Growing Pains - The Symbolism of the Tree in Speak

I have felt the paralyzing pain of internal disease. The kind of trauma that causes your mouth to curl in and swallow you whole. I, like so many other women, are walking the halls in Melinda’s shoes in “Speak.” I thought Laurie Anderson did a phenomenal job of twisting all of the tribulations a high school girl goes through, into the tree that Melinda is. Whether we’re as strong as an oak or weak as a bush, we have all gone through the disease that strikes Melinda from the inside out.

Melinda is like a half-dead tree. Some parts of her strive to blossom and create beauty. Other parts are broken and diseased. Like a dead tree, Melinda needs to save herself and “cut off the damage, [so it] is possible for the tree to grow again” (187). The symbolism of a tree is significant in “Speak.” Trees reflect her growing process. In the beginning, Melinda is a sick and lifeless tree. Her view is negative and dark. She’s so far past repair, bursts of sunlight do her no good. Sunlight would be people like David and Ivy. They try to help, to be friendly, to help her grow, but her problems are internal. The bark will never show what the wood will. She has to help herself, to fight this sickness in order to grow again.

In art class, Melinda picks the concentration of a tree out by chance. This reflects her choosing herself. At first, she struggles with her art like she struggles with her image. She can’t seem to get either right. She doesn’t know who she is and seems to forgotten how to draw. She has forgotten how to be herself. When she tries to “carve it, it looks like a dead tree… I can’t bring it to life.” Melinda would “love to give up, Quit” (78). However, Mr. Freeman refuses to let her quit on herself or her art. Mr. Freeman is like the chainsaw that assists the final process of healing. He reminds her that “the next time you work on your trees, don’t think about trees. Think about love, or hate, or joy, or rage- whatever makes you feel something. Focus on that feeling. When people don’t express themselves, they die one piece at a time.” He interprets the death of the spirit of Melinda. She is letting herself die from the inside out. She focuses on her art on her and in turn focuses on herself. She improves herself as she improves her art. Mr. Freeman gives her the courage she needs to start over and make it right, despite the disease. In a chapter titled “Growing Pains,” which is obviously about the issues she faces along the road to recovery, Mr. Freeman pushes her even further. He sits down with Melinda to criticize her work. He says, “you are getting better at this, but it’s not good enough. This looks like a tree, but it is an average, ordinary, everyday boring tree. Breathe life into it. Make it bend_ trees are flexible, so they don’t snap. Scar it, give a twisted branch- perfect trees don’t exist. Nothing is perfect. Be the tree” (153). Mr. Freeman acknowledges the effort Melinda is making, but it is not enough to rid her of her demons. He reminds her that it’s ok to wear your past as a scar. Her flaws are what make her, not break her. In order to be the tree, she has to fight this disease. She has to face her fears and completely cut the sickness from herself.

            “IT” is her disease. He creeps up her trunk and strikes her branches, every aspect of her life, until she is nearly dead. He doesn’t allow her to blossom, to soak in the sun or escape his deathly grip. Andy Evans is “trouble with a capital T” (162). He robs her of her innocence and continuously taunts her. Unfortunately, he is not her only foe. Heather and the Marthas contribute to her downfall. Heather seems like she is trying to help Melinda grow, but it is a mask for her selfish ways. Like a shiny, metal watering can full of motor oil. Heather informs Melinda that they “were never really, really friends… you don’t like anything. You are the most depressed person I’ve ever met” (105). Instead of helping like Mr. Freeman, she abandons Melinda in the worst way. Fortunately, these diseases stand no chance against the strength of a solid oak.

            Melinda fights her demons. When Heather comes running for help, Melinda responds with “no, I won’t help you" (179). Melinda chooses herself over drowning in another disease. She fights back. She wins. Another branch blossoms. Her ultimate victory is defending herself against her attacker, Andy. Melinda is cornered and Andy forces himself upon her. Melinda has come too far and has grown so strong that “a sound explodes from [her]. ‘NNNOOO’” (194). She refuses to let the disease take her life again. She fights and she wins.

            Mr. Freeman comes back into the picture. It is the final days of class, and Melinda turns in her project. He takes a look at it and says, “you get an A+. You worked so hard at this.” Melinda has fought her battled and won. She has worked on herself, despite the many copies throw in the trash, she has ultimately rid herself of her disease. Her branches blossom, her roots grow deeper and her trunk grows stronger. She can’t deny the chips in the bark and the uneven branches, but she has grown. Through her downfalls, through her success, through the tiny openings on each leaf, she can speak.