Thursday, 8 January 2015
Laura’s Journal Entry #3
"Speak" reminds me of a novel I did a
report on a couple of years ago; “Out of Sight, Out of Time,” by Ally Carter.
Although these novels are far from the same, there are many connections that
can be made between the two. The main characters in the novels are both teenage
girls that have gone through horrendous situations in which have put them in the
same dark, dreary state of mind. In the book of the same series prior to “Out of Sight,
Out of Time,” Cameron Morgan, the main character runs away from her locked down
safe-school, in hopes to find a ring of criminals referred to as, "the circle," that have been a danger to her
family for years. When she eventually
ends up home, safe and sound, yet hurt and deprived of her rights, she's either neglected or picked on by her friends and peers for doing such a “reckless and inconsiderate” thing, that ended up her both physical and mental harm. This greatly resembles when
Melinda goes to the party and calls the cops. Just like Cameron's, the
consequences include the feelings of violation, and pain. What happened during the party, and what happened during Cameron's time away from home are the initial problems in both novels since aside from the fact it causes Mel and Cam to become outcasts, it
also leads them to lose their positive outlook on life, their reason to care
about the choices they make, and their childhood and innocence. A second similarity among the
novels is the girls comeback, their awakening. Towards the end of the
third portion of "Speak," we see Melinda beginning to rekindle her
relationships with former friend Ivy. We even see her take action when
she’s worried about her ex-best friend Rachel. After being in this depressing slum
for so long, Melinda is progressively overcoming the effects that rape had on
her, and is gaining back her personality and her voice. In the same way,
towards the end of “Out of Sight, Out of Time,” Cameron is able to overcome her
memory loss, the power of being mentally programed, and all she's been through to reconnect with her
eventually forgiving friends. In general, both books have a very somber, dark,
dreary mood, and follow the journey of two young, hurt outcasts who go the lowest points of
their lives and are able to find the strength to recover.
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ReplyDeleteSince this entry was written after the third portion of the novel, I hadn't gotten the opportunity to add an important connection between the two novels that was able to be made only after reading the final quarter of "Speak." At the end of the novel, Melinda is attacked by Andy for the second time. Contrary to the last time, this time she speaks saying, "I said no" and pinnes his throat with a shard of glass. Just as Melinda faces the boy that started it all, in "Out of Sight, Out of Time," Cameron faces her biggest nightmare, the Circle. This time, with the help of those who love her, she is able to gather the strength to make sure she'll never have to worry about their encounter again. To conclude, at the end of both novels, the girls have self-empowering moments when the take down the ones that almost ended their own lives.
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