Speak By Laurie Halse Anderson: Character Analysis

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During my initial reading of “Speak” by Laurie Halse Anderson, I noticed how pessimistic the main character, Melinda, is. Because Speak is written from her point of view, it gives the idea that everything about Melinda’s life is miserable. Melinda’s depressing view on life was due to her being raped by Andy Evans, a high-school senior, during a summer party. At school, Melinda rarely talks to others unless it’s absolutely necessary and does a lot of thinking based on her surroundings. In my opinion, I think that Melinda and Christopher from “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” by Mark Haddon are similar in terms of their personality and the tone they use which in both cases is often bland yet descriptive.
After going through a devastating experience, isolation and depression are most likely to occur to the person whom experienced it. During the beginning of the novel, Melinda refers to herself as an outcast; “I have entered high school with the wrong hair, the wrong clothes, the wrong attitude. And I don’t have anyone to sit with. I am Outcast” (Anderson 4). The reason for this is because of her losing all of her friends after the incident at the party, including her best …show more content…
Anderson mainly uses imagery when describing the physical traits of other characters in the book. Such as in the beginning of the novel when describing Melinda’s English teacher in page 6; “My English teacher has no face. She has uncombed stringy hair that droops on her shoulders. The hair is black from her part to her ears and then neon orange to the frizzy ends… I call her Hairwoman”. A bit of metaphor is also found throughout the novel, including on page 7 when Melinda is going to the cafeteria; “I dive into the stream of fourth-period lunch students and swim down the hall to the cafeteria”. Anderson uses imagery and metaphor in order to give readers a more specific picture in their minds of what is being
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Speak Laurie Halse Anderson Character Analysis

superior understanding of courage, stating "We must build dikes of courage to hold back the fools of fear". Laurie Halse Anderson would most certainly with this statement because she has made an entire book about a girl showing courage. In the book "Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson who displays courage? The main character and one less obvious character shows courage in the book. The main character is a Melinda and she shows courage by sticking up you to seniors in her high school and doing the right…

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