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Book Summary
Book Summary
Speak is a novel written by Laurie Halse Anderson that introduces the reader to 14 year old Melinda as she begins high school while secretly agonizing over her rape by a senior that attends the same high school.
As the novel unfolds we learn that she attended a party in the summer with her best friend, but after too many drinks she finds herself alone, in a secluded area, with Andy, who rapes her. After the assault she dials 911, and police raid the party. To dodge the chaos she walks home and tells no one of what really happened that night.
As a result of that night, her peers shun her and she withdraws- becoming apathetic in her studies and choosing silence as a refuge. She suffers quietly for the majority of her freshman year while forced to survive multiple encounters with Andy.
Melinda seems to dread almost everything about school, although she eventually becomes friendly with a few classmates, and finds a sense of healing while working on her art project.
Things escalate after Melinda learns her once best friend plans to attend prom with Andy and decides to tell her about what really happened the night of the party. Andy is outraged, and Melinda is forced to fight him off in another assault. This time she's able to subdue him until the girls lacrosse team comes to her aid.
The novel comes to an end on the last day of school, Melinda completing her therapeutic art project, gaining her strength back, and choosing to speak about what she's been through.
Anderson, L.H. (1999). Speak. New York, NY: Square Fish
Response to Reading
Response to Reading
Speak was written just over 20 years ago, and I found it insanely relatable to what I would imagine high school might be like today. Cliques still exist, prom is still the annual culminating event, high school relationships are still dramatic and at times petty, and sadly, many students are left to toil alone, often seen as discipline problems when they really just need an opportunity to heal.
While reading this I couldn't help but feel for Melinda. She endures a traumatic event and feels like she can't talk about it to anyone. Her parents and counselor don't think to question the change in her personality and outlook on life, and her attacker is free to roam her high school. The topic of consent is huge in this novel and it would be impossible to read without questioning how this topic is approached in high school today, by students and by teachers.
Connections
Connections
I think this would be a great resource to use in a high school setting. I would recommend this novel to high school readers due to the mature content, but also because high school students are of the age when they really need to understand what constitutes as consent and sexual contact, whether they are sexual active or not. There are many misconceptions about these two topics, and as mentioned in the resources in the back of the novel, laws of consent vary by state.
As possible extension pieces I would recommend pointing out the numerous uses of symbolism within the novel, Melinda's constant reference to her cracked lips representing the ugliness and shame she feels inside, her use of an abandoned janitor's closet and her own closet representing her need to hide, and the trees representing change, life, and growth.
I could also choose a few choice lines for the novel and ask students to really dissect what the writer might be trying to convey to the reader.
-Page 79, Maybe I'll be an artist if I grow up. Why did the author choose to use the word if instead of when?
-Page 102, That's what you get for speaking up. Is this a way for Melinda to justify her silence?
-Page 107, Water drips on the paper and the birds bloom in the light, theirs feathers expanding a promise. This is at the end of the novel. What could this promise be? Why did the author choose the verb bloom?
Speak is now also a graphic novel. Click here to check it out.
This is a video of Laurie Halse Anderson discussing Speak.
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