Speak

Introduction

“Speak” is a young adult novel written in 1997 by Laurie Halse Anderson. The novel has been considered to exist under the genre of a “problem novel”, as it deals with themes such as post-traumatic stress, telling the story of a rape survivor who attends high school. In this paper, I will be analyzing the plot of the book as well as the literary style of the author. Symbolism is a strong theme revisited in the book often, thus I will be examining the ways in which the author has used it to her favor.

Discussion

Through Speak, the author has observed the kind of crude emotions and unrest that make up a teenagers life. However, it isn't done in a haphazard, unrealistic or superficial manner. Speak is considered one of the most realistic fiction stories about the battles faced by teenagers and adolescents every day, such as bullying, harassment, peer pressure and so on. The main character, Melina Sordino, is not portrayed as a superficial teenager with only boys on her mind, but a complex person who deals with her struggles much like a teenager would. She does not battle through life singlehandedly, nor are her struggles sugar coated by the author, but portrayed with sincerity and thoughtfulness. As per the movie, Melinda is smitten by a boy in her freshman year, Andy Evans, who corners her at a party. Melinda is later pulled aside from the party and raped, after which Melinda calls the police without telling them why. The police thus break up the party and Melinda is socially outcast as the girl who ruined the party for all her peers. Melinda goes through this painful period in her school without revealing the events of the night to anyone, therefore she slowly becomes a social recluse and almost stops speaking altogether. However, she does find the means to express herself through an art class taught by a Mr. Freeman. It is in this class that Melinda is most animated, and befriends a class fellow David Petrakis. As the year progresses, Melinda steadily finds the courage to speak out about her rape and is able to confront Andy about it as well. She is thus embraced by her peers and regains the company of her best friend.

The novels main theme may be sexual harassment but it gives a true account of thoughts and conflicts of teenage and adolescent life as well. When Melinda tries to approach her friend and warns her from dating the man who raped her, she is ignored and shunned. When she is forced to call the police for her own defense, she is outcast and made to feel like the bad guy. Peer pressure and the need to ensure everyone likes you is deeply ingrained in a teenagers lifestyle, thus in the novel, it becomes clear that Melinda has foregone these and decided to torture herself with feelings of shame, guilt and pressure instead. She chooses to remain silent about the way she was treated, ...