Laura's Journal Entry #2

In Laurie Halse Anderson’s “Speak,” she illustrates that without a voice, you are nothing, and people treat you as such (nothing).
Although this theme is clearly the most significant message conveyed in the novel Anderson addresses several issues throughout the book that appear in our own daily lives, and in society as a whole. First of all, we see a lot of Melinda’s family dynamic in this section of the novel. The constant arguing between Mel’s father and mother is something that so many, especially teenagers can relate to. Melinda’s parents don’t seem to realize the environment at home is a contributing factor to Melinda’s behaviour. If her parents came across more caring, maybe Melinda wouldn’t feel so scared to speak to them. Secondly, the author brings up the touchy issue of racism so well. During a class debate, the teacher is making an intolerant remark that is offensive towards immigrants. Some students take his side, while other are punished for arguing his point. Unfortunately, racism is still alive and well today in our schools, workplaces, and on our streets. Laurie incorporates this into her book to help us understand the issue. She also demonstrates the ability some teachers have to treat students a certain way depending on their beliefs, their race, and what they do, or do not stand for. In the novel in general, the author makes priority of writing about the social pyramid of high school and the way teenagers act towards one another. Melinda is always there for Heather, who is only going to be friends with her until someone better comes along. Furthermore, because Mel is so hated and outcast, it’s no big deal when others pick on her, as opposed to the way it would go down if the same thing happened to a student with true friends, popularity, and dignity. We also read about the relationship between ex-best friends that we see so often during high school and middle school. Finally, the author addressed the way women are disrespected and exposed in society. At the end of the second quarter of the novel, Heather gets a modeling job where she is told to look “sexy” and is afterwards under pressure to barely eat and lose weight. This serves the purpose of reminding us, although we’ve come a long way, especially in North America, sexism and prejudice are still huge issues, whether we realize it, or not. I feel that so often the media advertises the need to look pretty, even if it’s not a direct attempt. To conclude, in this part of the novel especially, several social issues are addressed that are extremely relatable and come up frequently in our everyday lives.