Dolly's Journal Entry 3

I really like the third part of the book "Speak" way more than the other ones because Melinda is more confident and less depress, she’s kind of funny and she decided to try to make her situation better. With this book, a lot of people can relate to it but for sure they don't have exactly the same story, I think that the author is trying to tell us something, she trying to say that there is always light in the darkness and even if we think that we are all alone in this battle there will always be someone that we didn't expect at all who will help us to reach the light. In this part of the book a lot of things happens. Like I thought, Heather didn't thought of Melinda as a friend and kind of used Melinda to not be alone till she founds a group that likes her, when she did find a group she didn't want to hang out with her anymore because she's too weird and depress when in reality Melinda helped Heather a lot to be in that group. I kind of felt sad for Melinda when she thought that the valentine note that was on her locker door was from Andy Evans or David Petrakis or a another guy that maybe likes her because she was so happy that someone cares about her but next thing you know the valentine note was from Heather to apologize. In this book Mr. Freeman is the only character who kind of care about her, he make her progress and evolve in life by doing art, he is there for Melinda when she needs it and he’s also the only one that tells her that he would like to hear what she has to say. He's like the father that Melinda wants her real father to be with her during her teenager stage and difficult situation. Later on in this chapter, the author finally stops the suspense and tells us about what happened to Melinda during last summer party and I wish I wasn't right but I am; Melinda got raped by Andy Evans. In this chapter, she opens up to us but I wish that in the last part of this novel she will take this secret out of her and will tell to other people like Mr. Freeman what happened and that they will believe her and help her. I can’t wait to read the next last part and to see what’s going to happen.     

 

 

Emily's Journal Entry #4

Laurie Halse Anderson really stepped up her game in the last quarter of Speak. Melinda's character blossomed beautifully and she has taken many steps in becoming the person she once was. One of the first things that showed Melinda's growth was when she cleaned up the yard after the snow finally melted. It was a small act, but it showed that she has the potential to work hard on things and when she asked her father to pick up flower seeds, it really showed us that she enjoys seeing the outcome of her work. Another stepping stone for Melinda was when she finally stood up to Heather. After month of Heather using Melinda to help with the work that the Marthas dumped on her, then cut all ties with Mel and fully joined the Marthas because Mel had a "reputation", she came crawling back for her assistance with prom decorations, she said no. It must have been extremely difficult for Mel, but it really helped with her confidence. There was a step taken back when Melinda told Rachel who raped her the night of the party. Rachel had just started dating Andy Evans, the boy that raped her. The conversation between Mel and Rachel started off well, Rachel was very upset that Mel didn't tell her sooner about the rape and she asked her if she had told anyone and was very sympathetic towards her. The downfall of the conversation came quickly when Rachel asked Melinda who raped her. Mel answered truthfully, that Andy Evans had done it, and Rachel blew up at her, saying that she was a liar and that she was just jealous. Which lead to the climax of the book, where Melinda was locked into her closet by Andy Evans, he was trying to rape her again, Melinda broke the mirror in the closet, held a sharp piece to his neck, drawing a bit of blood and said, " I said no." Andy opened the door to see the lacrosse team there, attracted by Melinda's cries. The final scene is where Melinda finally speaks out to someone, her art teacher, Mr. Freeman. I really enjoyed the ending of this book because Melinda saved herself, no one had to help her. This book sends a message to anyone that has been harassed, that it's okay to speak out to someone about it. For a book that started off being a downer, it had a wonderful ending.

Emily's Questions- part 3- Characters

1. Do you see a connection between Melinda and her tree sketches?

   Yes, there is definitely a connection between the two. As Melinda opens up to people and develops a more positive attitude, the details and the techniques used to draw the tree become not perfect, but realistic.

2. What was your reaction when Heather broke the friendship between her and Melinda?

    I had mixed emotions about what had happened between them. I understand that Melinda is not exactly the most positive person to be around and she doesn't want to get involved in the school like Heather does, but Melinda always helped Heather out when the Marthas gave her a ton of work and Melinda would listen to her ramble on and on about whatever it is she had to whine about. Melinda was a quiet friend that needed help and Heather was so wrapped up in her own small issues that she never really gave Melinda a time to open up about her life. Melinda was always there for Heather whether she wanted to do it or not.

3. What is your opinion on the Marthas and how they have changed Heather, causing her to leave Melinda in the shadows?

    Honestly, the Marthas are aggravating. All they do is dump work on the new kids that want to joint their social clique and take all the credit for their work. They dress way to sophisticated for a high school and they think they sit on a throne when they are as equal as any other student that walks down the halls. Their up tightness puts so much stress on new comers, like Heather, to fit in that it makes them do irrational things, like dumping friends. The social standards in this group are way too high and its causing quite a few issues in the novel.

4. Do you think that Melinda and her parents' relationship has improved at all? Explain.

If anything, the relationship between her and her parents got even worse. One part in this quarter of the book is dedicated to them arguing in the principals office. It is not all Melinda's fault, her parents are always so busy that they never sit down and talk about whats going on in their lives, which is also clearly causing a strain on their marriage. They always seem to be arguing which is only creating a negative aura in the household.

5. Do you think that Mr. Neck has been nothing but a nuisance David Petrakis and to his other students?

    Mr, Neck has always been a pain to the students in the building, but no one get more agitated than David Petrakis. In one section of the book, Mr. Neck puts on a debate about when the states should have closed up their boarders, which causes the students to rise up in anger, with their leader as David, who sets up a camera in the classroom to keep an eye on him.

6. What is your personal opinion on Melinda's art teacher, Mr. Freeman?

    Mr. Freeman is an excellent character that Laurie Halse Anderson has created in the novel. He sees that Melinda is struggling with personal issues and he tries to her her express them through art instead of bottling them up. He seems like the only reasonable person she can talk to openly with and he also states that he would really like to hear what she has to say more often.

7. What happened at the end of the marking period?

    The end of the marking period is where we find out what happened to Melinda at the party that August, she was raped by a senior named Andy Evans, who shows up a few times prior to this point in the book. Melinda was showing signs of being extremely nervous and uncomfortable around him, so it was an easy guess as to what had happened.

8. Do you think that Rachel's reaction to Melinda calling the cops that night at the party was irrational?

    Absolutely, if Rachel was a true friend, she wouldn't have gotten so upset as to completely cut off all connections with Melinda and never give her a second thought. If she had honestly cared about her, she would have asked her what was wrong right away and then comforted her and reassured her that everything was going to be alright.

9. Has your opinion on Melinda changed at all throughout the story? Explain.

    Over all, Melinda's character has become more tolerable throughout this quarter of the book. Her thoughts have become more positive and she is showing a side of her that we have yet too see, which is a nice break from all the gloom and  sadness we have seen for half of the book, she is even developing a sense of humor, a darker sense of humor, but humor none the less.

Laura's Journal Entry #4

First off, I’d like to touch on the way Melinda has developed throughout the book. At the beginning of the novel, I’ll be honest, Melinda irritated me, I couldn't understand her, and it would be an understatement to say the attitude she had towards life aggravated me. However, during the last fifty pages or so of this book, I've fallen in love with the person she’s become. She starts to care. She spends good time and effort cleaning her lawn, and gardening, she puts her everything into a school project, and etcetera. I feel so proud of Melinda, almost as a parent would of their own daughter. She is getting things back on track, which after a period of such deep depression is so hard to do. I personally find it extremely inspirational the things she is able to do. I feel as if finally being on this “peak” during a life-long journey of peaks and valleys, is not only affecting her, but the people around her as well. Mel’s and her belligerent-behaving parents are now a unified family. Now that she is her true self, she is able to make and rekindle relationships that are real, and do not take advantage of her well-being, such as those with David, and former friends Rachel and Ivy. Although Melinda’s optimistic attitude is great, it is not until the end of the chapter she has truly transformed. When Melinda is attacked for the second time by Andy Evans, she yells, she fights rape, grabbing a shard of glass and pinning Andy’s throat with it. This for me, is undeniably the most touching, amazing moment in the entire book. She was the one that took control, spoke out. A theme-involving quote from Speak reads, “When people don’t express themselves, they die one piece at a time.” Melinda was nearly dead, and according to the meaning of this quote, at that moment, she could not be more alive. Looking back to the theme of transformation, like Melinda’s carving of a tree she’s been struggling to perfect through the entire novel (symbolism), Mel was a mess, she felt unloved, broken. However after she finally stands up for herself she is able to finish her tree, and it is beautiful; hurt and imperfect, but strong, beautiful, and unique, just like Melinda.

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.

Daisy Journal Entry #3

To me speak is a novel all about adolescence and growing up. Because this story is told by  a teenage  point of view it is very easy for almost anyone who is a teenager and who is in high school to relate to this book because we are all going through the same thing, well maybe not the exact same situation as Melinda, but we have all gone through tough times. We have all felt isolated in our lives and we have all felt as if speaking out loud and talking about our problems will only worsen the situations we are in. This novel's moral is to speak out, as speaking out although may seem hard at the time is going to be the best thing you could have done in the end.  Speak is a good lesson for everyone. Speak tells us that you should never have to feel like you have to keep your emotions bottled up, you should never feel like there is no one who cares about you because there always is. For example Melinda thinks that no one in her life cares about her anymore, she thinks that she is all alone in this world. In this part of the novel Melinda's art teacher shows her that he cares about her. When he gives her a ride to the store he tells her "You're a good kid. I think you have a lot to say. I'd like to hear it." This gives a spark of hope in the novel, it shows Melinda that people do care about her and I feel like this indication will help Melinda communicate her feelings in the end. If she knows that there are people who care and who want to listen, than she will have a better and more likely chance to tell them her story and to speak up.

Emily's Journal Entry #3

In the third part of Laurie Halse Anderson's book, Speak, we see that Melinda is starting to come out of her shell little by little and talking to people. Not about her issues really, but she's talking to her parents a bit, she's talking to a girl in her art class named Ivy, as well as her lab partner David Petrakis. This took a lot of guts for Melinda because we know she is really introverted. Another huge step for Melinda was she finally said no to Heather when she showed up at her house, telling her that she hates the Marthas, and that Mel was so smart to leave that group, but then asked Melinda to help her set up decorations for prom that the Marthas dumped on her. Well, she didn't really even ask Melinda, she kind of assumed that she would help her, which is somewhat Melinda's fault because she never spoke up about anything which made Heather assume that Melinda would never refused anything when she asked her to do it. Heather's reaction when Melinda said no really irritated me because, what was she expecting? That Melinda was just going to forgive her for abandoning her to the shadows? Well she was wrong, and when Melinda said that she had to leave, she left in a huff because she didn't get her way as she usually does with Melinda. Some symbols of Melinda's growth as a person is shown through her art work. Her trees have been getting better in detail, but never quit right, representing that she's opening up to people but never all the way. Melinda is becoming more tolerable as a character, which is changing my negative feelings towards the book into more positive ones.