Reaction to "Speak"

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Once I started reading "Speak" it was tough to put down. I feel that the author gave Melinda a unique voice that portrayed a lot of emotion despite the fact that she doesn't do a lot of talking to other characters in the book. A lot of Melinda's dialouge is inside of her own head, and it was interesting to see her progression throughout the book. One question I wondered as I read the book was why the author decided to have a negative portrayal of the teachers, except Mr. Freeman. When thinking about it from Melinda's point of view, it further explains her feelings of isolation, but I wasn't sure if Laurie Anderson was also trying to make a point about the disconnect between teachers and students.

I felt a personal connection to this text because I am a quiet person that doesn't usually open up about my feelings. I keep stuff bottled up to myself, and while I haven't gone through anything as traumatic as Melinda, I can still connect with the way in which she deals with her emotions. I think Anderson did a solid job at portraying adolescence in "Speak", because I often felt my high school was pretty similar to Merryweather High. The students clique together, and this leaves some students wondering where they fit in. Heather spends almost her entire freshman year worrying about being popular, and I think this is something a lot of teens also go through. A good argument can be made that Heather is only using Melinda, and I think this portrayal of high school friendships as short-lived and unauthentic is pretty accurate in some cases. I'm having a tough time thinking of specific texts that "Speak" relates to, but I can see some parallels between Melinda and Arnold from "Diary" when it comes to tone. While different, both are dealing with difficult situations, and sarcasm seems to be a tool that both of them use to deal with their own problems and emotions.

Self-identity crisis is an important theme throughout the book. This is especially true for Melinda because her self-image evolves as she copes with the aftermath of her assualt. When she's at Effert's trying on clothes, she seems to have a moment of self-discovery while looking in the mirror. On page 125, she asks "What does it feel like to walk in a new skin?", showing how she is pondering her self-image and what it will look like moving forward. While Heather is worried about fitting into a certain clique, Melinda first has to find herself again after the assualt.

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