Melinda can be quite witty and eloquent in her own head, but now has trouble expressing herself to others. Melinda is very perceptive and bright, but her vision is sometimes clouded by her suffering. Mel is a freshmen who just started high school at merryweather high school. I actually made a banner if you want to look at it. Speak is about melinda sordino, an angstfilled freshman who is hated by all of her best friends because she called the cops during the end of the summer senior party. Melinda discovers an abandoned janitors closet at school, and she converts it a homeawayfrom home.
Explore our collection of motivational and famous quotes by authors you know and love. In the book speak, by laurie halse anderson, melinda sordino is forced into the worst year of her life. The preservation of peace and the guaranteeing of mans basic freedoms and rights require courage and eternal vigilance. When she remembers her friends, she realizes that they have since abandoned her. Melinda attended the party with her friends and was very excited about the upcoming school year. 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. After accidentally busting an end of summer party due to an unnamed incident, melinda is ostracized by her. I also kind of left this hanging because if someone reading this poem hasnt read the book or seen the movie i dont want to spoil it for them.
Summary and analysis first marking period, dinner theaterhalloween summary melindas parents receive an update on her grades and confront. Her life is completely changed as the memories of this horrible summers night haunts her and affects her deeply. Oct 22, 1999 speak is about melinda sordino, an angstfilled freshman who is hated by all of her best friends because she called the cops during the end of the summer senior party. I can tell that your mind is a place full of deep thoughts and questions, and i want to encourage you to let those inquisitions out and to free your mind. The character of melinda sordino in speak from litcharts the. Instead, she uses sarcasm, nicknames, and nailbiting to distance herself from the pain she feels. October of 1999, tells of the aftermath of the rape of melinda sordino. The theme of memory and trauma in speak from litcharts. Her parents arent much help either, always fighting about whats best for melinda and communicating through postit notes on the refrigerator wall. Melinda sordino is the protagonist of the novel speak by laurie. At the party, melinda feels uncomfortable and out of place. Melinda begins speak burdened by memory and trauma. In speak, melinda sordino busted an endofsummer party by calling the cops.
Essay about laurie halse andersons speak 1277 words bartleby. At the party, she found many people participating in perilous behaviors. The book centers around a teenager named melinda sordino, whos just entered the 9 th grade. 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. Speak, published in 1999, is a young adult novel by laurie halse anderson that tells the story of high school freshman melinda sordino. How to describe the main characters from speak pen and. For example, one of the girls in heathers clan the marthas says, shes creepy. Get an answer for characterize melindas relationship with her family. After the events of said party, melinda goes from a bright, outgoing, friendly teenager to a bitter, angry, depressed one. Litcharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in speak, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work. Neck and a whole bunch of other weird teachers like her english teacher of who she calls. Melinda mel sordino is the main character and narrator of laurie halse anderson s 1999 novel speak. Heather from speak quotes important quotes in speak speak book pages and quotes pages and quotes from speak melinda sordino quotes speak book quotes speak by laurie halse anderson quotes abraham lincoln quotes. Speak tells the story of melinda sordino, a ninth grader at merryweather high school in syracuse, new york.
Dear melinda, when i look at you, i see a diamond in the rough. It follows freshmen melinda sordino and how she struggles through her freshmen year while keeping a dark secret inside of her. Analysis of speak by laurie anderson 792 words bartleby. You have such light and creativity in you, but it is covered in the darkness that you use a shield. Art is a way melinda distracts her self from everything else. While she is silent and cold on the outside, melinda has a rich interior life. The story is told mostly in short paragraphs, snippets of her life that read as though we too. Laurie halse andersen spins out melindas painful story in acerbic, often witty, firstperson sound bites, in which we see the realities of high school social life through melindas eyes. Melinda sordino from the book speak by laurie halse anderson.
The book is written in a monologue from melinda sordinos perspective, she is a freshman 14 years old and it begins as she starts high school. She also does poorly in school, and doesnt socialize very easily with other students. She is 15 years old and is beginning her freshman year at merryweather high school. Her last name, sordino, is an italian word that can be translated as deaf. The character of melinda sordino in speak from litcharts. She struggles with her identity, family and a new school. Freemans art class, which will be the silver lining in the cloud that is her school life. Anderson uses symbolism to illustrate melindas struggle and her eventual emotional growth as she begins to move.
Now her old friends wont talk to her, and people she doesnt even know hate her from a distance. She gulps down a couple beers before walking outside for some fresh air. Character list and analysis melinda sordino melinda, a high school freshman, is the protagonist in laurie halse andersons speak. Melinda starts her freshman year at merryweather high with no friends and a terrible secret.
Oct 25, 2017 melinda sordino s freshman year of high school is not starting off the way she wanted. 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. 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 major problem of this study is to reveal the coping behavior of melinda sordino reflected in laurie halse andersons novel speak. This closet is abandoned it has no purpose, no name. Characterize melindas relationship with her family. Melinda sordino is raped at a summer party before her first year in highschool. 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. It was also made into a movie of the same name in 2004.
What are some character traits of melinda in speak. I tried to capture the numb, melencholy feeling in the book. All that crap you hear on tv about communication and expressing feelings is a lie. In the novel speak by laurie halse anderson, melinda sordino is entering her first year of high school. She is funny and perceptive, and has the ability to be both cynical and. Youd be shocked at how many adults are really dead inside walking through their days with no idea who they are, just waiting for a heart attack or cancer or a mack truck to come along and finish the job. At last, she is able to tell her mother the traumatic event openly.
The story follows the experiences of social outcast, melinda sordino, during her freshman year at merryweather high school in syracuse, new york. Nobody at school will talk to melinda, including rachel bruin, whos been her best friend forever. Melinda sordino, the protagonist of the novel speak, by laurie halse anderson, has a very oppressing life. Essay about laurie halse andersons speak 1277 words. Melinda sordino is the main character of the book speak. What are some character traits of melinda in speak melindas character traits.
In the book, speak, melinda sordino, an incoming freshman at merryweather high, starts her year off with a terrible start. 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 and how to protect other women from her. The symbol of melindas closet in speak from litcharts. The theme of memory and trauma in speak from litcharts the. 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. Speak is a novel written and published by laurie halse anderson in 1999.
A nightmare follows her from the endofsummer party, but she dares not to. Now melinda is finding it harder and harder to speak about anything at all, and she becomes increasingly withdrawn from her family and her school. Melinda, a high school freshman, is the protagonist in laurie halse andersons speak. Melinda sordinos freshman year of high school is not starting off the way she wanted. A couple weeks before school began, a backtoschool party was organized. Summary and analysis first marking period, dinner theaterhalloween summary melindas parents receive an update on her grades and confront her about her poor performance at dinner one night. Her best friend, rachel bruin, has turned against her with all other of melindas fellow students looking away.
Shes stuck with a mean history teacher, by who she calls mr. We follow he through her first year of high school. In the book speak, one of the biggest conflicts is when melinda was at a summer party. Jan 20, 2004 in the book speak, by laurie halse anderson, melinda sordino is forced into the worst year of her life. The novel begins on melindas first day in high school. Melinda s closet represents the doubleedged sword of her loneliness. Since shes also the narrator, everything we learn about the other characters is filtered through her. A nightmare follows her from the endofsummer party, but she dares not to tell a soul. The main character in my novel, speak by laurie halse anderson, is melinda sordino who is a girl who called the police at the end of summer party to save everyone else, but no one sees or. Melinda mel sordino is the main character and narrator of laurie halse andersons 1999 novel speak. Shes not exactly the most popular kid in school, due almost entirely to her calling the police at a wild teen party last summer.
After what had happened she called the cops and a lot of people got arrested for under aged drinking and taking drugs. Soon after that, andy comes to threaten melinda when he knows that she reveals the truth to rachel. The author uses a lot of archetypes and allusions throughout the book to add a fuller description to the. Find and follow posts tagged melinda sordino on tumblr. 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. After melinda calls the police at a party in august, her former friend group ditches her and disintegrates.
Character profile for melinda sordino from speak page 1. Throughout the first chapters of laurie halse andersons speak, melinda seems like your average teenage girl. The safest place to be is alone, inside her own head. At the party there was drinking and drugs but the worst part was when melinda got raped by andy evans. Melinda sordino starts her first day of high school like any other teenager. See more ideas about tree drawings pencil, social media measurement and real horror. 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. Speak by laurie halse anderson goodreads share book. Melinda sordino is a year old, ninth grader studying in merry weather high school. The remainder of the student body dislikes her for being a snitch. She has seven new notebooks, a skirt she hates and a stomachache. Melinda sordino has appeared in the following books. The story is told mostly in short paragraphs, snippets of her life that read as though we too are trapped, voiceless, inside her head. She is constantly being put down and is treated as absolute dirt.
A blog dedicated to the main character in the book speak by laurie halse anderson. 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. On the other hand, the closet symbolizes her inability to deal with the real world, and her own immaturity. The characters ordeals were based on andersons own experiences.
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