SPEAK - L. Anderson

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      I will not come out and say that this was the best book that I have read BUT it is a good read. As a future middle school teacher, and as someone that has worked around middle school kids this is a book that could help a lot of students. Rape has been a taboo subject and in many ways still is. Talking about rape is not easy whatsoever but Laurie Anderson wrote Speak in a way that can be easily read and understood by many. The reason I say that I did not enjoy it is because it felt like forever to get to the "meat" of the story. Although a good book does have to build that suspense I just felt like I was rereading the same thing, Melinda would get sad, she kept saying small stuff about "IT" and "that night" but I felt like maybe we could have known about it a little sooner. The part that I love about this book is the way Anderson used symbolism throughout the whole book. I love the way she gave Mr. Freeman his name, at the end when Melinda says, "Let me tell you about it" (198). Melinda is being liberated as she finally speaks. I also found the setting very interesting, Anderson did not choose sunny California but instead she chose Syracuse, NY. A place that matches perfectly with the tone of the majority of the book. The symbolism that I want to SPEAK more about is how Mr. Freeman assigned her to draw a tree as her year assignment. This hit a soft spot to me. Although I have been fortunate enough to say that I haven't had life trauma like Melinda did but I did go through a time in my life where I felt really blue. Melinda's growth in the book had to do a lot with Mr. Freeman consistency in pushing her to her limits. I love how in the first day, one of Mr. Freeman's first words were "Welcome to the only class that will teach you how to survive". If this does not scream of foreshadow! Like mentioned in class, Mr. Freeman in a way knew that Melinda was going through something serious but never treated her like that. He pushed her to her limits. Her journey in art also reflects her personal journey. Her first set of trees, Melinda describes her trees as "...painting watercolors of trees that have been hit by lightning. I try to paint them so they are nearly dead, but not totally." When compared her first set of tree drawings to her last,, the reader can see the growth not only in her drawing but also in her self. The last description of her final tree she ends it with saying. "My tree is definitely breathing; little shallow breaths like it just shot up through the ground this morning...Roots knob out of the ground and the crown reaches for the sun, tall and healthy. The new growth is the best part." I love this description of her "tree". This description is breath taking. That feeling of seeing the light at the end of the tunnel after going through hell and back is hard to top.

Comments

  1. UnknownSeptember 16, 2017 at 8:09 AM

    I totally agree that it took too long to get to the meat of the story. While it was pretty easy to assume what Melinda had gone through by the way she talked about "IT," hated the idea of people touching her, and acted generally depressed and bitter, I think that the suspense Anderson was trying to achieve didn't quite carry through. That's part of the reason why I was so disappointed by how the rape scene was depicted. I think Anderson needed to give more build up about the night of the party, paint a clearer picture of the aftermath, and be a tad more graphic to drive the point home of how this was the most traumatic night of Melinda's life. That being said, the tree symbolism in the novel was also my favorite part. I liked having a tangible thing-her art- to watch grow as she grew and recovered herself. I just wish her final tree showed a bit more creativity and was markedly more different than her first attempts. I was surprised her final tree picture was so "traditional" and "basic" after she had made that crazy turkey bone sculpture.

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  2. Victoria VanceSeptember 16, 2017 at 6:02 PM

    I'm definitely with you and Caroline, the story did take awhile to reach the main point of the story. Also, with the quote you chose that Melinda talks about her "tree is breathing" was my favorite quote of the entire novel. For me, it created a sense of relief, and satisfaction that Melinda has made a near full recovery and has established a sense of hope and confidence for herself.

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  3. UnknownSeptember 18, 2017 at 12:54 PM

    Karen,
    I agree, this wasn't my absolute favorite book, however I do think its a really good one to teach in middle school. I also want to teach middle school, and i thing they have it worse than all the other grades. They are either to old to do stuff, or too young. They awkwardly fit into a strange phase in society where they try new things and don't really know what's right and wrong. In Melinda's case, she was getting raped and couldn't speak up for herself. She was unsure if they were moving too fast and didn't even have time to think before it was all over and too late.

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