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Speak by laurie anderson essa
Speak by laurie anderson essa
Speak by laurie anderson essa
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In Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, there are several important themes such as adolescence, growth, and depression. Anderson’s 1999 novel revolves around Melinda Sardino, a Syracuse teen attending Merryweather High School. Her friends have abandoned her and she struggles with depression, resulting in her lack of speech. Melinda hides away most of her school year in a janitor’s closet, but comes out in her art class where she works on various projects involving a tree. She has a deep secret, one that she can’t tell anyone. The author uses symbolism to convey anger and sadness throughout the book. The various forms of the tree hidden throughout the book provide insight into Melinda’s mental and social life.
In her story “Currents” Hannah Vosckuil uses symbolism, and a reverse narrative structure to show the story of how unnamed sympathetic and antagonistic characters react differently to a traumatic event. Symbolism can be found in this story in the way that Gary does not mind sitting in the dark alone at the end of the day as well as how both of his girls are affected by the symbolism of hands. One holding a boy’s hand for the first time and the other becoming sick after seeing the dead boy’s hand fall off the stretcher. The sympathetic and antagonistic manner of these characters is shown when both girls are told by their grandmother that they must return to the water to swim the next day. The grandmother sees this simply as a way of encouraging them and keeping them from becoming afraid of the water. However, the girls see this as a scary proposition because of what had happened, showing the grandmother as an antagonist character to the little girls.
The novel Speak, written by Laurie Halse Anderson is about a girl, who gets raped in the summer before the start of her freshman year in high school and the book follows her as she tries to cope with the depression that comes that kind of violation. This book was turned into a movie; and released early in the early 2000’s and when adapting books to film, a lot of information and details are lost in the process. When comparing Speak the novel and Speak the movie, the noticeable differences are; the character relationships, Melinda’s character, and Andy Evans and Melinda’s dynamic.
Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson, is a story written in the first person about a young girl named Melinda Sordino. The title of the book, Speak, is ironically based on the fact that Melinda chooses not to speak. The book is written in the form of a monologue in the mind of Melinda, a teenage introvert. This story depicts the story of a very miserable freshman year of high school. Although there are several people in her high school, Melinda secludes herself from them all. There are several people in her school that used to be her friend in middle school, but not anymore. Not after what she did over the summer. What she did was call the cops on an end of summer party on of her friends was throwing. Although all her classmates think there was no reason to call, only Melinda knows the real reason. Even if they cared to know the real reason, there is no way she could tell them. A personal rape story is not something that flows freely off the tongue. Throughout the story Melinda describes the pain she is going through every day as a result of her rape. The rape of a teenage girl often leads to depression. Melinda is convinced that nobody understands her, nor would they even if they knew what happened that summer. Once a happy girl, Melinda is now depressed and withdrawn from the world. She hardly ever speaks, nor does she do well in school. She bites her lips and her nails until they bleed. Her parents seem to think she is just going through a faze, but little do they know, their daughter has undergone a life changing trauma that will affect her life forever.
Speak starts with a young lady, named Melinda, attending her first day of school scoping out the school and staff without any friends. Melinda, being the quiet girl she is in the beginning of the school year, gains new friends, a new girl from out of town, and her art teacher. As the story progress, background on Melinda is revealed. She had lost her friends after calling the cops on the party because she was scared after being raped by a boy named Andy Evans. Melinda’s grades and relationship begins to dwindle down as the year goes on for Melinda forcing her to see the guidance counselor with her parents. She starts to talk a little more to her old friends as her new friend Heather has
The Holocaust was a huge historical event that changed many people’s lives. Eli Wiesel, a survivor of the holocaust, opens up about his horrifying experience. The story tells his journey of his time at the Aushwitz concentration camp, then Buchenwald. He discusses losing his family, faith, and sense of self. In “Eight Simple, Short Words”, Eli Wiesel successfully utilizes symbolism, imagery, and tone.
Many people in the world are like puppets. They move to the commands of others. Once in awhile, the puppet obtains a will of its own and moves against the crowd. Ivy, from Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, became that one puppet who moved against the crowd, with the crowd being social constructs. A social construct is something that the society makes true even though to other people, it has no value. There are many examples of social conflicts throughout the book and the clans or groups in school are social constructs. The main character, Melinda, struggled to fit into these categories causing her to be the Outcast to society. Nobody seems to want to truly befriend Melinda, causing her to be alone. Although Melinda is ostracized by her society
The plot of the book, Speak is that Melinda Sordino, a freshman at Merryweather High went to an end of the summer party with some of her friends. Things take a turn for the worst when a senior named Andy Evans sexually assaults her at the party without her friends knowing about it. Melinda is frightened, afraid, and does not know what to do so she calls 911 busting the party, and causing her friends and everyone at that school to hate her, even if they don’t know her.
This poem dramatizes the conflict between love and lust, particularly as this conflict relates to what the speaker seems to say about last night. In the poem “Last Night” by Sharon Olds, the narrator uses symbolism and sexual innuendo to reflect on her lust for her partner from the night before. The narrator refers to her night by stating, “Love? It was more like dragonflies in the sun, 100 degrees at noon.” (2, 3) She describes it as being not as great as she imagined it to be and not being love, but lust. Olds uses lust, sex and symbolism as the themes in the story about “Last night”.
because the author is saying that you need to repent and ask for forgiveness to
Authors use literary elements throughout short stories to give an overall effect on the message they give in the story. In his short story, “Doe Season” by Michael Kaplan, illustrates a theme(s) of the hardships of not wanting to face the reality of death, losing of innocence and the initiation of growing up. Kaplans theme is contributed by symbolism, characterization, setting and foreshadowing.
Speaking in Tongues, written by ZZ Packer, is a short story about a young girl who demonstrates extreme character change throughout the story. Tia Townsend starts out as an innocent, conservative church-going girl who grows and evolves into a rebellious teen. Through tone, setting, and a variety of metaphors, we are able to see how the different aspects of Tia’s life contribute to the overall plot. By connecting with the reader, Packer truly demonstrates how the struggles and experiences Tia went through ultimately shaped her as a character.
Betty Smith’s A Tree Grows in Brooklyn presents the problems of a young girl coming of age, a time when she is faced with new challenges and must overcome obstacles. Throughout the book the protagonist, Francie Nolan discovers herself maturing as she struggles with loneliness, the loss of innocence and a life of poverty in a Brooklyn slum. This theme is evident in (1.) her love for books which she uses as companionship, (2.) her outlook on the world as she matures and finally, (3.) her realization that in order to succeed in life she must obtain an education and work hard to do it.
Melinda Sordino, a freshmen, and the rest of the students at Merryweather High School live in Syracuse, New York. Speak is written from a perspective of someone who despises school. Melinda seeks safety in her art class and an empty supply closet. Throughout the book, Melinda decorates the closet with her artwork and makes it her own. She goes there to think, hide, and for the occasional cry. Melinda’s feelings and emotions are in touch with the seasons. During winter she is cold, vulnerable, and empty. But as the spring months come, she begins to blossom into the girl she used to be before the “incident.”
“The Pain Tree” written by Olive Senior tells the story of a woman who comes back home after many years and begins to think about her childhood in a new light, which changes much of what she thought she knew of her family and childhood. The story shows the main character, Lorraine, revisiting the memories of her family and the woman who had taken care of her as a child, Larissa. Children mainly focus on the happy memories which may be tied to more important topics that they do not understand until they are older. Most children do not pick up on many of the complicated things happening around them. Lorraine can now see the bigger picture of her relationship with Larissa and how large the divides were between Lorraine’s family and Larissa’s
There comes a time in life where everyone must learn to grow up and face the challenges that come their way. In the short story “Through the Tunnel,” Doris Lessing symbolizes change and blossoming into adolescence by having a young boy, Jerry, step out of his comfort zone, which is represented by the safe beach and gaining independence, which is characterized through the wild bay. Also, throughout this piece of literature, the use of symbolism is often demonstrated through these two locations, as well as creating a story behind a simple act of going through a tunnel, which represents a test for the future.