Speak Essay - Choose a Topic

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Consider this wisdom...

If you are asked to write a literary essay after reading a novel, there are a few different ways you can go about selecting a topic. The main thing to remember is that whatever you decide to write about, you should have plenty of textual evidence to prove it. Here are the methods for choosing a topic:

Method 1: If you annotated, flip through your book and look for any ideas, patterns, quotes, or characters that stand out to you. Think about what claim you would make about the text. Can you make a claim about the author’s development of a certain theme or symbol? Can you make a claim about a character’s motives or actions and what they show us about life?

Method 2: Look at any prompts provided to you (--->), and consider which one would play to your strengths the most. Do you have a strong understanding of the theme? Or a specific symbol or character? Do you know you have plenty of textual evidence (annotations) to respond to a specific prompt?

Method 3: If you have the option to choose your topic, consider using the provided prompts to inspire a different, more complex or interesting topic. Just remember that you need plenty of textual evidence to prove your ideas.

Essay HACK: While they do recognize its importance and purpose, Mr. Sanders & Mr. Crandall are not huge fans of the standard essay format because it is something that has been overdone and overused in education. Therefore, they are encouraging you to "hack" your literary essay. "Hack" means to look at something in a new way in order to make it better. If you are interested, you may try this with your literary essay. Your challenge is to make your essay more interesting to read. Try to connect it with real, relevant ideas from your life or the world around you. What's required? Produce some form of writing that somewhere/somehow makes a complex claim(s) about the novel, Speak. Then, back it up with some type of textual evidence. Simple as that!

Essay Prompts

Topic #1

Write an essay about Laurie Halse Anderson’s development of one of the SYMBOLS in Speak. What does the symbol stand for (or symbolize)? As a writer, what does Laurie Halse Anderson do to develop the symbol? In other words, how do we know it is a symbol? Does the symbol change or progress throughout the novel? Some possible symbols to choose from are: Mouth, Lips, Throat, Ice, Snow, Trees, Plants, Freeman’s Painting, Melinda’s Project, and there are others. Remember to support your ideas with examples and evidence from the novel.

Topic #2

In Speak, there are several symbols that parallel with Melinda’s mental health and her development as a character. As Melinda’s world becomes darker, so do the symbols. Choose one of these symbols and write an essay that explains how that symbol runs parallel to Melinda’s mental/emotional health. How do we know it is a symbol? What does Laurie Halse Anderson do, as a writer, to set up the PARALLELISM? In other words, how do we know that the symbol is parallel to the way Melinda is feeling? Some possible symbols to choose from are: Melinda’s Lips, Art Projects, Hairwoman, Bedroom/Closet. You may not choose the School Mascot. Sorry! Remember to support your ideas with examples and evidence from the novel.

Topic #3

Although some parts of Speak were inspired by true events, Laurie Halse Anderson has said that Melinda is a fictional CHARACTER. Write an essay that explores if Melinda’s mental health is realistic and accurate? Is what Melinda goes through in the novel anything like what real victims of sexual assault experience afterwards? Are there certain parts of Melinda’s character that don’t fit with this? If so, what effect does that have on the novel? Remember to support your ideas with examples and evidence from the novel and research you may do. Point to specific parts of the novel that show Melinda either does or does not exhibit certain actions or feelings.

Topic #4

When an author writes a novel, they are usually trying to accomplish more than simply telling a good story. They are also trying to communicate a message, moral, or perspective to their audience, which is commonly referred to as a THEME. Write an essay that analyzes a theme in Speak and how LHA develops that theme throughout the course of the novel. While there are several themes you could pull from the novel, the two we explored in class are Identity & Self-Expression. In your essay, try to relate the theme you choose to real life in some way. Remember to support your ideas with examples and evidence from the novel.