Speak

Author:  Laurie Halse Anderson
Original Date of Publication:  1999


Main Characters
Melinda Sordino:  A ninth grade girl who stays silent for a reason unknown to others
Heather:  A new student from Ohio who befriends Melinda in order to establish herself in a group
Rachel (Rachelle) Bruin:  Melinda's former best friend who eventually dates Andy Evans
Andy Evans (IT/Andy Beast):  A senior who Melinda has a fear of
Ivy:  One of Melinda's former friends who rekindles a friendship with Melinda during art class
Mr. Freeman:  The art teacher who helps Melinda find her inner-art and her inner-self
Mom & Dad:  Melinda's parents who have other things on their mind besides their daughter
David Petrakis:  Melinda's lab partner who influences her on speaking out
Mr. Neck:  A cruel social studies teacher
Nicole:  A former friend of Melinda's


Questions and Issues
This book addresses multiple questions and issues young adults may face while going through their high school years.  The main issue that is brought up is sexual assault.  The main character in the book ends up getting raped at a party.  This incident brings up more issues and questions in young adulthood.  Because Melinda was raped it leads to her being bullied by her peers.  However, her peers do not know the truth about that night.  The bullying, and the fact that she was raped, leads into the issue of her becoming depressed.  Melinda can not look at herself in a mirror for the longest time because she blames herself for what happened.  She also does not feel like she can talk and speak up to anyone about that night.  She feels as if she needs to hide it.  You can tell the signs of her depression because she sleeps a lot, she does not talk much, she stops taking care of herself, and she just wants to be alone.  The depression leads to her then cutting herself.  She bites her lip and also scratches her wrist.  Melinda probably feels numb and she wants to physically feel pain from what she went through.


Themes, Symbolism, and Recurring Patterns
There are a number of themes, recurring patterns, and signs of symbolism in Speak.
- One of the main recurring patterns in the book is self-injury, whether it be accidental or purposeful.  Melinda has a tendency to bite her lips, which is evident throughout the book.  One of the first examples we see of this is on page 5 when Melinda is in the auditorium on the first day of school.  Another example of Melinda's purposeful injury is on page 87 when she cuts herself with a paper clip.  These injurys are significant in the book because they illustrate Melinda's pain associated with her depression. 
- Another recurring pattern in the book is Melinda's obsession with bunnies.  It is seen throughout the book that Melinda has a number of stuffed bunnies in her room and is very fond of them.  It isn't until later in the book that we realize that Melinda compares herself to a bunny.  On page 97 when she encounters Andy Evans (IT) on the street she makes a "BunnyRabbit bolt" away down the street to get away from him.  She is very much seen as the prey in this encounter much like a bunny would be towards a predator such as Andy Evans.
- Mirrors seem to be another recurring thing in Speak.  We can tell that Melinda is not fond of mirrors from the start.  For example, on page 16, Melinda looks at herself in the mirror and does not like what she sees.  This mirror scene ends in  Melinda biting her lips once again.  She ends up taking the mirror down and facing it against the wall in her closet.  Although mirrors seem to be portrayed as evil towards Melinda through a majority of the book, they actually become her saving grace in the end.  On page 195, when Melinda finds herself trapped in the janitors closet with Andy Evans, she manages to break the mirror she had hidden previously and threatens Andy's life with it. 
- Trees are a major theme throughout the book.  It all begins when Melinda receives her art project.  On page 12, Mr. Freeman gives Melinda the assignment to draw, sculpt, and paint a tree with emotion.  Melinda struggles with this for a long time and nearly gives up the entire assignment.  However, as time goes on she begins to relate with the tree.  One of the turning points with this assignment is towards the end when Melinda sees the tree in her front yard being trimmed.  She realizes that you need to get rid of the old, dead pieces before you can move on and continue to grow. 
- Speaking out is the last major theme in the book.  We watch throughout the book as Melinda becomes silent and refuses to speak to most anybody.  There were a number of times when Melinda wanted to speak out and tell her story, but slowly retreated back into solitude.  Eventually, with the help of others, and through her art, Melinda gets the courage to speak up about what happened to her.  I think it's safe to say that everyone is rooting for her by the end of the book when she finally speaks up.

Allusions
There are important references to other artistic works.  A poster of Maya Angelou covers a cracked mirror in an abandoned janitor’s closet, which Melinda uses as a haven.  Maya Angelou wrote I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings that explores subjects such as identity, rape, racism, and literacy. It is an autobiography where young Maya transforms from a victim of racism with an inferiority complex to an honorable and confident woman capable of responding to prejudice.  Here, the Caged Bird is Maya and Melinda.  Another reference is Picasso, who goes through different phases in his life, and works with Cubism that re-assembles broken up pieces as art.  Melinda’s art teacher gives her a book of Picasso’s works for her paralyzed imagination on her tree designs. Here as Melinda identifies herself with her tree, she is begining to put the broken pieces of her life together.  Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter is dissected in Melinda’s English class.  In The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne conceives a daughter through an adulterous affair and struggles to create a new life of repentance and dignity.  Throughout the book, Hawthorne explores themes of legalism, sin, and guilt. And in Speak, Melinda struggles with sin and guilt.