She is terribly unhappy, because she is the victim of a vicious rape, and so spends her entire ninthgrade year trying to come to terms with what happened. Andersons did an excellent job with making the language simple, as most teenagers would like. How to describe the main characters from speak pen and the pad. Holding this book, i think of copies getting passed from person to person, lending solace and understanding. Speak by laurie halse anderson meet your next favorite book. After accidentally busting an end of summer party due to an unnamed incident, melinda is ostracized by her peers because she will not say why she called the police. He is the main antagonist of the book, and spends much of the narrative harassing melinda in various read full character analysis melindas mother. After melindas mother ruins the bird read full symbol analysis melindas closet.
Shes riding the bus to her first day of high school. The opening scene and the scene in which melinda confronts andy would be two moments in speak that can be explored through written analysis. She spies her former close friends nicole, ivy, and rachel joining new groups, leaving her alone. Hamlet is melancholy, bitter, and cynical, full of hatred for his uncles scheming and disgust for his mothers. About thirty years old at the start of the play, hamlet is the son of queen gertrude and the late king hamlet, and the nephew of the present king, claudius. Roz morris is an author, editor, writing tutor and book doctor. Since shes also the narrator, everything we learn about the other characters is filtered through her. In a narrative that spans geography and time, from the atlantic ocean in the seventeenth century, to a correctional institute in texas in the near future, and told from the perspectives of five very different characters, speak considers what it means to be. I also dont believe there should be any difference between genres, as character is just as important in genre thrillers or romance as it is in literary fiction however, its important not to get too hung up on the order in which you have your ideas, as. She is intelligent and, by the standards of her time and place, a tomboy. She is 15 years old and is beginning her freshman year at merryweather high school. Speak, published in 1999, is a young adult novel by laurie halse anderson that tells the story of high school freshman melinda sordino. At the end of the novel, he tries to rape melinda a second time, but melinda. Melinda wishes she could tell rachel, especially rachel, her secret.
She also does poorly in school, and doesnt socialize very easily with other students. Speak by laurie halse anderson is an ageappropriate novel for teens with believable characters and situations. It was also made into a movie of the same name in 2004. This article is a story written by a girl, who was raped by her older stepbrother at a young age. Melinda needs to come to terms with her rape and andy evans and let that part go, or chop it off, in order to begin to recover. Detailed analysis of characters in laurie halse andersons speak. He could be described as pretentious and selfabsorbed. Peak doesnt think of himself as extrordiarily talented at all, but his mentor, teacher, vincent feels otherwise. Melinda used to pretend she was a princess and one day the king and queen would come get her in a limo. This is a gritty, powerful book that teachers and parents could use to launch a number of discussions. In the book, the sick parts of the tree need to be chopped off in order for the tree to get better and grow. Her old friends wont talk to her, much less sit with her on the bus. Due to her trauma and inability to tell anyone about what happened, melinda spirals into a dark depression.
Why is character an important element in short stories. Shakespeares comedic characters are just as memorable as his tragic ones. Scout finch the narrator and protagonist of the story. Most obviously, it refers literally to melindas inability to use oral speech after andy rapes her. She speaks for many a disenfranchised teenager while demonstrating the importance of speaking up for oneself. The importance of character names go into the story. The characters in the book, the kids, the parents, the teachers, the students, etc. Melinda, a high school freshman, is the protagonist in laurie halse andersons speak. Edwards award for her contributions to young adult literature in 2009, published her first novel, speak, in 1999. All of the ninth graders are corralled into the auditorium for an introduction to high school life.
Speak is a novel about empowerment and it is a book that every teen, especially teen girls, should read. Speak study guide contains a biography of laurie halse anderson, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary. Because characters are such an important element in short stories, the kind of character that the writer presents is also of the utmost importance to the development of the story as a whole. What are 10 major events that happened in the book speak. What are 10 major events that happened in the book. The only person who speaks to her is heather, a girl.
Speak is set in syracuse, new york, in the specific neighborhood and schoolmerryweather high schoolof melinda sordino in the present day character list. Also considered the protagonist, she is the character that readers watch bloom from the tormented, quiet girl at school into a strong defender. Learn all about how the characters in speak such as melinda and ms. To create this article, 27 people, some anonymous, worked to edit and improve it over time. Need help on characters in laurie halse andersons speak. A vocabulary list featuring 30 great words from speak, by laurie halse anderson.
He is the main antagonist of the book, and spends much of the narrative. Speak was a 1999 national book award finalist for young peoples literature. Character list and analysis melinda sordino cliffsnotes. Rachel and melinda have been best friends since grade school at least. Speak second marking period through page 92 summary. When speak was published 20 years ago, there were very few stories like it. The story takes place in coconut cove, florida, in the present day.
At the end of the book, however, she sees amber cheerleader saying goodbye to mr. Immediately download the speak summary, chapterbychapter analysis, book notes, essays, quotes, character descriptions, lesson plans, and more everything you need for studying or teaching speak. Accurate descriptions of the minutiae of high school will appeal to any teen who has felt like an outsider, and when melinda is finally able to speak, readers will rejoice in her triumphs. When a limo showed up to take her dad to the airport she was frightened thinging it was the king and queen coming to ake her away, so now he takes a taxi. He has just moved from bozeman, montana to coconut cove, florida, where he is the proverbial new kid. Whatever genre you write, whatever your story is about, great characters are the key to hooking your reader and keeping them until the final page. He thinks peak is epecially talented in writing and language arts, this is quite clear to the reader because peak is writing this documentary, the book, for an end of school project. He attempts to rape melinda a second time at the end of the novel, but she successfully fights. Its similar to my book because of the way she reacted. Shes important to the story because shes important to melinda. In addition, people who could speak but fail to do. Analyzing this particular scene can display how melinda has become like the trees she draws. Hamlet the prince of denmark, the title character, and the protagonist. There is a time to be quiet and a time to speak out, and on the issue of sexual assault, a young woman needs to find the courage to raise her voice and ask for help.
Melinda called the police at a summer party because a boy she didnt. In the books opening scene, melinda challenges the. She learns that the only way to counter evil is to speak out against it. The exposition of the book speak is when everything from the characters to the setting and events. Andy begins dancing with and kissing melinda, and melinda is taken aback but too drunk to say anything. She has worked in publishing for more than 20 years, run editorial departments, ghostwritten bestselling novels for other writers. There are probably thousands of movie examples where names reflect the core essence of a character, some primary value they have, or function they carry in the plot from john book, harrison fords character in witness, a good cop who goes by the book the letter of the law in opposing his friend and mentor, the bad cop chief paul schaeffer, to malcolm crowe, bruce willis.
The novel station eleven is dominated by six main characters who all connected to each other as well as the secondary characters. Also known as it or andy beast to melinda, andy is the primary antagonist in speak. The summer before starting high school, she was raped by a senior student, andy evans. Jean louise scout finch lives with her father, atticus, her brother, jem, and their black cook, calpurnia, in maycomb. Its impossible to talk about plotting your novel without discussing character as the two are inevitably intertwined throughout your book. She gulps down a couple beers before walking outside for some fresh air. At the party, melinda feels uncomfortable and out of place. Birds appear multiple times in the text of speak the most memorable of these appearances, of course, being the doomed turkey that melindas mother attempts to cook on christmas. Melinda sordino she is a sophomore in merryweather high school, syracuse, new york. Complete list of characters in laurie halse andersons speak.
Hoot setting and character descriptions thebestnotes. When she raises her voice and learns to speak, it is the most important moment of the novel. Speak is a novel written and published by laurie halse anderson in 1999. Since shes also the narrator, everything we learn about the. Scout has a combative streak and a basic faith in the goodness of the people in her community. A popular and handsome upperclassman, andy evans raped melinda at a party the summer before speak begins. In laurie halse andersons powerful novel, an utterly believable heroine with a bitterly ironic voice delivers a blow to the hypocritical world of high school. Laurie halse anderson, who received the margaret a.
The novel is a bildungsroman in a small subtle way as it shows roys. Overworked and distracted, melindas mother is aware that her daughter has suddenly. His melodramatic tendencies tend to steal attention from other characters, and his inflated rhetoric supports his exaggerated personality. In the beginning of the book, she seems to isolate herself from. This is the underlying message of speak and the message laurie halse. By the end of the novel, melinda is strong enough to name her attack as rape, fight off. The book speak by laurie halse anderson had its ups and downs. Young, funny, and locked into a lovehate relationship with beatrice, benedick from much ado about nothing is one of the playwrights most hilarious creations. While outside, melinda meets andy evans, an attractive senior boy. Freeman, and realizes that she may have misjudged her. Melinda is very perceptive and bright, but her vision is s. Who are the main characters, or the most prominent characters, in.
Raped by an older boy at an outofcontrol summer party, melinda has become an outcast at merryweather high. What is one of the internal conflicts of the main character in the book speak a ninthgrade girl named melinda is at the heart of laurie halse andersons youngadult novel, speak. Majority of authors hear their characters speak, finds. Roy eberhardt around 12 years old, he is the main character of the novel. Majority of authors hear their characters speak, finds study research on writers appearing at the edinburgh international book festival reveals 63% listen to their creations, and 61% feel they. Melinda sordino is the main character of the book speak. Speak study guide contains a biography of laurie halse anderson, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.