Laurie Halse Anderson Speak Analysis

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“Speak”, by Laurie Halse Anderson, shows Melinda’s ‘coming of age’ through her thoughts, struggles, and difficult transitional period from middle school to high school. The author gives the reader insight on Melinda’s secrets, memories, and her opinions of those around her. As the novel progresses, you experience ‘coming of age’ moments with Melinda, in addition to discovering her biggest influential moment, the time she was raped. During the course of “Speak”, Melinda struggles internally as she has yet to tell anyone about the rape, which is represented through the chaos of her everyday life, at school as well as home. She is shown as an outcast, who decides, “It is easier not to say anything…Nobody really wants to hear what you have to say.” As the novel nears its end, Melinda is able to …show more content…
Imagery such as, “I dive into the stream of fourth-period lunch students and swim down the hall to the cafeteria.” represent this young adult voice. This quote shows an adolescent’s way of visualizing a crowded school rushing to one compacted area. Anderson also uses syntax to effectively convey Melinda’s mood or feelings. In Speak it states, “It is easier not to say anything. Shut your trap, button your lip, can it. All that crap you hear on TV about communication and expressing feelings is a lie. Nobody really wants to hear what you have to say.” This quotation expresses the mood of Melinda, using syntax as well as diction. Anderson uses diction in “Speak” to show a teen’s more simplistic word choice. The author writes, “I see a few friends-people I used to think were my friends-but they look away.” Anderson purposely uses less complex writing to represent a young adult’s voice in first person view. All in all, Anderson uses writing techniques as simple as imagery, syntax, and diction to project a teen’s
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