Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

"Sometimes I think high school is one long hazy activity: if you are tough enough to survive this, they'll let you become an adult. I hope it's worth it."
-Laurie Halse Anderson, Speak









Summary:  Melinda is silent.  She cannot tell anyone, not her friends, parents, teachers that she was raped.  Everyone at school hates her.  She was at a party and called the cops to report the rape and when the cops came she could not report it.  She ran home and several kids at the party were arrested for drinking.  She thinks she has nowhere to turn.  Melinda returns to school while fighting a battle within herself on what she will do.

Themes: Fear, Rape/Depression, Friendship, High School, Alienation, Peer pressure

Grade Level: 9^th grade and up

Possible Student Reaction:  Students are told over and over to tell someone if they are hurt or abused.  Sometimes with no understanding that the situation is not that simple, they may not have anyone to tell.  Presenting a situation that is not easy to solve can help build a sense in the reader the right answer to a problem may not present itself immediately but can and will  become better if shared.  Some readers may also realize that being a good friend is more than talking on the phone.

Analysis:  Trees, lips, mirrors, I missed them all the first time I read Speak.  All I was focused on was, tell somebody, tell somebody, tell somebody.  The second time I read Speak I understood why it is not just a book about a young girl that is raped and keeps quiet.  Anderson has told a story with multiple layers and symbolic meaning.  It is young adult literature that can be discussed on a personal, a social, and an academic level. 

Share:

Discussion Questions and Ideas by Laurie Halse Anderson

Is this a book about making intelligent decisions?  List three decisions that Melinda makes in the book.  Tell why you think she made the decisions and consequences of the decisions. Were there any consequences of her decisions that she could not have reasonably expected?

Is this a book about friendships? Cliques? Who are Melinda's friends?  How do her friendships change?  Why do they change?

How would you describe Mr. Freeman?  What qualities does he possess that make him a good teacher?  Have you ever known any teacher similar to Mr. Freeman?

Is this a book about life in a high school?  In what ways is Merryweather High School similar to your school?  In what ways is it different?

How would you characterize Melinda's relationship with her family?

In what ways do you conform to what is expected of you?  In what ways do you rebel against what is expected of you?

Melinda demonstrates many of the symptoms of clinical depression. What behaviors does she manifest that would cause you concern if you were her friend or teacher? What would you do to help her?

Is this book “authentic?”  What makes it authentic?

What did you think of the child/parents relationship in the novel?

Talk about the many literary strategies that Anderson uses?

1. Reversals
2. Names  (What is it with the mascots?)
3. Symbols
4. Allusions
5. Themes
6. Structure
7. Characters
8. Setting

 For a lesson plan for Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson visit:

http://www.viterbo.edu/perspgs/faculty/GSmith/LessonPlanforSpeak.htm


For further information on Speak and other books written by Anderson visit:Mad Woman In the Forest.