Speak and the Symbolism of Nature
Laurie Halse Anderson's, Speak, dives into the murky, muddy waters of adolescent rape culture. When the book was published in 1999, rape was not a comfortable topic to discuss with adults, let alone teenagers. Anderson writes about Melinda Sordino and her freshman high school experience which is turning out to be rather negative. Soriano stands as a thriving young role model for struggling teenage girls all over the world. Although she isn't an outstanding student or have plenty of friends to juggle, through Melinda, other young women can see that it's completely normal and okay to struggle in high school not only academically, but socially and emotionally. One of my favorite parts of the novel isn't a super obvious quality. Throughout the novel, Melinda's attitude changes and grows with the coming of spring and through nature and art, she learns to move past her troubling end of summer experience and once again find the importance of her voice.
Melinda starts the school year alone and scared. Summer is coming to an end and the weather is getting colder. Summer coming to an end symbolizes the party that Melinda went to and what happened there; the school year strikes the beginning of her depression. Fast forward to winter and Melinda is in the middle of her depression. "Hawthorne wanted snow to symbolize cold, that's what I think. Cold and silence. Nothing quieter than snow. The sky screams to deliver it, a hundred banshees flying on the edge of the blizzard. But once the snow covers the ground, it hushes as still as my heart."(130) She has almost completely lost the ability to speak and only has the desire to sleep all the time. "I just want to sleep. The whole point of not talking about it, of silencing the memory, is to make it go away. It won't. I'll need brain surgery to cut it out of my head." (81-82) Her grades have plummeted and even Heather won't talk to her anymore. During winter everything is dreary, cold, and dead. It's a morbid description; but this is exactly how Melinda is feeling during this time of the year. When spring rolls around, Melinda is finally starting to take control over her life. She starts to gain back respect from her peers and begins to talk to all of her old friends again. Best of all, she is confronted by her perpetrator and overcomes her fear of him which fully transforms her.
Another important aspect of nature in the text that helps Melinda cope with her pain throughout the whole novel is Mr.Freeman and her assignment to make arts through the use of trees. All year long, Melinda struggles to create something meaningful, but gradually becomes more and more dedicated to perfecting her tree art. ""You did a good job with that Cubist sketch," he says. I don't know what to say. We pass a dead dog. It doesn't have a collar. "I'm seeing a lot of growth in your work. You are learning more than you know."" (121) It is important to note that drawing and carving trees is easily the only project that Melinda shows any interest in completing all year. Just like Melinda's struggle to handle her fit of depression, the complications she faces in making her tree art reflects her emotional battle. Symbolically, trees are a plant that continue to grow through harsh fits of weather and persist on despite hardships. ""He's not chopping it down. He's saving it. Those branches were long dead from disease. All plants are like that. By cutting off the damage, you make it possible for the tree to grow again. You watch--by the end of summer, this tree will be the strongest on the block.""(187) In conclusion, the beauty and continual growth that nature brings every year is a perfect representation of Melinda's damage, renewal, and revival throughout Speak.
Melinda starts the school year alone and scared. Summer is coming to an end and the weather is getting colder. Summer coming to an end symbolizes the party that Melinda went to and what happened there; the school year strikes the beginning of her depression. Fast forward to winter and Melinda is in the middle of her depression. "Hawthorne wanted snow to symbolize cold, that's what I think. Cold and silence. Nothing quieter than snow. The sky screams to deliver it, a hundred banshees flying on the edge of the blizzard. But once the snow covers the ground, it hushes as still as my heart."(130) She has almost completely lost the ability to speak and only has the desire to sleep all the time. "I just want to sleep. The whole point of not talking about it, of silencing the memory, is to make it go away. It won't. I'll need brain surgery to cut it out of my head." (81-82) Her grades have plummeted and even Heather won't talk to her anymore. During winter everything is dreary, cold, and dead. It's a morbid description; but this is exactly how Melinda is feeling during this time of the year. When spring rolls around, Melinda is finally starting to take control over her life. She starts to gain back respect from her peers and begins to talk to all of her old friends again. Best of all, she is confronted by her perpetrator and overcomes her fear of him which fully transforms her.
Another important aspect of nature in the text that helps Melinda cope with her pain throughout the whole novel is Mr.Freeman and her assignment to make arts through the use of trees. All year long, Melinda struggles to create something meaningful, but gradually becomes more and more dedicated to perfecting her tree art. ""You did a good job with that Cubist sketch," he says. I don't know what to say. We pass a dead dog. It doesn't have a collar. "I'm seeing a lot of growth in your work. You are learning more than you know."" (121) It is important to note that drawing and carving trees is easily the only project that Melinda shows any interest in completing all year. Just like Melinda's struggle to handle her fit of depression, the complications she faces in making her tree art reflects her emotional battle. Symbolically, trees are a plant that continue to grow through harsh fits of weather and persist on despite hardships. ""He's not chopping it down. He's saving it. Those branches were long dead from disease. All plants are like that. By cutting off the damage, you make it possible for the tree to grow again. You watch--by the end of summer, this tree will be the strongest on the block.""(187) In conclusion, the beauty and continual growth that nature brings every year is a perfect representation of Melinda's damage, renewal, and revival throughout Speak.
Thanks for this perspective of the novel because I never really looked at in terms of nature besides the symbolism with the tree, but when you explain the theory including the seasons it makes sense. I can definitely see the connections with the seasons now, so great job of analyzing the text in that light to allow others to see it as well.
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