A Teenage Outcast

In the novel Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson the main character of Melinda is created. Melinda is a shy, insecure, and silent teenage girl. Imagine walking through the hallways of high school as a new freshman hated and despised. Every day must be a challenge for Melinda; no one has any idea of what terrible things have occurred in her life. Throughout the story she finds herself unable to speak until certain people and actions encourage her to find the strength to express her emotions, and finally speak up.

Melinda struggles with her high school reputation, and eventually meets a new student and soon to be new friend, Heather. Heather is a skinny, outgoing, and joyful new student from Ohio. Heather seems to be the only one embracing Melinda and really getting to know her. Although there isn’t much to learn about Melinda since she is so quiet and emotionless. Rachelle and Nicole were just some of Melinda’s friends before she called the police that one night. That one night changed everything. Compared to the whole high school believing the phone call to the police was to bust the party, Melinda has no voice. She can’t explain what really happened that night; if she tried she would be rejected and not heard. While Melinda cannot be heard, she also has an unknown identity. It’s like she doesn’t know who she is; she doesn’t see that she exists. She even eats away at her lips until they are cracked, chapped, and worn away. It’s like she is eating away at herself so she can’t be seen anymore; so that she is invisible to the world. If you were Melinda would you feel like you had an importance?

While Melinda is unsure of herself, she finds her passion and freedom in art class. Ironically enough, the art teachers name is Mr. Freeman. This name symbolizes freedom, happiness, and expression through art. Mr. Freeman and Melinda grow a strong bond throughout the story because of the love for art they both share and the understanding in each other. Mr. Freeman assigns Melinda to do a project based on a tree. Instead her ideas lead her to create a sculpture made of turkey bones with knives and forks sticking into them. This finished product symbolizes the way Melinda feels inside and the pain that has been held upon her. As Melinda starts expressing herself through art, she also develops a hiding place in school where no one can find her; her “safe haven” that contains her bottled up feelings and her personality. This space is the closet in the senior hallway that no one would ever enter. She started off the year spending most of her time in there, but as time passed and she became more confident in herself, she lessened her time spent in there.

Although Melinda is starting to find herself, her relationship with her family could be way better. Her family’s way of communicating is by writing notes. It appears that there aren’t many times when Melinda and her family are together. This also might symbolize distance and not too much love. Laurie Halse Anderson even writes “The Pilgrims gave thanks at Thanksgiving because the Native Americans saved their sorry butts from starving. I give thanks at Thanksgiving because my mother finally goes to work and my father orders pizza.” This quote displays Melinda’s dysfunctional family and how they don’t celebrate the normal Thanksgiving. As the story goes on Melinda reveals what really happened that night at the party and she gets judged as jealous and a liar. But when people finally find out she’s telling the truth, they respect her and acknowledge her.

The moral lesson that the author tries to convey is that high school can be vicious and not always fair. There will always be judgements and rumors but you have to grow stronger from them. The author sends the message that you don’t necessarily know who your true friends are until something occurs that makes their personalities shine through. In society today, there are many victims just like Melinda, who have experienced the same things. It is truly sad and reading this story helped me realize how much I judge people and how much I need to embrace new people. Reading this book bettered my knowledge of how scary high school can and will be. I don’t want to be stuck in the crowd; I want to be a leader and a role model in high school. I want to do well for my school, community, and family. Even though Melinda isn’t necessarily a leader or a follower, she finds confidence in the end. This book gives hope to people that are victims of bullying, assault, and more.