The second quarter of Laurie Halse Anderson's book, Speak, takes place between thanksgiving and a little bit after winter break. I had a lot of issues with the first part of the book, but now its getting ridiculous. One of the bigger issues I have with this part of the book is Heather, Melinda's so called 'friend'. Heather is extremely naive when it comes to Melinda and her personal issues. She is only using Melinda to get in with the Martha's and Melinda is not doing anything about it because Heather is all she has in the way of friends. Heather is portrayed as some sort of 'perfect civilian' but she is really starting to tick me off. She makes Melinda do all of her 'Martha work' while she's off modelling. Which brings me to the second issue I have with this book. The photographer that takes the photos at the first shoot kept telling Heather to be sexy and 'think beach, think boys'. I don't agree that you should be telling a girl in grade nine to be sexy, media today already tells girls that they need to be stick thin but also have a large chest and rear, but they also say to be who you are. It's very confusing for girls and it tends to lead towards several health issues and eating disorders. Heather is already at a size one and a half and shes aiming for a size one when the average woman in the United States is a size fourteen. The Martha's are now swarming Heather because she is a model and they all want to be her new best friend, leaving Melinda in the background. A short while after that has died down, there is one quick scene where the author makes Melinda cut herself on her left wrist. Self harm is a prominent issue in society, just like eating disorders, and I do not believe it should be written the as it was. Laurie Halse Anderson wrote it as if it didn't mean anything, like Melinda was bored and wanted to see what it was like which hit a nerve because it isn't something that I take lightly. The author made this book with so many issues in it and I am not sure how she is going to tie them all up in the end to make some sort of happy ending, if it even has one.
I am in complete agreement with you, I think it's ridiculous the amount of pressure put on girls and women in our society. It's unfair and wrong that qualities such as size, shape, and looks of women play such a large role in their lives. On this note, although it disgusts me, I'm glad the author included it in the book because it does address the issue, but most of because I feel it contributes to a larger idea of the novel. Throughout the book, men overpowering and taking advantage of women is often displayed. For example, how Melinda's father treats her mother with no respect whatsoever, and obviously when Mel is raped by Andy Evans.
ReplyDeleteI agree with both of you girls. There are so many roles in this novel where men think they are in control of all of the women around them, and it is not right. Melinda's dad thinks he is king of all. Andy Evens is just so gross, he makes me want to crawl and hide somewhere. He takes advantage of so many girls and he thinks it is okay to touch a girl without their consent. This reminds me of a problem we have at our own school with sexual assault. There are countless times where I walk down the halls of our high school and see so many boys slapping girls behinds. Like it is disgusting and it is a real problem. Men need to get a reality check. Sexually assaulting a women or anyone for that matter is not okay!
Delete