Analysis Of Speak By Laurie Halse Anderson

Women Writers and Feminism The first literature piece I decided to include in my bibliography is the novel Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. The book is about a teenage girl, Melinda Sordino, who attended a party right before the beginning of her freshman year in high school. She called the cops while at the party location and was wrongly accused of intentionally busting it. Her peers quickly shunned her for what they thought she did. Melinda falls silent except for when she is in her art class. She uses art to express her suppressed feelings as she learns to acknowledge what she has gone through. Melinda was raped by one of her peers at the party. She called the cops after the attack to report it, but fell silent when the operator came on

Lucille’s poem captures a moment where she is reminiscing on her triumph of self-exploration. She refers that she has created herself from scratch and hasn’t used any background identities, such as her religion, culture, or birthplace as a means to define herself. She is confident of who she has become and proud of everything she has overcame to get to where she is. Although Lucille does not mention any of the obstacles she has faced, it is apparent that she has had her share of struggles. The poem is full of emotion and is

Ruth, initially portrayed as an abnormally large, ugly suburban housewife, is submissive to her husband’s rule over her. Bobbo tells her she is unconfident, clumsy and always at fault for what goes wrong and Ruth believes him. However, after her husband, Bobbo, confesses his love for another woman, Mary Fisher, Ruth decides she has had enough. After burning her and Bobbo’s house down, Ruth sets off on a journey full of revenge. She earns an education, gets a job, and secures herself financially by secretly stealing money from Bobbo. As she transforms her inner self, she undergoes multiple procedures to reconstruct her entire body to look like Bobbo’s lover. Ruth reclaims her identity and strength and comes to have power over