Speak Andy Evans Character Analysis

Forever Changed Who has impacted your life the most? Is there a particular person that you can always count on to talk to you? Is there someone that always seems to boost your confidence or who can make you work harder? In the novel Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson, Melinda had some of these individuals in her life. She also had folks in her life who had a negative effect. A few of the people that had the greatest impact on Melinda were Andy Evans, Mr. Freeman, and Ivy. Andy Evans had both a positive and negative effect on Melinda. Her mental breakdown that she went through would not have happened if Andy had not raped her. She hated life after the horrendous incident. Her life was forever changed. She had no friends, and school became difficult. It was all she could think about. However, the positive effect that he had on Melinda was that he forced her to find her inner voice. Maybe she was never happy before the rape? Maybe the rape forced her to stand up and …show more content…
Freeman, her art teacher, had a major impact on Melinda in the novel. He made her feel comfortable right from the start of her high school career. The novel inferred that he might have known her from a past class or perhaps he knew her outside of school. It can also infer that she has always felt safe in that classroom. “Art follows lunch, like dream follows nightmare” (Anderson 10). The way she talks about heaven being after hell, she feels safe in the art room/ Mr. Freeman’s room. In the novel, he gives her a ride to her mom’s work place, when no one else had time to do so. He proved to Melinda that he will always be there to talk to her even if she feels like she has no one else. Melinda takes him up on that offer and tells him about the rape. This is the first time she has verbally told anyone about the rape. It can be awkward and difficult for a girl to talk to a guy about a rape, as opposed to a girl telling a girl. This showed the level of respect and trust that Melinda had for Mr.

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