If Melinda's Parents were Different!

Many things happen to Melinda Sordino in the book Speak by Laurie Anderson but the main thing that happens is that she gets raped by a boy named Andy Evans at her school. Melinda was going into high school for the first year and she was nervous but excited, she was invited to the end of the summer party for high school students. At the party everyone was drinking including her and that is when Andy Evans came into her life. After that Melinda skips classes, failed school, and never talks to anyone. Melinda's parents don't know what has gotten into her and don't know why she is acting the way she is but they really don't do anything about it. They don't find out what is going on and because of them that is why Melinda keeps everything bottled up inside and won't tell anyone what happened. If Melinda's parents were different and cared more everything would have turned out different, and maybe turned out better.

Although what Melinda went through was difficult her parents didn't help her at all. They stood and watched things happen to her. They watched her skip classes and failed school. They watched her lose all of her friends and not want to do anything anymore. Instead of standing and watching these things happen to Melinda they should have acted on it and find out what was really going on. They should have contacted the school and have found out that people would throw food at her and then acted on that and ask Melinda about. They should have cared more about the things that were happening to Melinda and they should have done something about it.

By Melina's parents not acting on anything, everything turned out bad. If they would have done something about things that were happening to her maybe she would have had friends. She never had any friends because no one knew what really happened at the party and if her parents would have stepped in and done something she would have had friends to support her to stand by her through this. Maybe if Melinda's parents acted on things she would have spoke the truth and not have skipped classes or failed school she would have done her best to do well.


There are so many things that happen to Melinda in the book Speak by some of them wouldn't have happened if Melinda's parents were different. If they would have cared more to help their daughter things would be better for Melinda and her life. Parents affect the way that their children act everyday and everything they do their child tries to do it the same. If Melinda's parents acted differently their wouldn't be a book to read because that is how much Melinda's parents affected what happened to her.

Dear Andy

Dear Andy,

Why did you have to do that to me? Why? What did I ever do to you? You took my life from me. I had friends, I was excited for high school and everything was going right until you came into the picture. You made me miserable and made me suffer for what, you made me suffer for nothing except your sake. For you to walk around school like a beast, like you’re the best thing in world you had to make me suffer. I just don’t get why you had to do that to me and ruin my life, not only did you make me suffer, you made me lose my friends, have everyone hate me, and make high school the worst place. I cut classes, failed classes and was alone, I was nothing. Now that I am back on top, you are going to pay for what you did. You are going to wish you were no one. You are going to hope that you never met me. And you are really going to regret everything you did to me!


Melinda

Speak

Author's Note: I am analyzing two sentences from the book "Speak".

"The next time you work on your trees, don't think about trees. Think about love, or hate, or joy, or rage- whatever makes you feel something, makes your palms seat or your toes curl."

This is a really inspirational point for Melinda in the book "Speak". The symbolism in this book is trees... dead or alive, with leaves or no leaves Melinda always draws them different. The trees symbolize her and her life, she feels dead inside which then she draws the trees dead. Once in a while she draws the trees somewhat growing, like when she met Heather and finally had one friend. When she lost Heather as a friend she was alone again, had no one, was no one, and no one cared and that is when she was drawing the trees dead, alone and nothing just like her.

Speech for the book "Speak"

In the book "Speak" one of the main conflicts is that Melinda called to cops when she was at the end of the summer party and busted everyone for drinking. Many people would think that calling the cops on people when they weren't following the laws would be the correct thing to do but the students at Merryweather High School don't think that she should have done that and now that she did everyone hates her including her best friends. Melinda is hated at school and outside of school by her friends, classmates and even people she doesn't know that were at the party. Freshman year of high school is going terrible for Melinda and the only thing that will help is that if she speaks the truth about why she really called the cops at the party.