very insecure and tries hard to stay as invisible as possible, for the fear of being seen or heard.