Speak

When something has hurt you, it may be the hardest thing to do, but the most helpful thing to do is talk about it. This idea is demonstrated in Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson. is about a girl, Melinda, who was raped at an end of summer party. She is deserted by her friends, who were angry at her for calling the police, although they did not know what really happened, She has trouble talking, but finds an escape through art. Melinda does not tell anyone about what happens to her but as she starts to speak up, she finds that it will help her greatly.

When the book first begins, Melinda is starting high school, and is ostracized by every person she was once friends with, too afraid to admit that she called the cops because she was raped. Staying silent is the easier option, although it does not help her. She is outcast by her former friends, family, and everyone around her. For example, at the beginning of the year, she saw her former best friend, and she would not forgive her for what happened at the party. (“I hate you” Rachel mouthed silently) Not only are her friends ignoring her, but her parents refuse to think that there may actually be a reason she has stopped talking (“Mom: she’s jerking us around to get attention). Because she has not been able to tell anyone close to her what happened, they all assume the worst about her. She lost all connections to anyone she once had a relationship, so along with having this dark secret, she has to deal with the rest of high school alone. If she had shared what had happened, they would have understood her problems and she would have had support throughout the year. Not only was Melinda ignored by everyone around her, but she had so much pain internally from this secret that she was hurting herself a lot. She stopped being able to focus on her grades, and she even cut herself once, saying “If a suicide attempt is a cry for help, what is this? A whimper, a peep?” She has to turn to hurting herself because she has no other way to show people what is happening. If she had been able to speak up, she would have found help and support in an easier way.

Although Melinda is too afraid and ashamed to say anything at the beginning of the year, she gradually begins to speak up about what happened, and is surprised by the results. The first thing that she does is write a list on the girls bathroom wall of “Guys to Stay Away from”, putting her rapist, Andy Evans number one. She soon finds many responses agreeing with her, such as “He’s a creep. He’s a bastard. Stay away!!!” and more. This shows that just by saying something about the guy who did it, she has found people who wouldn’t think she’s crazy, or wouldn’t think she’s a liar. The feeling of not being alone in this makes her so happy she says “I feel like I can fly.” She also eventually is able to tell Rachel what happened, only because she was dating Andy. Although Rachel didn’t believe her at first, she confronts Andy and when she realizes that he did it, immediately breaks up with him and lets people know who he is, then calls Melinda, and wants to talk to her (we don’t hear what she says, but can assume it is asking her forgiveness). By letting one person know what happened, Melinda is able to help show people what kind of person Andy is. She also is able to fix her relationship with Rachel, something that had bothered her all year. She was terrified to do it, but talking about her experience improved Melinda’s life a lot.

Throughout the book, Melinda finds courage to talk about what happened to her. At first, she is terrified to say anything and so she suffers without anyone noticing. Doing so makes high school and any interactions much harder for her, as she is hiding this huge secret. However, as she gradually begins to talk about what happened, she finds that sharing her experience not only helped her realize what happened needed to be talked about, but it also caused many other people to come forward and share things they knew. Having something traumatic happen to you can be extremely hard to talk about, but if you share what happened, most of the time you will be greeted with support and sympathy.