"I am outcast."
Who is/was/will be Melinda Sordino?
It is important to directly consider the title character of Speak, Melinda Sordino and most importantly, what it is she stands for. Melinda is described as having brown eyes, dark eyebrows, perpetually chapped lips, and she wears clothes bought by her mother that she hates. Melinda and her friends were once all very close, but the secret she keeps, and the stories it's created, break up the friendships - and the identity - she once knew.
Now, as she is embarking on her first year of high school, Melinda tends to go to school, come home, and go to sleep. She tries to blend in. She tries not to stand out. Clearly depressed about something, Melinda's parents try to understand their sudden-change daughter. She can't speak up about the burden of a truth she carries around everyday as "an ordinary girl with secrets and lies."
Melinda finds a bit of reprieve in her art class as her class assignment of "Tree" begins to fill her mind. She considers the different ways to create the subject given to her by her art instructor, Mr. Freeman.
With a new friend and a new art project and a janitor's closet to retreat to, Melinda begins her journey to ultimate freedom - she begins her journey to speak.
Melinda stands for courage at the face of an incredibly stressful and traumatic experience. She stands for the harsh realities of high schools, middle schools, elementary schools, and pretty much any social gathering. The battleground of the rumor mill is of course a topic of her character, but more importantly, Laurie Halse Anderson's title character represents a young adult who finally finds the strength to speak.
Now, as she is embarking on her first year of high school, Melinda tends to go to school, come home, and go to sleep. She tries to blend in. She tries not to stand out. Clearly depressed about something, Melinda's parents try to understand their sudden-change daughter. She can't speak up about the burden of a truth she carries around everyday as "an ordinary girl with secrets and lies."
Melinda finds a bit of reprieve in her art class as her class assignment of "Tree" begins to fill her mind. She considers the different ways to create the subject given to her by her art instructor, Mr. Freeman.
With a new friend and a new art project and a janitor's closet to retreat to, Melinda begins her journey to ultimate freedom - she begins her journey to speak.
Melinda stands for courage at the face of an incredibly stressful and traumatic experience. She stands for the harsh realities of high schools, middle schools, elementary schools, and pretty much any social gathering. The battleground of the rumor mill is of course a topic of her character, but more importantly, Laurie Halse Anderson's title character represents a young adult who finally finds the strength to speak.