Preview

Communication In Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
927 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Communication In Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak
Communication Communication is the way we express our feelings and show our thoughts. It is a major part of our day to day lives. In Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, Melinda goes through a rape at a party at the beginning of summer. She was raped by Andy Evens and called the cops on the party to tell them that she had been raped. Everyone got in trouble at the party and now blame her for what happened. She does not want to tell anyone what actually happened to her at the party and doesn't really want to talk to anyone about that night . Melinda can’t seem to communicate with other people she try’s many different ways to get her thought’s across and rarely speaks. Throughout the book Melinda uses notes, art that expresses herself and physical injuries to communicate her problems with other people. …show more content…
Art class is the only class she feels safe in she has no enemy’s and actually wants to learn what is beefing taught. Mr. Freeman is Melinda’s favorite teacher, he is the only teacher that doesn't have to stick to a lesson plan he plays by his own rules. After Melinda’s egregious thanksgiving she brings some turkey bones into class to make whatever she can think of she has a hard time at first but accomplishes something,”Mr. Freeman taps his chin. He looks way too serious to be an art teacher. he's making me nervous Mr. Freeman “This has to mean, Pain.” (88) Melinda's thanksgiving was terrible it was boring and full of terrible experiences. She is expressing her feelings of thanksgiving her art. Mr. Freeman can clearly see that there is a pain in the art and he is trying to understand as you can tell as it describes him tapping his chin. Mr. Freeman sees the pain it represents Melinda’s terrible experience over thanksgiving and also what she had been going through all year. She is communicating to Mr. Freeman through her art about the pain she is going

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    In the novel, Speak the author uses the protagonist, Melinda, to teach the reader the importance of verbal expression. Melinda refuses to speak about an event that occurred in her life; therefore others cannot show her empathy toward her. Melinda’s lack of speaking lead to her being judged and bullied by her friends. Melinda’s silence slowly erodes her self esteem and leads to depressive behavior. Melinda’s lack of verbal communication conveys its merit.…

    • 919 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    My favorite book is Speak written by Laurie Halse Anderson. The book is based on high school freshman Melinda Sordino. The August before her freshman year, her and her closest friends attend a party containing seniors and beer. Melinda gets drunk and eventually walks outside to take a breath where she meets upcoming senior Andy Evans. After making Melinda uncomfortable by dancing with and kissing her, Andy pushes Melinda to the ground and rapes her. She calls 911 and gets the party broken up, but is too scared to speak up about being raped. Everyone finds out that she is the reason the party was busted, and her friends no longer speak to her. Throughout the story, Melinda faces the realities that are associated with being raped. She is now…

    • 193 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Barry Lilly Blease

    • 139 Words
    • 1 Page

    Barry N. Schwartz who edited this collection of works is an assistant professor of communication arts at New York City Community College, and Director of cultural alternatives network. In the chapter written by John Lilly, an American physician, neuroscientist, psychoanalyst, psychonaut, philosopher, writer and inventor he discusses how human communication is man kinds greatest strength and weakness. Also, Lilly states that we as humans are always trying to predict and anticipate every move the person we are having a conversation with is going to make. Lastly, he describes to his audience how communication is harder for people with mental illnesses. This relates to the work of Blease due to the fact that they both discuss how quickly we…

    • 139 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the book “Speak”, Melinda grows from being honest with herself about her emotions. From this, she began to think positively, which changed her mindset and her behaviour. Melinda also was able to seek help from others. After going through these three stages, honesty, positivity, and finding outside support, Melinda was able to refine herself throughout the story and become an improved version of herself. It is impossible for one to change overnight, and starting with small actions of growth can lead to the achievement of a renewed version of…

    • 1437 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Speak is a teen novel written by Laurie Halse Anderson, it’s the story of freshman Melinda Sordino. Everybody in her high school doesn’t like her because last summer she went to a party and called the cops. Ever since she doesn’t speak and has no friends because she doesn't want to tell anybody the truth. She later on gets the courage to say something because one of her ex-best friends is going out with popular senior named Andy Evans. We find out later in the book that Melinda was raped by Andy at the party. That is why she called the cops. The book is about Melinda trying to accept the fact that she was raped and needs help. It is also about her struggling to try and fit in while dealing with her school, home problems and friends.…

    • 848 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Communication can also provide reassurance and comfort, it can help to diffuse situations, and it is also used to offer encouragement.…

    • 326 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    People communicate as a tool to survive, to make their wants and needs become apparent to others. Communication is needed in various situations such as fear, hunger, pain, discomfort, happiness and sorrow.…

    • 641 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Katie's monologue about their relationship at the end of the movie further reinforces the fact that language, or interpersonal communication, is abstract. The definition of interpersonal communication is the exchange of information between two or more people, however, the qualitative definition is that the process of information exchange is a complex one with many dimensions and consist of more than one process in of itself. The true meaning of the sender's message is much more dependent on the delivery of the message, the body language involved, the emotions attached, non verbal cues that aids the message, the perceived perceptions of the meaning of the message, the conflict at hand, the relationship to the receiver, and the communication…

    • 279 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    People communicate to build relationships, convey their needs to one another, share their ideas, express their feelings and socialise in pairs or larger groups.…

    • 1508 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Mr. Freeman is a factor that motivates Melinda Sordino to learn from her mistakes and took look beyond times of difficulty. On the first day of school Melinda is an outcast who encounters Mr. Freeman, an art teacher who has a very different perspective on life. He introduces himself with “Welcome to the only class that will teach you how to survive high school”(10). At first Melinda thinks art class will not help her get through life but in fact in is the only class, which she can express her felling through art. As a result Melinda is assign a project. She must draw a tree. She believes that is will be essay but soon finds out that it will change her look on life. After a horrible thanksgiving Melinda brings in the carcass of their thanksgiving dinner to make a sculpture out of it. Mr. Freeman Comments on it “Your on fire Melinda, I can see it in your eyes”(61) Melinda is starting to get into the sculpture and it is becoming a nice sculpture. Mr. Freeman can see that Melinda is beginning to turn a bad thanksgiving nightmare into a finished sculpture. Melinda is learning how to express herself not only though he voice, but though her art.…

    • 927 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    People communicate in many different ways often to share information, emotions, thoughts and feelings. People also communicate to learn by asking for information and instructions such as how to do a certain task or asking someone for directions. People will often share emotion through communication like how they are feeling at the time or telling them about a recent life event. People communicate about thoughts and suggestions. Communication can be used to share reassurance and to understand and to be understood. People make, build and sustain relationships through communication. People share knowledge and receive knowledge through communication.…

    • 2220 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Communication is part of everyone's life and is essential for humans to survive. There are needs that must be fulfilled for humans to live and be happy all of these are fulfilled through communication channels. With this in mind we will look at how these and other communication concepts are illustrated in the movie "When Harry met Sally". The specific concepts we will be looking at are how non-verbal adds to verbal communication, defensive and supportive climates (certainty vs. provisionalism), nature of friendships (emotional closeness i.e. closeness through doing) communication is irreversible, and speech communities (gender men/women).…

    • 804 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Communitcation Unit

    • 1175 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Communication is at the centre of life. Communication is necessary to; seeking information, express your feelings and judging people’s moods, to develop yourself or to help others, to share ideas and thoughts. Without any communication there wouldn’t be any development or progression. Although body language and visible signs like crying can show the emotion of a particular person, communication is also vital in portraying exactly what someone is feeling. Without communication a person would not be able to say if they were sad or worried about something. Communication is commonly done through these ways; talking, hearing, touching and seeing.…

    • 1175 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Unit 1 Communication

    • 1952 Words
    • 8 Pages

    In this assignment I am going to review the barriers to effective communication and the strategies best used depending on the situation of the individual.…

    • 1952 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Gods Must Be Crazy

    • 393 Words
    • 2 Pages

    6. Recognize three elements of emotions: name your emotion, accept your emotion, and express your emotions.…

    • 393 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays