Freemans art class, which will be the silver lining in the cloud that is her school life. He assigns her a project on drawing a tree and thats all he tells her. In the book speak, by laurie halse anderson, melinda sordino is forced into the worst year of her life. Melinda starts her freshman year at merryweather high with no friends and a terrible secret. Melinda, a high school freshman, is the protagonist in laurie halse andersons speak. Jan 10, 2011 in the first marking period of the book the main character in the book speak by laurie halse anderson, melinda sordino, does everything she can to not look in a mirror so that she cannot see herself. What are the problems melinda faces in the book speak. Melinda is very perceptive and bright, but her vision is sometimes clouded by her suffering.
Speak is a novel written and published by laurie halse anderson in 1999. The character of melindas father in speak from litcharts. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Her last name, sordino, is an italian word that can be translated as deaf. She seldom talks, and has such habits as severely biting her lip, all of which seem odd until we learn why she called the police on an endof. Melinda sordino is the protagonist of the novel speak. Melinda s only friend is heather, a new student, who tries to get melinda involved in her schemes to gain popularity. She speaks for many a disenfranchised teenager while demonstrating the importance of speaking up for oneself.
After melinda calls the police at a party in august, her former friend group ditches her and disintegrates. 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. Speak, published in 1999, is a young adult novel by laurie halse anderson that tells the story of high school freshman melinda sordino. Since shes also the narrator, everything we learn about the. At last, she is able to tell her mother the traumatic event openly. At the end of the novel, he tries to rape melinda a second time, but melinda screams and he is caught. Analysis of speak by laurie anderson 792 words bartleby. Jan 20, 2004 in the book speak, by laurie halse anderson, melinda sordino is forced into the worst year of her life. The characters ordeals were based on andersons own experiences. Two key scenes feature violence, but they are expressionistic, and most readers will be prepared for them. Speak by laurie halse anderson goodreads share book. Parents need to know that speak is a graphic novel adaptation of the acclaimed novel by laurie halse anderson, with art by emily carroll.
Describe melinda sordino featuring in the book speak answers. Please can you give me a rough outlook on melinda s body, clothes, and facial features quotes from the book would be great. In this book speak, what are some characteristics of melinda. The character of melinda sordino in speak from litcharts the.
Also known as it or andy beast to melinda, andy is the primary antagonist in speak. Soon after that, andy comes to threaten melinda when he knows that she reveals the truth to rachel. She also does poorly in school, and doesnt socialize very easily with other students. 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. How to describe the main characters from speak pen and. Melinda makes fun of the cheerleaders at her school, especially two blonde seniors whom she names raven cheerleader and amber cheerleader. Speak tells the story of melinda sordino, a high school student who stops speaking after she is raped by a classmate at a party.
An uncannily funny book even as it plumbs the darkness, speak will hold readers from first word to last. Melinda s witty, pain voice resonates with both adult and teen readers, thanks to laurie halse andersons near perfect prose. Speak is set in syracuse, new york, in the specific neighborhood and schoolmerryweather high schoolof melinda sordino in the present day. Oct 22, 1999 the first ten lies they tell you in high school. This is the only point in the book in which there is a complete disregard for grammar rules. Melinda vaguely remembers seeing a phone and calling 911 for help but being unable to speak when the dispatcher answered. Study guide for the novel speak by laurie halse anderson. Connections speak was a printz honor book cart 76 was written with nontraditional structure in the form of a journal cart 76 bending and blending. From the time she was young, she enjoyed typing and pounding away on her fathers typewriter while he would read or write poetry. Rachel and melinda have been best friends since grade school at least. The summer before starting high school, she was raped by a senior.
The remainder of the student body dislikes her for being a snitch. 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. The nonverbal communication of melinda in laurie halse. 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. How does melinda sordino change throughout the book answers.
It was also made into a movie of the same name in 2004. The speak quotes below are all either spoken by melindas father or refer to melindas father. 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. She is friendless, outcast, because she busted an endofsummer party by calling the cops, so. Speak was a 1999 national book award finalist for young peoples literature. 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. Get it today with same day delivery, order pickup or drive up. Anderson uses symbolism to illustrate melindas struggle and her eventual emotional growth as she begins to move. She is 15 years old and is beginning her freshman year at merryweather high school. 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. The author of speak, laurie halse anderson, positions the main character melinda very clearly towards communication in the beginning of the book with the. Freeman, and realizes that she may have misjudged her. The summer before starting high school, she was raped by a senior student, andy evans. That night she relives the nightmare of the last party of the summer.
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. Character qualities on the story speak by anna sandhu on prezi. She is funny and perceptive, and has the ability to be both cynical and. He is a sleazy, but attractive, senior boy with a reputation for inappropriate behavior with girls. Melinda mel sordino is the main character and narrator of laurie halse andersons 1999 novel speak.
Melinda from the book speak wanted to have friends again and get her life back, but some devastating things occurred that really affected and changed her life, so this experience lets melinda think about what she is going to do and she learns a lot about herself and gains courage and bravery. Since shes also the narrator, everything we learn about the other characters is filtered through her. He rapes melinda at a party the summer before her first year of high school. Can you give me a physical description of melinda sordino. May 20, 2008 teased and ignored by her peers, put down by her teachers, ignored she felt like they didnt care by her parents, dropped by her friends not being able to speak up about her problems or feelings which led to her not being able to speak about anything at all. Her best friend, rachel bruin, has turned against her with all other of melinda s fellow students looking away. The story follows the experiences of social outcast, melinda sordino, during her freshman year at merryweather high school in syracuse, new york. Like melinda, the main character in the story, laurie halse anderson grew up in syracuse, new york. What is a physical description of the character melinda in. Speak up for yourselfwe want to know what you have to say.
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. The symbol of melindas bedroom in speak from litcharts the. Feb 10, 2009 can you give me a physical description of melinda sordino from the book speak. The first physical description of melinda emphasizes her lips, which are in bad condition because she is continually biting them. Melinda sordino she is a sophomore in merryweather high school, syracuse, new york. Melinda sordino is the main character of the book speak.
At the end of the book, the character speaks up for herself, which is the highlight of the book, but i still think she went through so much sensitive content that teenagers shouldnt be thinking about it. Traumatic events are not stored in a normal, linear fashion, but in bits and pieces with overlapping thoughts. Character list and analysis melinda sordino melinda, a high school freshman, is the protagonist in laurie halse andersons speak. The description of the house with bits of glass embedded in the. During the book, melinda symbolizes the tree that shes drawing in mr. Jul 21, 2017 laurie halse andersons youngadult novel speak is rich with symbolism. Speak platinum edition 9780142407325 by anderson, laurie halse and a great selection of similar new, used and collectible books available now at great prices. Something horrible happened at a party before the start of school and melinda is traumatized. Melinda has always like eeman better than her other teachers because he actually. Speak combined elements of many different genres within the text including fiction, realistic fiction, and chick lit cart. While melindas closet is a haven for her hide from her new, traumatized existence, her bedroom is a symbol of the childhood innocence that.
Anderson instead writes melinda s account of the rape in the same way that her memory would construct it. 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. Freeman is also a supporter of melinda and they talk about melindas problems sometimes. In the first marking period of the book the main character in the book speak by laurie halse anderson, melinda sordino, does everything she can to not look in a.
It was then that andy evans raped her, leaving her bruised, scared and alone. Melinda sordino begins her freshman year at merryweather high school in. How does melindas tree art progress throughout the novel. In my opinion, the book was stereotypical, melinda was shy, weak and quite, something happens to her, she changes. By the end of ninth grade, melinda finds her voice and learns to speak.
Mar 20, 2008 the book s overall gritty realism and melinda s hardwon metamorphosis will leave readers touched and inspired. What is a physical description of the character melinda in speak. Get an answer for identify melindas former clan, from laurie halse andersons speak, and explain what has happened to it. At the end of the book, however, she sees amber cheerleader saying goodbye to mr. Melinda drank too much and ended up wandering alone outside in the moonlight. Laurie anderson uses the metaphor of a scarred tree throughout the book to express this pain and deal with the aftermath. While she is silent and cold on the outside, melinda has a rich interior life. Melinda sordino is a year old, ninth grader studying in merry weather high school. Speak is a wonderful book about date rape, bullying, friendship, trauma and healing. Melinda s rape permeates the text, with the author using a combination of simile and metaphor. May 10, 2011 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. I need quotes that are evidence of that physical description and find homework help for other speak questions.
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